Thiim and Sørensen are all set to defend their crown

The Banbury team has announced its three car line-up for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Fielding two V8 Vantage GTE cars in GTE Pro and one in GTE Am, the team’s entry to the series and this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans was confirmed by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest in Le Mans.

Piloting this year’s #95 will be returning WEC GT Drivers’ world champions Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen. The Danish duo, who took the title at the final round in Bahrain last year, will take to the wheel of their V8 Vantage GTE, bidding to retain their title crowns.

Thiim said: “For me, the best racing at the moment is in the GT championships where the cars are so close and well balanced.

“Our rivals have more motivation than ever to prove themselves against us and we’ll be right there doing our best to keep ourselves at the front.”

Sørensen added: “After we’ve shown that we can be world champions, it motivates us even more to do the same again this year and prove that we can do it again. That will be our main goal.”

The sister #97 entry will feature the British pairing of Darren Turner and Jonny Adam.

With both drivers taking European and British title honours in 2016 at the wheel of Aston Martin machinery, they’ll be looking to secure success on the world stage this season.

Adam said: “Partnering with Darren is something I’m very much looking forward to. We’ve raced together on and off for the past couple of years, so it’s incredibly exciting to announce that I’ll be joining someone with that experience and speed on a full time basis.

“Bahrain last year was promising after qualifying on pole and leading big parts of the race and I see no reason why we can’t carry that through to this season.”

With a third driver required in each car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team will make an announcement on its additional GTE Pro drivers in the coming weeks.

In GTE Am, the familiar trio of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda will contest the full FIA World Endurance Championship. After winning five of the series’ nine rounds last season, the crew will be looking to convert their strong form into victories.

Aston Martin Racing return to competition at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s opening round at Silverstone in April.