Aston Martin Racing Welcomes 23 New Drivers to Its Academy

A brand-new intake of 23 aspiring young GT drivers has registered for the 2025 Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy as the British luxury sports car brand begins its search to endorse a ninth graduate from the prestigious initiative.

An exciting collection of promising racers, 23 in total, from 14 countries, will collectively compete for at least nine different Aston Martin partner teams in 2025, including 2024 Spa 24 Hours winner and DTM competitors Comtoyou Racing, Nürburgring 24 Hours winners Walkenhorst Motorsport, FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] contenders Racing Spirit of Léman and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] graduates van der Steur Racing.

Front-running domestic Vantage GT3 and GT4 teams such as JMF Motorsport, Mirage Racing, Volante Rosso, Racar Motorsport and Feathers Motorsport also registered aspirants for the pioneering programme.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance, said: “The Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy is now well proven and established. However, it remains unique in its intense focus on driver development and is vital for assessing talent within our partner network. Such is the standard of the programme, former winners such as Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Valentin Hasse Clot all play integral roles in our works driver roster and we are proud to watch the progress they continue to make year on year.”

The initiative has grown exponentially in significance since it began in 2014. It is designed to fast-track talent from Aston Martin Racing’s thriving partner team network and is a way for AMR to contribute to motorsport by investing in and honing future talent.

The scheme has a high success rate and Aston Martin is proud to have furthered the careers of several endurance racing stars, including works Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie drivers Gunn (GBR) and IMSA GTD champion and Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona winner De Angelis (CDN).

Other graduates include multiple GT champion Valentin Hasse-Clot (FRA)—who remains connected to the AMR Racing Driver Academy as a coordinator, driver coach, and judge—GT World Europe racer Romain Leroux (FRA), 2023 graduate Mike David Ortmann (DEU), and 2019 British GT4 champion Tom Canning (GBR). All of them continue to race in Aston Martin programmes around the world.

Indeed, the most recent graduate, Jamie Day, runs multiple programmes in 2025, including GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint campaigns with Comtoyou Racing. He also contested the winter-based Asian Le Mans Series with Earl Bamber Motorsport and competed in the Bathurst 12 Hours with Volante Rosso earlier this year.

An unrivalled platform for learning and development with an established manufacturer, this essential initiative is fine-tuned every year and improved to coach drivers in the early stages of their careers effectively.

Competitors aged between 16 and 26 with Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in recognised championships are eligible. The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2026 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans.

The candidates benefited from a two-day seminar in March that included a tour of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One^® Team Technology Campus, media training with FIA World Endurance Championship commentator Louise Beckett, simulator training at Base Performance, a comprehensive fitness assessment, including a bespoke training programme and nutrition plan, Aston Martin Racing in-house commercial training and a factory-based engineering workshop to further their understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage.

The participants will now be comprehensively assessed throughout the season as the judging panel receives feedback from partner teams, work drivers, and AMR engineers at events.

The judging panel includes three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD class champion Darren Turner (GBR), four-time British GT champion and two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Jonny Adam (GBR), former Academy winner and works driver Hasse Clot, Head of AMR Academy Rachel Adam, AMR Head of Performance Gus Beteli, and Head of AMR Partner Racing Huw Tasker.

The panel will evaluate each driver’s ability to manage their role’s strategic, teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects.

Finally, at the end of the season, the outstanding candidate will have demonstrated the most potential to develop their talent for the future.

2024 Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy Candidates