Aston exits WEC and ends GTE Pro programme

[S1-NOS]

I knew I shouldn’t have bought that t-shirt....

https://media.astonmartin.com/world-endurance-gt-c...

[Graze01]

It's disappointing to my mind as it is far more relevant to the cars we drive than F1 racing.

Graze

[dbs2000]

Far more relevant and entertaining than F1, the team and drivers were way more entertaining than the F1 drones.

[Tyre Smoke]

Prodrive saying ironically it means they can provide more customer cars to privateers in future and it may well mean more Astons not less.

[Jon39]

I wonder whether Paul Dalla Lana will continue.
He was the amateur driver, and I guess the financier, of the GTE-Am Vantage and regularly raced at the Le Mans 24 hour race.
It was one of the Aston Martin Racing Team cars.

If he does continue as a customer team with the GTE model, that might be our only chance of being able to follow an Aston Martin at Le Mans.

[Mr.Tremlini]

Graze01 said:

It's disappointing to my mind as it is far more relevant to the cars we drive than F1 racing.

Couldn`t agree more. The headline should probably read; World Endurance GT Champions Aston Martin have their budget taken for F1 2021

[EVR]

Graze01 said:

It's disappointing to my mind as it is far more relevant to the cars we drive than F1 racing.

Graze

So true.

[David Ramsbotham]

My thoughts are with all the Team members who worked so hard to make this season the huge success it was!
I hope they are all to be looked after in some way or other and no one is discarded as a reward for success.

[Tyre Smoke]

Jon39 said:

I wonder whether Paul Dalla Lana will continue.
He was the amateur driver, and I guess the financier, of the GTE-Am Vantage and regularly raced at the Le Mans 24 hour race.
It was one of the Aston Martin Racing Team cars.

If he does continue as a customer team with the GTE model, that might be our only chance of being able to follow an Aston Martin at Le Mans.

TF Motorsport run a Vantage. They race in the WEC.

[Emilio Largo]

I´m afraid I will be able to see next to nothing of the forthcoming AMR Formula 1 engagement as RTL have decided to withdraw from Formula 1 after many, many years so there will be no free TV coverage in my country. I understand there is a similar situation in Britain? If so, I wonder what impact this will have on AML´s hopes for a marketing effect?

dbs2000 said:

... drivers were way more entertaining than the F1 drones.

I always liked the notoriously good-humoured Paul Dalla Lana for example. Pic from better days:

[Jon39]

Emilio Largo said:

I'm afraid I will be able to see next to nothing of the forthcoming AMR Formula 1 engagement as RTL have decided to withdraw from Formula 1 after many, many years so there will be no free TV coverage in my country. I understand there is a similar situation in Britain? If so, I wonder what impact this will have on AML´s hopes for a marketing effect?

Exactly the same situation for me in the UK. I have enjoyed live satellite coverage from RTL Germany for many years, since the original free live F1 broadcasts went to Sky TV.

I don't speak German, but with a live timing screen in addition to the TV, lack of commentary did not matter.
F1 who provide the worldwide video, seem to like taking Sky TV money, so that is probably one reason RTL lost the gig. Almost no free F1 coverage anywhere now.
Even the free 'repeat later' broadcast we have here on Channel 4, I think must be subject to contract restrictions. Enormously edited track time coverage, whereas talking between the presenters goes on longer than the racing.

Did you notice the announcement of an option to purchase shares, given to Aston Martin by Racing Point?
Considering AML don't have any money, they now have the right to buy the shares for £200 million.
Do you think 'two hats' Lawrence Stroll will sign that cheque, when RP need some new cars?
It has been suggested that AML will pay a similar amount to Racing Point, as they did to Red Bull (possibly over £10m) and many millons to Sebastion Vettel, for his new 'job' as AML Ambassador.

[LTP]

Jon39 said:

It has been suggested that AML will pay a similar amount to Racing Point, as they did to Red Bull (possibly over £10m) and many millons to Sebastion Vettel, for his new 'job' as AML Ambassador.

At least with Red Bull AML had access to some technology, to the point of a joint engineering facility which worked on Valkyrie and Valhalla, plus access to Adrian Newey (for good or bad). I wonder what they'll get from Racing Point? A copy of last year's AMG GT and some designer Ralph Lauren or Michael Kors overalls?

[Red9zero]

Jon39 said:

I wonder whether Paul Dalla Lana will continue.
He was the amateur driver, and I guess the financier, of the GTE-Am Vantage and regularly raced at the Le Mans 24 hour race.
It was one of the Aston Martin Racing Team cars.

If he does continue as a customer team with the GTE model, that might be our only chance of being able to follow an Aston Martin at Le Mans.

