Aston Martin unveil car and their line-up for new season

Darren Turner will again be part of Aston Martin's driver line-up

As part an exciting new collaboration with global energy supplier TOTAL and tyre supplier Dunlop, the Banbury team launched the new car at Gaydon on Friday.

The premiere GT-racing outfit, which enters its 12th year of competition, will field a three-car campaign in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Two more cars will contest the GTE Pro class and there will be a single entry in GTE Am. The three entries will look to extend the brand’s 23 overall wins in FIA WEC, more than any other manufacturer.

With a raft of new regulation changes including a greater freedom on aero development, the team has unveiled its latest 2016 V8 Vantage GTE. The car which will support the outfit’s GTE Pro entries.

Boasting a fully re-designed aerodynamic package including a distinctly pronounced new rear diffuser, the team remains confident that it will be able to challenge at the sharp end of what will prove to be an extremely competitive WEC field.

To extract the ultimate performance from a world-class GT racer, a high-calibre squad of drivers is essential. Aston Martin Racing has retained familiar faces but now has a balanced line-up in its GTE Pro entries, with all drivers on long-term contracts.

The #95 GTE Pro entry will see the Danish pair of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen join British stalwart Darren Turner.

The second Pro entry of #97 will be occupied by the equally exciting trio of Kiwi Richie Stanaway, Britain’s Jonny Adam and Brazilian Fernando Rees.

In GTE Am, the #98 will return with an unchanged line-up as Paul Dalla Lana hunts success alongside Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda.

Team boss John Gaw said: “We’re pleased to welcome our new sponsors and technical collaborators to the Aston Martin fold.

“With an extremely competitive World Endurance Championship ahead of us, I’m confident we have our strongest driver line-up to date and we can expect plenty of success throughout.”

Aston Martin Racing’s 2016 season kicks off with The Prologue, the official WEC test session at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on 25 and 26 March.

The opening round of the championship, the Six Hours of Silverstone, takes place in April and Nürburgring 24 Hours begins in May.