Aston Martin Racing has confirmed that Richie Stanaway and Daniel Serra will join its GTE Pro line-up for the opening three rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
AMR had already confirmed that defending champions Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen would be returning to pilot the No. 95 ‘Dane Train’ V8 Vantage GTE in 2017, with Stanaway now joining the pair.
New Season. Same spirit. @AMR_Official are back for more @FIAWEC! Cue the V8 thunder! #WEC pic.twitter.com/G0wJFEop7r
— Aston Martin Racing (@AMR_Official) March 30, 2017
Stanaway has links with Aston Martin dating back to 2013, and raced in six WEC rounds last year, claiming class victory in Mexico alongside Darren Turner.
“It’s great to be back at WEC this weekend and to be back with the team for this season,” Stanaway said.
“Obviously it’s going to be a little different driving with the Danes this year, but having worked with these guys over the past few years, we already understand each other really well.
“Both Marco and Nicki are ultra-quick and I’m hoping we can be challenging for victories straight away at Silverstone, Spa and then for the big one at Le Mans.”
Serra is a new face at AMR, having previously plied his trade in Brazilian stock-car racing and in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the Ferrari-backed Scuderia Corsa.
Serra will race alongside Turner and Jonny Adam in the No. 97 entry this year, making his WEC debut at Silverstone next month.
“What an amazing opportunity it is to be joining Aston Martin Racing in 2017. Having worked with the team last year in testing, it’s great to now step up and have the chance to help fight for strong results, in what is going to be a really competitive field in this year’s WEC,” Serra said.
“I’d like to thank the team for this opportunity and I cannot wait to start working with Darren and Jonny. Both are real professionals on and off the track and I hope we can bring the fight to our rivals this season.”
Stanaway and Serra will feature in the opening three rounds of the 2017 WEC campaign, with two six-hour events at Silverstone and Spa preparing them for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.