Photo : Frederic GAUDIN (ACO)

 

To celebrate its 100 year anniversary, Aston Martin had planned big for 2013, with no fewer than five Vantage V8 entries in the World Championship, driven by high calibre drivers such as Frédéric Makowiecki, Pedro Lamy, Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke, Rob Bell, Peter Dumbreck, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Bruno Senna. With four wins in LM GTE Pro (and a superb pole position at Le Mans by Makowiecki) as well as five wins in LM GTE Am, Aston Martin was in the hunt for the championship title until the very end of the 6 Hours of Bahrain, final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Coming home second in the Drivers, Teams and Constructors titles in LM GTE Pro, the British marque took the Drivers trophy in LM GTE Am thanks to drivers Stuart Hall and Jamie Campbell-Walter.

This success led to a promotion for John Gaw, general director of Aston Martin Racing. In 2014, he will lead all of Prodrive's sporting activities, the company founded by David Richards in 1984, with Aston Martin's endurance presence as well as Mini in the World Rally Championship:  " We have already confirmed the 2014 programs for our factory and customer Aston Martin teams. We'll also see our Mini customers in rallying. I'd also like to see our products race in the new Formula E championship, which I think has a promising future."

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translated by Rainier Ehrhardt / ACO


Photo : LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013, COURSE. Third in the LM GTE Pro class, the Vantage driven by Darren Turner-Stefan Mücke-Peter Dumbreck raced at Le Mans with a special livery based on the famous Gulf blue and orange colours, partners with Aston Martin since 2008.