LONDON: Aston Martin Racing is aiming for a title as it returns to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Silverstone race circuit in the UK with its successful Vantage GTE racecar.
On Aug 31, the British luxury sportscar brand will take to the circuit for four hours of continuous intense driving with an optimised version of its #98 racecar.
The GTE has so far had an excellent debut season with victories in Shanghai and Spa-Francorchamps and a pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Because of such victories, the company is bullish on regaining the FIA WEC GTE Pro and Am titles it last won in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The racing car, based on the Vantage road car, will make its class debut in GTE Am with a new driver lineup of Canadian Paul Dalla Lana together with Britons Darren Turner (three-time Le Mans class winner) and Ross Gunn.
While the GTE Pro class field has reduced in numbers for 'Season 8', the competition has intensified with the return of old rivals Ferrari and Porsche.
As well as the new colour scheme, the team has used the off-season break to use the knowledge gained in the eight-race 'Super Season' to further improve and enhance the Vantage GTE, which received new Michelin tyres specifically made for the car.
There are changes to the WEC season format too, with the Silverstone opener and the Shanghai round (Nov 10) shortened to four hours, while Bahrain returns to the calendar on Dec 14 with an eight-hour race and Brazil on Feb 1 with a six-hour event at Interlagos.
The season will conclude with the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans on from June 13 to 14.
