Aston Martin commits to full IGTC season ahead of Bathurst

With this announcement, Aston has become the eighth manufacturer to lodge a full-season entry after Audi, Bentley, BMW, Honda, Lamborghini, Mercedes and Porsche.

The British car maker will start the campaign with four entries in this weekend’s Bathurst 12 Hour, with two Vantages entered by R-Motorsport supplemented by another two cars from Garage 59.

Garage 59’s driver line-up will notably feature factory Aston driver Maxime Martin, who races for the manufacturer in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Martin will be joined by Alex West, Chris Goodwin and Come Ledogar in the team’s Pro-Am entry for what will be his first outing in the legendary Mount Panorama race.

Garage 59’s Silver entry will feature Aston junior Andrew Watson, Olivier Hart and Roman de Angelis. 

R-Motorsport had previously announced that single-seater convert Luca Ghiotto, Marvin Kirchhofer and Olli Caldwell will share the team’s #62 entry, while the #76 Vantage will be driven by five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, Rick Kelly and Jake Dennis.

“This is Aston Martin Racing’s boldest attack on the Bathurst 12 Hours, a race that showcases the very best of what international GT3 racing has to offer,” David King, president of Aston Martin Racing said. 

“We have full confidence that the combination of our two partner teams R-Motorsport and Garage 59, and the growing competitiveness of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, will provide a fierce challenge for honours in Australia. 

“This line-up, and the quality of our partners, represents the perfect time to commit to the overall Manufacturers’ Championship for the first time.” 

Both R-Motorsport and Garage 59 will contest the remaining four rounds of the IGTC series, but it’s unclear how many cars they will field in those races.