Comtoyou Racing will begin its new partnership with Aston Martin in style this year with a Pro line-up featuring factory drivers Nicki Thiim, Marco Sørensen and Mattia Drudi gunning for Endurance Cup glory.
Heading into its second Fanatec GT Europe campaign, the Belgian team has joined forces with AMR to run the new Vantage GT3 – and it will do so with one of the most impressive crews on the grid. The announcement was made at the launch of the centenary CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which took place at Stavelot Abbey.
Thiim and Sørensen are no strangers to sharing Aston Martin machinery: the famous 'Dane Train' duo won the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Pro title in 2016 and 2019-20, and finished third at the 2021 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in a car run by Garage 59.
“I am delighted to be competing in this championship, which is undoubtedly the toughest in the world of GT3 racing, with a large number of line-ups made up of official drivers," said Thiim, who was also a Spa class winner in 2019. "The Comtoyou Racing team has motivated me enormously and I am looking forward to starting the season with them.”
His fellow countryman added: “With the arrival of the new car, we all have much to learn: the team, the engineers, the drivers and so on. But I am sure we will all enjoy working together. Comtoyou has already proved its qualities as a team and we are highly motivated."
Drudi, meanwhile, is a new addition to the British marque's factory roster. The Italian joins following a five-year stint with Audi Sport and off the back of a stellar 2023 in which he won the Fanatec GT Europe Sprint Cup title. He is also a former Spa podium finisher having come home second at the 2020 edition.
“I am really looking forward to my first season as an official Aston Martin Racing driver,” said Drudi. “And to share the car with such fast and experienced team-mates as Nicki and Marco is an honour. In 2023, I witnessed Comtoyou's GT debut as an opponent and they immediately demonstrated their potential. With the new Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, I think we can have great ambitions."
Comtoyou team principal Jean-Michel Baert expressed his ambition to fight for overall victory at the squad's home event.
“As a Belgian team, it is clear that the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa was one of the reasons why we decided to enter the GT category," said Baert. "To be able to start the centenary edition with Aston Martin is a source of pride. Knowing that we will be doing it with such a prestigious line-up of drivers, fully capable of aiming for victory, further strengthens our motivation!”
While its Endurance Cup line-up is set Comtoyou is yet to reveal its full 2024 programme, which is expected to include multiple cars in Sprint and Endurance.
“We are still in discussions to finalise our crews,” confirmed team manager François Verbist. “We have a great many contacts and we are still open to last-minute discussions. Our objective is clear: to put together the best possible crews, while also taking into account the constraints faced by a team like ours.”
Comtoyou Racing will be on-track during the Fanatec GT Europe Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on 5/6 March. The Endurance Cup opens at the same venue (5–7 April) while the first Sprint encounter takes place at Brands Hatch (4–5 May).