Aston Martin will join the hunt for overall victory at this year's Total 24 Hours of Spa thanks to a one-off Garage 59 entry featuring a trio of factory drivers.
The British marque took its sole triumph at the twice-around-the-clock race in 1948 and will look to return to the top step in 2021. Aston Martin Racing partner team Garage 59 will field the Pro car, which complements its full-season Pro-Am and Silver Cup entries. The three-man crew features Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen – known collectively as the ‘Dane Train’ – and British ace Ross Gunn.
Thiim is no stranger to the event. The experienced Dane has made three appearance at the 24 Hours, including a star turn in 2019 that led Oman by TF Racing towards a resounding Pro-Am class win. Gunn is also set for a return to Spa having raced Astons for Oman by TF Sport in 2018 and Garage 59 in 2019. A veteran of the FIA World Endurance Championship and Intelligent British GT Championship, Sørensen will be making his first start at the Belgian endurance classic .
The car will return both Aston Martin and Garage 59 to the battle for overall victory following a one-year absence. The team will also be in the mix for Pro-Am and Silver Cup honours, with both crews set to gain an additional driver in time for the season's marquee race.
“Garage 59 has been one of Aston Martin Racing’s most valued partners ever since it switched to the new Vantage GT3 at the beginning of the 2019 season," commented AMR managing director John Gaw. "Running a Pro car with works drivers at Spa is more evidence of AMR’s evolution from a works programme to a fully-integrated customer operation that has the ability to support its customers not just with drivers, but also personnel, technical back-up and world championship- winning experience.
"We hope Spa showcases what is possible when teams work closely with us to achieve their goals, and we expect to make further announcements through the summer.”
This year's Total 24 Hours of Spa will see the marquee event return to its traditional summer slot, with track activity running between 29 July and 1 August. It will be preceded by two days of official testing at the legendary Belgian venue (22-23 June)