ASTON MARTIN SQUAD CONFIRMS BATHURST 12 HOUR LINE-UP

Swiss squad R-Motorsport confirm Bathurst 12 Hour driver line-up – Photo: InSyde Media

INTERNATIONAL Aston Martin squad R-Motorsport, have confirmed their driver line-up for the 2019 edition of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

The team will run two Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3s for the first time at the Mount Panorama Circuit, one each in the Pro and Pro-Am categories.

2019 marks the teams, who is also responsible for Aston Martin’s new DTM program, first GT3 program for the Bathurst 12 Hour after previous entries in the GT4 and Invitational classes.

Competing in the Pro category will be Jake Dennis, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Matthieu Vaxiviere, who also drove for the team in last year’s Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.

In the ProAm category, the two team owners, Andreas Baenziger and Florian Kamelger, will be sharing the cockpit of an Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3 with Australia’s Peter Leemhuis and new signing Brit Matt Parry.

Like Florian Kamelger and Andreas Baenziger, local favourite Leemhuis already has experience of the Mount Panorama Circuit. The Australian partnered Baenziger and Kamelger as recently as November in the 24-hour race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Team newcomer Matt Parry began his career in karting and single-seater racing, including two years in the GP3 racing. In 2016, the Welshman came to prominence by winning a GP3 supporting race on the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. Since the 2017 season, Parry has been competing in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.

“In Jake Dennis, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Matthieu Vaxiviere, we have put together a highly competitive driver combination of proven merit,” says team principal Dr Florian Kamelger.

“In the Pro-Am car, Matt Parry’s experience and record of success will be an asset to our squad. We are delighted to be returning ‘Down Under’ for the GT3 season opener with this driver line-up. The last time we competed at Bathurst was in the GT4 category in 2017. The 12-hour race in Australia is one of the most important GT3 endurance races in the world, and achieving a top result in the classic at Mount Panorama is sure to be a big challenge.”

The Swiss team enters 2019 after a successful debut in the Blancpain Endurance Cup in 2018 where they notched up a maiden victory in the 3-hour race at Silverstone. In the same season, R-Motorsport set a new record in the Blancpain Endurance Series with three pole positions in successive races.

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