On May 5 2012, Aston Martin Racing will be seen at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the second round of the series of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign. Factory regulars Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (D) and Adrian Fernandez (MX) will drive the V8-powered Vantage GTE, its first competitive event in Europe.
The team will get to this circuit after having had two favorable finishes in the WEC and American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The Gulf-liveried Vantage GTE, on its racing debut, ranked third in the GTE Pro category on the WEC season opener at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Florida last March. In the middle of April, it then got fifth place on the ALMS qualifier at Long Beach, California. This is a stunning feat, considering that the team began at the back of the GTE field after heavy rain resulted to the abandonment of the qualifying level. Now with a length of 4.352 miles, the Spa circuit is not new to endurance racing as it has been hosting a 24-hour race since the 1920s and a 1000km race since the 1950s.
Aston Martin was the winner in both 1955 and 1957. In the past few years, the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (previously known as the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps) has given the final opportunity for teams and drivers to be ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the grandest race on the international endurance racing calendar.
