In the LM GTE Pro class in the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC), after two wins for the new Ferrari 488 GTE at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, Aston Martin took back the reins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which ended in a double retirement for Ferrari.

While the consistency of Danish duo Nicki Thiim-Marco Sorensen (two wins and four podium finishes) won the FIA World Endurance Drivers Cup, problems encountered by Darren Turner and Jonny Adam at the Bahrain closing round cost Aston Martin the World GT Manufacturers Cup. However, the British marque did win the FIA World Endurance LM GTE Pro Teams Trophy. It was a remarkable achievement if one considers the results between Aston Martin Racing, AF Corse (official Ferrari representative) and the Ford GTs of Chip Ganassi, which each clinched three victories across the nine rounds of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

In LM GTE Am, the Aston Martin Vantage won five times (Spa-Francorchamps, Nürburgring, Circuit of the Americas, Fuji and Shanghai) thanks to Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda, already three-time winners last year. But the 24 Hours of Le Mans played a crucial role in the struggle between the trio of the #98 Vantage and the #83 Ferrari 458 Italia driven by François Perrodo-Emmanuel Collard-Rui Aguas. The first drivers were forced to retire, whereas the second trio snatched the 50 points attributed to a win at the 24 Hours as the best team at the finish among those entered full-time in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). Despite their four victories at the last five races, Dalla Lana, Lamy and Lauda finished third overall in the class, after their retirement at Bahrain.

In the European Le Mans Series, Aston Martin Racing also battled the 458 Italia of JMW Motorsport. Heading into the 4 Hours of Estoril, sixth and final round of the 2016 ELMS season, JMW Motorsport was the leader with three consecutive wins, a second place finish and a comfortable margin of 20 points on Alex McDowall, Darren Turner and Andrew Howard. Winners at the opening Silverstone round, they finished all the other races in the top 5. But after the retirement for the Italian GT, the three Aston Martin drivers triumphed and won the LM GTE Drivers and Teams titles, with a five-point lead.

The oldest model in the LM GTE field earned 10 additional trophies toward its record...and is even the winningest GT in the 2016 World Endurance Championship (WEC), with eight wins out of 18 possible victories in the LM GTE Pro and LM GTE Am classes!

Photo: After its three FIA Endurance Trophies in the LM GTE Am class in 2013 and 2014, this year Aston Martin Racing added the World GT Drivers Cup and the LM GTE Pro Team Trophy to its record in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).