Aston Martin Le Mans Festival boasts bumper grid

This year’s Michelin Aston Martin Le Mans Festival will provide more than 250,000 motorsport fans with the chance to see first-hand more Aston Martin Racing cars race side-by-side on the Circuit de la Sarthe than ever before.

The 45-minute event, which takes place on the full 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit on the same day as the start of the 24-hour race, will allow fans to hear the scream of the Aston Martin DBR1-2, the roar of the Le Mans-winning DBR9, and enjoy battles in the GTE, GT3 and GT4 classes.

... now Aston Martin’s Vulcan and Vantage GT12 track-inspired cars will also be equipped with Michelin tyres,

Andy Palmer

Aston Martin Racing Customer Programmes Manager Andrew Williamson said: “There are very few manufacturers that can fill a grid with such a wide range of race cars – from LMP1 to GT4s.

“Aston Martin Racing has been designing and building class-winning cars for the past 11 years and seeing so many of them here in one place reminds us of how successful each model has been.”

Highlights of the field include the race-inspired Aston Martin Vantage GT12 driven by company CEO Dr Andy Palmer, while the festival race will also be the first outing for Beechdean AMR’s new Vantage GTE with team-owner Andrew Howard taking the wheel.

Roald Goethe will bring two cars from his famous ROFGO Collection, the DBR1-2 and the iconic DBR9, and Young Driver team-owner Jan Struve has entered their V12 Zagato and Vantage GT2.

Paul White and Tom Onslow-Cole will drive their Bilstein-liveried Vantage GT3 – the same car that led Nürburgring 24 Hours for ten hours in 2013 – while celebrity baker turned racing driver Paul Hollywood will race a Vantage GT4, alongside Aston Martin Racing’s CEO David Richards, to fulfill his lifelong dream of racing at Le Mans.

Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “This Festival race is a superb celebration of Aston Martin Racing’s achievements over the last decade. Seeing so many of our iconic sports cars in action in one place is sure to provide the Le Mans crowds – many of whom are confirmed fans of our brand – with a memory to treasure.”

Aston Martin Racing’s Le Mans Festival race is sponsored by Michelin, further cementing the relationship between the two brands.

“It’s great to have Michelin as our title sponsor,” said Andrew Williamson. “Our relationship with the brand is going from strength-to-strength. Our five Vantage GTEs will compete on their tyres in the main race and now Aston Martin’s Vulcan and Vantage GT12 track-inspired cars will also be equipped with Michelin tyres, designed and engineered from years of experience in endurance racing.

“These relationships are essential to our success. We are here celebrating eleven years of Aston Martin Racing and some of our partners, such as our fuel tank supplier ATL, have been with us since day one.”

The Michelin Aston Martin Le Mans Festival starts at 11.15 on Saturday 13 June and the race will be shown on Motors TV towards the end of July (time TBC).

Aston Martin Racing