How Aston Martin scaled new heights in the Prodrive era

The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off at Spa this weekend, but for the first time since its 2012 inception there will be no factory-run Aston Martins in the GTE Pro class. That's especially notable because as a works entity, the Prodrive era of Aston Martin Racing that began in 2005 has been a success from the very start.

Gary Watkins Apr 27, 2021, 1:18 PM

Upd: May 9, 2021, 8:11 AM

One page of A4 paper. That’s all the original deal between Aston Martin and Prodrive stretched to back in 2004. It hardly seemed the stuff of a successful and enduring partnership, but that’s what it has turned out to be.

Six class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours and nine World Endurance Championship titles are among those successes, and that’s not to mention the 323 racing Astons built over the past 17 and a bit years.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 32nd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 75 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Autoweek, Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.