SRO GT Academy Winner to Drive Walkenhorst Aston

Inaugural SRO GT Academy winner Gaspard Simon will race a Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup this season.

The 19-year-old impressed during an FFSA French GT campaign last year in which he took two victories at the wheel of an Alpine A110 GT4 Evo to secure the SRO prize.

The Frenchman received €150,000 towards either a GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli or GTWC Europe campaign and has now been confirmed as tackling the latter. His Walkenhorst co-driver for the Sprint Cup attack is yet to be announced.

“Having assessed possibilities with other teams and brands, I am delighted to announce my partnership with Walkenhorst Motorsport,” said Simon.

“Thanks to the support of the SRO GT Academy and the FFSA Academy, I will be ideally prepared. I am highly motivated to take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

Long-time BMW squad Walkenhorst made the switch to Aston machinery in 2024 and enjoyed Silver Cup success in the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa last year.

“Walkenhorst Motorsport has proven that it can develop young talents and accompany them on their way into professional motorsport,” said managing director Jörg Breuer.

“Gaspard has impressed with his pure speed, and I am convinced that he will also demonstrate his skills in the GT World Sprint Cup.”

SRO’s GT Academy will expand this year, which will see four drivers, one each from the regional GTWC series as well as British GT, form a lineup for the 2027 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in a fully funded car.

The new initiative will run alongside a program in GT2 European Series powered by Pirelli, where the prize on offer is a seat with a Mercedes-AMG customer team for the following season’s GTWC Europe Endurance Cup.