Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Targets Nürburgring 24h Glory
Aston Martin renews its long, successful association with the formidable Nürburgring Nordschleife this weekend as the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 pursues overall glory in the ADAC Ravenol 24H Nürburgring, fielded by partner teams Walkenhorst Motorsport, PROsport and Dörr Motorsport. Just days after the Heart of Racing guided Vantage to fourth in the 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGT3 class, the legendary German venue hosts the second of three consecutive world-famous 24-hour endurance races, and Aston Martin will chase a second-straight overall triumph at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa a week later.
Nine Vantages—built to GT3 and GT4 specifications—carry the British ultra-luxury marque’s hopes around the 15.8-mile circuit that the motorsport world names the “Green Hell”. The Nordschleife, famous for its relentless bumps, crests, and blind curves, punishes even tiny mistakes with its capricious microclimate, narrow tree-lined straights, and an entry that accommodates up to 150 cars.
Aston Martin’s winning tradition at the Nürburgring stretches back more than six decades. Sir Stirling Moss recorded a hat-trick of 1000 km victories in the 1950s, including the 1959 race that clinched the World Sports Car Championship crown in the same year the DBR1 secured its celebrated victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Since returning to sports car racing in the mid-2000s, the brand has participated in every Nürburgring 24 Hours, accumulating ten class wins and over 25 podiums across successive generations of the Vantage.
The company now entrusts the ultra-successful Walkenhorst Motorsport—winner of the 2018 Spa 24 Hours and the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series—to run three Vantage GT3s in the SP9 Pro, Pro-Am, and Am categories. Each racer shares mechanical architecture with the marque’s most focused road car, built around a bonded aluminium chassis and propelled by a ferocious twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8. Works drivers headline the #34 SP9 Pro Vantage: Nordschleife specialist David Pittard, who claimed overall victory in 2023, joins two-time FIA WEC GT champion Nicki Thiim, the 2013 winner. Mattia Drudi, fresh from Spa success, makes his event debut as the only driver tackling the Le Mans-Nürburgring-Spa triple, while 2018 Spa victor Christian Krognes—lap record-holder on the NLS layout—completes the quartet.
Oliver Söderström, Anders Buchardt and Nico Hantke steer another Vantage GT3 in SP9 Pro-Am, with Krognes also listed in the #35. The #30 Vantage contest SP9 Am features four class winners: team founder Henry Walkenhorst, Jörg Breuer, Stefan Aust, and Christian Bollrath. Walkenhorst also fields a Vantage GT4 in SP10 for Aris Balanian, Hermann Vortkamp, Jean-Christophe David and Josh Hansen.
PROsport Racing enters three cars across as many classes. Two-time GT World Challenge Europe Silver Cup champion and multiple Nürburgring 24 Hours podium finisher Nico Bastian anchors the #37 Vantage GT3 in SP9 Pro-Am alongside class winner Marek Böckmann and Steven Palette, who triumphed on his only previous appearance in 2012. Yannik Himmels, Michel Albers, Jörg Viebahn and Benjamin Hites share the #175 Vantage GT4 in SP10, while father-and-son duo Guido and Maxime Dumarey partner Raphael Rennhofer and Marcel Marchewicz in the #140 Vantage GT4 for SP8T.
Dörr Motorsport, which delivered Vantage’s most recent class victory in 2022, adds two Vantage GT4s in SP10. Peter Posavac and Michael Funke helm the #169, with Sven Schädler and Frank Weishar in the #179; the team will confirm additional drivers before the start.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “For fans of endurance racing, 2025 is a particularly special year as three of the world’s most prestigious 24-hour races, at Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa, are held on successive weekends. Aston Martin has a special connection with each of the three events, with the Vantage platform placing our partner teams as contenders in each. The Nürburgring 24 Hours has a unique atmosphere, and the sheer challenge of its 15.7-mile track, bordered by its unforgiving barriers, not to mention the size of the entry list, are just two factors that make winning here such a huge challenge. Vantage has been ultra-competitive in both the GT3 and GT4 series this year, so naturally, our target is to see our partner teams challenge for victory. Aston Martin is globally renowned but proud of its roots, and to potentially become the first British manufacturer to win this race outright is a significant milestone to aim for. In Walkenhorst Motorsport, PROsport Racing and Dörr Motorsport, we have three partner teams who know how to succeed on track, and we wait to see what they can achieve.”
Aston Martin debuted at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2006 with a near-standard V8 Vantage that inspired the hugely successful GT4 version. The marque has since earned notable class victories, including SP9T success in 2018 when Maxime Martin, Thiim, Darren Turner and Marco Sørensen steered a V12 Vantage GT3 to fourth overall—the brand’s best finish. The previous-generation Vantage GT4 captured SP8T honours in 2019, Garage 59 secured third with an upgraded GT8R in 2020, and Dörr Motorsport sealed a Vantage GT4 one-two in SP8T on the car’s 2022 debut while also taking third in SP10.
First qualifying for the ADAC Ravenol 24H Nürburgring begins at 13:00 local time (noon BST) on Thursday, 19 June, and the race starts at 16:00 (15:00 BST) on Saturday. Fans can follow live timing and streaming through the official series websites and apps.
