In a bid to boost the company’s sporting image, Aston Martin has decided to enter DTM where it will race against BMW and Audi.
The series has announced that Aston Martin will join as a manufacturer in 2019, thanks to a new partnership with Swiss-based R-Motorsport, who has run Aston’s GT program in the past, and HWA, the company belonging to AMG founder Hans Werner Aufrecht, and who also used to manage Mercedes’ DTM efforts.
Aston will not be providing factory support to any of the teams, but it has founded a joint venture with HWA AG in order to develop, build, and run the DTM cars. Aside from that, DTM organizers have confirmed that Aston Martin is planning to compete with a car based on the Aston Martin Vantage starting next year.
Thankfully, it also helps the championship fill the gap left by Mercedes' decision to leave following the 2018 season, as it heads off to chase glory in Formula E. Both Audi and BMW are committed to the series for the foreseeable future and both are happy to see a high-end sport-car manufacturer like Aston join the series, which could potentially attract even more brands.
Audi motorsport boss Dieter Gass believes "that Aston Martin, Audi, and BMW will make for thrilling top-class motorsport.” While BMW motorsport boss Jens Marquardt was quoted as saying added “Aston Martin are well respected and appreciated competitors in GT racing. We are delighted with having the opportunity to now also race against them in DTM.”
The company hasn’t released any images of the car, but expect it to look like a Vantage, but a Vantage that’s also a race car and not really a Vantage at all.
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