Love cheering him on at LM. Spoke to him a couple of times too and he seems a good bloke too. He crashed right in front of our grandstand a few years back, a couple of laps before the finished. He was in tears stood by the car, but got a huge round of applause from everyone.

[Jon39]

Red9zero said:

Jon39 said:

I wonder whether Paul Dalla Lana will continue.
He was the amateur driver, and I guess the financier, of the GTE-Am Vantage and regularly raced at the Le Mans 24 hour race.
It was one of the Aston Martin Racing Team cars.

If he does continue as a customer team with the GTE model, that might be our only chance of being able to follow an Aston Martin at Le Mans.

Love cheering him on at LM. Spoke to him a couple of times too and he seems a good bloke too. He crashed right in front of our grandstand a few years back, a couple of laps before the finish. He was in tears stood by the car, but got a huge round of applause from everyone.

I was watching on television. It was so sad. Not sure whether he was under pressure for position, but only had to keep going for a little longer. Went into the startline chicane, turn left, then turn ri ..... oops straight on into a wall. I never found out what went wrong. Looked just like steering failure, but cannot believe that would have occurred.

[Red9zero]

Jon39 said:

I was watching on television. It was so sad. Not sure whether he was under pressure for position, but only had to keep going for a little longer. Went into the startline chicane, turn left, then turn ri ..... oops straight on into a wall. I never found out what went wrong. Looked just like steering failure, but cannot believe that would have occurred.

At the time RLM just said he overcooked it. I was gutted for him. So close !

[krisdelta]

Astonishing decision considering their success at LM over the last 8 years - to my mind much more relatable than an F1 car with an AM sticker on the side! It was at LM in 2019 I decided to by another Vantage after watching them fly around for a weekend.. the noise

[Jon39]

krisdelta said:

Astonishing decision considering their success at LM over the last 8 years - to my mind much more relatable than an F1 car with an AM sticker on the side!
It was at LM in 2019 I decided to by another Vantage after watching them fly around for a weekend.. the noise

As of course you know Kris, you witnessed the very last Le Mans 24 race by the 2005 generation Vantage.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/06/12/dalla-lan...





The winner that year of the GTE-Am class (Porsche), finished 51 laps behind the race winner !
Illustrates just how fast Fernando Alonso's Toyota was.
There are some great on-board night videos, from that Toyota on YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KGdP7l7Qh3Q

Some overtakes make other competitors look like Sunday outing drivers.

[Nbgring]

said:

A New Era – Aston Martin returns to Formula 1™
For the first time in six decades, the Aston Martin name has returned to Grand Prix racing and will make its race debut at the start of the 2021 Formula 1™ season in Melbourne.

After having enjoyed great success in sportscar racing in recent years, highlighted by multiple class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, now the time has come for us to commit to the most famous of all motorsport arenas: Formula One™.

The Aston Martin Formula One™ Team will reveal its 2021 livery and driver line-up, featuring four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and multiple Grand Prix podium finisher Lance Stroll at the home of Aston Martin, Gaydon, in February 2021.

A clear and consistent new focus of Aston Martin´s motorsports efforts. Formula 1 participation will reach far more potential customers than the almost invisible GTE efforts in FIA-WEC. The exit of the GTE factory class is unavoidable due to extremely high cost and low marketing benefits in the third fastest class within the endurance races. Ford, BMW and Chevrolet Corvette exited the class after coming to the same conclusion: GT-racing should be customer racing - and due to cost reasons this should have a focus on continental championships.
The future is therefore GT3 racing in the GT Challenge Europe (former Blancpain Series) and national European championships with relatively economic cars (GT3 are about 500 k£, GTE double that amount?).
The top level will be the F1 effort with its superior reach compared to WEC. Agreed budget and cost reductions in F1 seem to make this a more sustainable activity than ever before.

[Tyre Smoke]

I'm not aware that Corvette have left GT racing? They still compete in the IMSA series.

[krisdelta]

Jon39 said:

krisdelta said:

Astonishing decision considering their success at LM over the last 8 years - to my mind much more relatable than an F1 car with an AM sticker on the side!
It was at LM in 2019 I decided to by another Vantage after watching them fly around for a weekend.. the noise

As of course you know Kris, you witnessed the very last Le Mans 24 race by the 2005 generation Vantage.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/06/12/dalla-lan...


The winner that year of the GTE-Am class (Porsche), finished 51 laps behind the race winner !
Illustrates just how fast Fernando Alonso's Toyota was.
There are some great on-board night videos, from that Toyota on YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KGdP7l7Qh3Q

Some overtakes make other competitors look like Sunday outing drivers.

It was noteable just how quiet the new-gen Vantage is (in race format) compared to the outgoing monster. What a weekend it was! Hopefully 2021 will allow the race to go ahead in the normal manner with some Vantages on-show.