In recent news, Aston Martin decided to switch their strategic focus of its Vantage GT motorsport programme to focus more on customer operations. Due to this, they have announced that they have ended their campaign with the prodrive-run team, to concentrate entirely on their new strategic plan.
This decision has stemmed from the occupation of the marque by Lawrence Stroll at the beginning of 2020 along with his rebranding of the Aston Martin team for the next season. This change brings about an end to the participation in the GTE Pro class of WEC by Aston Martin, dating back to the return of the 2012 series. Since 2005, we saw Prodrive run cars under the Aston Martin racing banner at Le Mans consistently – so this leave the spectators anxiously waiting to see what their new strategic focus will bring.
Aston Martin ended their campaign with the Prodrive-run team to mount a works campaign a year and a half ahead of schedule, having directly funding the factory effort since 2017. This agreement was set to be in place for five years, but had been extended by six months to mid 2021 when the World Endurance Championship calendar was updated with the super season. This was a lead-in to the now abandoned switch to a winter series format.
They have stated that from 2021, their future plans will be targeting endurance events with partner teams in certain series such as the GT World Challenge Europe, the Super GT, the IMSA WeatherTech and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. They have high hopes to be represented in the GTE Am class of the World Endurance Championship next season too.
With continued change in the industry, Aston Martin’s withdrawal comes after Ford and BMW at the end of the 2018/2019 season which showcased a grid of ten full time entries in GTE Pro. Porsche has also already announced its GTE Pro plans for 2021, while Ferrari has also assured an intent to continue with the AF Corse team.
Aston Martin ended their campaign with the Prodrive-run team, which leaves the plans of the Canadian amateur driver Paul Dalla Lana unclear. Paul has raced as a pro diver for Aston Martin since 2013. They are also yet to announce details of the roster of factory drivers. It is expected to be an interesting year ahead for the confederation indeed.
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