Walkenhorst Motorsport has completed its three-car line-up for what will be the team's maiden Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS campaign with Aston Martin.
The German squad has switched brands this year following a long association with BMW, which yielded an overall victory at the 2018 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. It has committed to a three-car programme, with each of its new Vantage GT3s set to contest the Endurance Cup.
Henrique Chaves, Ross Gunn and David Pittard will share the wheel of its Pro car, while a Silver Cup crew has also been revealed comprising Romain Leroux, Lorcan Hanafin and Maxime Robin. They join the previously announced Bronze Cup entry of Tim Creswick, Ben Green and Mex Jansen.
Chaves is a new addition to the AMR factory line-up, though the Portuguese ace is no stranger to the brand having driven a Vantage to GTE Am class honours at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022. His Fanatec GT Europe résumé includes class wins and titles with Barwell Motorsport and Garage 59, driving Lamborghini and McLaren machinery alongside fellow countryman Miguel Ramos.
Gunn will require no introduction for Aston aficionados. A factory driver since 2016, the Englishman earned his stripes by winning the British GT4 crown in 2015 alongside Jamie Chadwick. He has since been a regular in the FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA and the ELMS. Gunn has also made four starts at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, finishing third overall for Aston Martin in 2021.
Pittard is a familiar face in the Walkenhorst garage having previously raced for the team between 2019 and 2021, before joining the Aston family in 2022. Considered something of a specialist at the Nordschleife, he also ran the full Endurance schedule for Walkenhorst in 2021 and has made four appearances at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Leroux is set for his second season in the series having driven the previous generation Vantage for Bullitt Racing last term. In 2022 the youngster finished as runner-up in ADAC GT4 Germany at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage, which was followed by a step up to Fanatec GT Europe last term. The #33 Aston took a best finish of fourth in class at the Nürburgring.
Hanafin made his debut at the final race of 2023 and impressed with his pace, helping ST Racing with Rinaldi to secure a breakthrough Pro-Am class win. The Brit has previous experience in a variety of international series, including the ELMS, Porsche Supercup and the Asian Le Mans Series.
The line-up is completed by Robin, who will contest his second full Endurance Cup programme. The Frenchman drove an Audi for Team WRT in 2022, earning three podiums and finishing fourth in what is now the Bronze Cup class. He spent 2023 in the ELMS and also made a one-off appearence for Bullitt Racing alongside new teammate Leroux at the Barcelona finale.
"We are proud of our line-up in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup," said Walkenhorst Motorsport managing director Niclas Königbauer. "Our Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be driven by factory drivers and fast, talented youngsters! Plus Timothy Creswick, a fast gentleman driver who has already proven his abilities.
"The highlight of the season is of course the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, where we want to repeat our overall victory from 2018, but we are also confident of fighting for the title in the overall standings of the three classes! We are all already looking forward to the season opener in France at the beginning of April."
All images by Paragraph5