Aston Martin made a comeback in motorsport in 2005 and the obvious choice was the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in GT1 with the DB9. The racing division had just got off the ground and six new models had left the production lines in the space of three years. Change was afoot within the company, with a new focus on its glorious past and Le Mans especially, where Aston Martin won in 1959.

Dʳ Ulrich Bez, then CEO of Aston Martin, explained the decision to return to endurance racing: Aston Martin is an exclusive brand, but we cannot be exclusive without being visible and motor sport is a way to heighten our profile. Production-based sports car series are growing in stature with many leading manufacturers returning with their own factory programmes. By competing with them we can demonstrate that our cars are not only the best on the road, but also on the racing track. Over a decade later, Aston Martin is still racing and has just presented an ambitious 2016 campaign, the main goal of which is the top step at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This will be Aston Martin Racing’s twelfth season running in high-level endurance racing. The last class win was in 2014 when an all-Danish team (David Heinemeier Hansson, Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim), nicknamed the Dane Train, won LM GTE Am. This year, the class is LM GTE Pro, which includes factory teams Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche, but Aston Martin has beaten them before.

In 2007, David Brabham, Rickard Rydell, (who has just announced his retirement) and number one Aston Martin driver Darren Turner got the better of Corvette Racing in GT1, finishing an awe-inspiring fifth overall. In 2008, Brabham and Turner repeated the performance, beating Corvette again, this time with Antonio Garcia.

Aston Martin returns to the Hôtel de France (video) #LEMANS #LM24 @AMR_Official http://t.co/93koZSsCSG pic.twitter.com/AP5OpsHW0f

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 7, 2015

AMR ran LM P1 campaigns in 2009 and 2011 and has been running the Vantage V8 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship since 2012. But the car has yet to win in LM GTE Pro, the best result to date being a third place for Turner, Stefan Mücke and Peter Dumbreck in 2013.

The constructor is doubling down on the campaign for victory this year. For the WEC season, there will be two cars in LM GTE Pro, #95 and #97, and one in LM GTE Am, the #98, plus the #99 for Le Mans 24 Hours. The aerodynamics have been adjusted and the distinctly pronounced new rear diffuser is sure to attract attention at the scrutineering session in Le Mans city centre on 12 and 13 June. As always, Aston Martin will be one of the stars of Le Mans week. The on-track battle looks promising indeed.

Geoffroy Barre — Translated from French by Emma Paulay

Photo: the new 2016 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and its rear diffuser was unveiled last week.