Photo: Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Racing has launched the new Vantage GTE, the successor to the team’s most successful competition car of all-time, the V8 Vantage GTE.
The design project was led by Technical Director Dan Sayers, who had led the design and development of the previous V8 Vantage GTE.
The new-for-2018 Aston Martin Vantage GTE has undergone a rigorous test programme which included more than 13,000 kms of track running in addition to a successful 30 hour endurance run at Navarra in Spain.
Aston Martin Racing has worked with its new technical partners on the Vantage GTE project. Alcon has worked with the Gaydon-based manufacturer on braking systems, Öhlins for suspension and Michelin on the tyre programme.
Announced alongside the launch of the new Vantage GTE car was the driver line-up for the new season. Darren Turner and Jonny Adam, winners of the LMGTE Pro class at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen have been retained for the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship ‘Super Season’. Also included in the driver line-up for 2018 is Alex Lynn, current Formula E driver and ex-GP2 race winner. Further driver announcements will be made shortly.
Aston Martin Racing Technical Director Dan Sayers was excited at the launch of the new Vantage GTE.
“Designing and developing this new car has been an extremely satisfying process,” said Dan Sayers. “We’ve collaborated closely with Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters to develop the road and race cars in parallel. Attention to detail has been a priority at every step of the design process and we’ve made big improvements in each area of the car.”
We’ve spent every second optimising the design right until the build of our test car, which has paid dividends during out current testing schedule. This project has been one of the most intensive but also rewarding of my career so far.”
“It’s terrific to be involved in this exciting new chapter for Aston Martin Racing,” said Managing Director John Gaw. “The increasingly tough competition in the GTE class and the prospect of two visits to Le Mans and a return to Sebring within the 2018/19 super-season is thoroughly tantalising. To conduct the development process of this car so closely with Aston Martin’s design and engineering teams was essential for both road and race car to retain the same underlying DNA. We believe the Vantage GTE will bring further success world-wide to Aston Martin Racing in the coming years.”
The opening round of the 2018-109 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on May 5 2018.