Aston Martin has confirmed a third Gulf-liveried 'works' entry for Le Mans, with the announcement today that Anthony Davidson, Jos Verstappen and Stuart Hall will be joining its official LMP1 campaign.
Davidson and Verstappen are both former F1 drivers with little experience at Le Mans. Davidson drove for Prodrive at the 24hrs in 2003, while Verstappen won his class in an LMP2 Spyder last year. However, both picks are likely to be applauded by British race-fans, and fit the bill perfectly for a team that's playing the 'popular underdog' card. The third newly-announced driver Stuart Hall has more directly relevant experience, having raced LMP1 cars for the last two years at Le Mans.
'Particularly as a British driver, racing for a team as prestigious as Aston Martin is a fantastic opportunity,' says Davidson. 'I know the team and its capabilities extremely well from the past, and I’m convinced that there is nobody better prepared to tackle all the challenges that Le Mans will present us with. At the test I felt comfortable with the car straight away, and now I’m looking forward to taking the fight to the other teams at Le Mans. I’m certainly aiming for us to be the quickest petrol car there and hopefully we can get in amongst the diesels as well.'
Gratuitous Aston pic - racing at Spa
Verstappen, who spent nearly a decade racing in F1 for teams including Benetton, Stewart, Arrows and Minardi says: 'I’m very excited to be joining Aston Martin Racing for such a legendary event as the Le Mans 24 Hours. Although I spent nine years in Formula One this will only be my second Le Mans but it is every bit as special to me. I said to myself that I would only do Le Mans if it was with a professional team at the very top level and in Aston Martin Racing I have certainly found that. I’m looking forward to testing the car soon, but the main thing for Le Mans is reliability. I’m sure that driving for Aston Martin Racing is going to be a fantastic and memorable experience.'
Aston Martin Racing chairman David Richards is upbeat about the team's chances: 'Our nine-strong driver line-up now allows us to run three LMP1 cars at Le Mans, and I am sure that our trio of blue and orange racing cars will make an amazing spectacle at what is almost certainly the toughest and most famous race in the world. I believe that we now have an excellent blend of youth and experience amongst our three cars on this very important anniversary in our rich racing history.'
Although Aston hasn't announced which drivers will be teamed-up in the three works cars, Autosport suggests the following combinations are planned:
Stefan Mucke, Tomas Enge and Jan Charouz
Stuart Hall, Harold Primat and Miguel Ramos
Darren Turner, Anthony Davidson and Jos Verstappen