The all-new Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo took first place overall at the 100th Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race. Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen, and Nicki Thiim shared driving duties in the #007 Comtoyou Racing Vantage GT3 Evo.
In a first for Aston Martin racing cars since 1948, the three Danish 007 drivers secured overall victory at the Ardennes classic, watched by around 85,000 spectators.
Securing overall victory at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race with the new Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, the long-established British car brand marks only its second win. Notably, they were among the first car manufacturers to embrace motorsport since their founding.
The “Ardennes rollercoaster,” as the race track is nicknamed, endured a tumultuous night. Heavy rain and numerous yellow flags punctuated the event, leading to a high number of retirements and accidents. There was also a “full course yellow” safety car deployment that lasted almost three hours during the night.
BMW Team WRT claimed a podium finish at their home race. Despite starting from 23rd place, their #32 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts, battled back to finish third.
A mishap for their #46 teammates resulted in a lengthy repair job and a penalty. Despite the setbacks, Raffaele Marciello, Maxime Martin, and Valentino Rossi persevered to finish 24th, three laps behind the leaders.
The #34 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, fielded by Walkenhorst Motorsport, secured fourth place in the 100th Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race. Joining them in the top 10 were fellow KW Motorsport customers Rowe Racing, SSR Herberth, and Rutronik Racing.
The Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 (#998) with Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse had some bad luck. Due to a slow puncture, the #998 had to pit early.
A stint time violation by final driver Max Hesse forced the second-placed BMW M4 GT3 into a pit stop as directed by race control. This penalty dropped them to a sixth-place finish overall.
Unfortunately, the second Rowe Racing BMW M4 GT3 (#98) with Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, and Nick Yelloly retired after just under three hours due to a technical defect.
Porsche customer teams endured a brutal night as the track wreaked havoc on the field. Early evening and nighttime hours were marred by accidents and collisions, leaving only six of the twelve starting Porsche 911 GT3 Rs to see the checkered flag.
Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Frédéric Makowiecki drove the 911 GT3 R from SSR Herberth (#92) to eighth place.
Julien Andlauer, Sven Müller, and Patric Niederhäuser finished in ninth place in the Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (#96).
Since 2024, Aston Martin’s customer racing cars, the AMR Vantage GT3 Evo and GT4 Evo, have been equipped with our KW Racing dampers.
A total of seven Aston Martin AMR Vantage GT3 Evos were entered by the teams “ComeToYou Racing” (#7 first place, #11 20th place, #21 32nd place, #12 retired) and Walkenhorst Motorsport (#34 fourth place, #35 44th place, #36 retired) at Spa-Francorchamps.
Images Gruppe C Photography, Manufacturer
