YRB Planning Full-Time Aston GTD Pro Program Next Year

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

YRB Racing is planning to mount a full season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro program with at least one Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo next year according to team principal Christopher Deely.

The ex-Van der Steur Racing team, which rebranded shortly before last month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, has revealed further details of its aspirations, although has remained silent on the identity of the new owner or ownership group.

Deely, who previously served as the team manager and engineer with the family-run squad, is now team principal, with its current staff retained amid the transfer in ownership, along with Aston Martin factory driver Valentin Hasse-Clot.

Speaking to assembled media at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Deely explained the deal came together only in the last three months.

“It’s definitely been quick for us as well but it’s something Vale and I have been working on for a while,” said Deely. “I’ve got to say thank you to Vale for orchestrating all of this; he’s been instrumental behind it all.

“It’s been a positive change for the team. We still maintain the same team we had before but are making steps forward to continue to get better and improve on the track, off the track, everything.

“The goal is to continue to expand and continue to add talent, add personnel. But at the moment we’re still as we were before.”

After scoring a GTD podium finish last time out at Watkins Glen with Hasse-Clot, Trenton Estep and Marius Fossard, the team, which is listed as “Car Blanche” on entry lists, has moved to GTD Pro for this weekend’s round with Hasse-Clot and Scott Andrews as drivers.

“It has always been a goal for us, for Chris and I in the background for two or three years, to one day reach GTD Pro,” said the Frenchman.

“After the change, we decided to go as soon as possible to learn because we could have waited until the end of the year and go testing.

“But at some point, you need to go. So why not now? Especially after a very good weekend in Watkins, our first podium for us.

“We thought it would be the right moment.

“It’s just a color in the background of the number. It’s the same car, the same group of cars around and we already in the top-five after FP1, so I believe we just continue the work we started in Watkins.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us anyway. We just focus on ourselves and I’m sure we will be competitive.”

When asked by Sportscar365 if a full-time GTD Pro effort is the target for next year, Hasse-Clot said: “The plan is to be in GTD Pro for sure next year for sure.”

Deely, however, indicated they could switch back and forth between the two classes this year as it’s “still working” on driver lineups for the remainder of this season.

A second car for 2027 in GTD Pro also hasn’t been ruled out.

“I think in the future, yeah,” he said. “We want to have the strongest effort possible, whatever that means. If that means adding a sister car; we’re definitely exploring that.”

Deely on Identity of Team Owner: “You Know As Much as You Will”

The team has been shrouded in mystery since the initial announcement, as Deely, a mechanical engineer by trade in his late 20s, is not funding the operation.

Instead, it’s understood to be an investor or investment group that has asked to remain anonymous.

Deely said there’s “no plan” to reveal the ownership structure.

“You know as much as you will,” he said. “We’re happy with where we’re at right now. We’re happy with the amount of information that is out on that topic at the moment. That’s the way it will stay.”

The team, however, is understood to hold a link to the Lawrence Stroll-controlled Aston Martin Formula 1 team.

An annual report by AMR GP Holdings Ltd., the company which owns the Aston Martin F1 team disclosed that shares were acquired earlier this year by two entities, including YRB Racing LLC, which is believed to be less than a 2 percent share.

YRB Racing LLC was registered in the U.S. state of Delaware, which is commonly used for privacy reasons.

When asked by Sportscar365 if they’re embracing the mystery behind the team, Deely said: “I know we’re having a lot of fun. This is a new venture. I don’t know if we’re having fun because it’s a mystery.”

Hasse-Clot added: “It’s not on purpose. It’s just how it is. We’re not doing this to entertain people. The story started like that, it’s like that and we’re focusing on the sporting aspect.

“In the end, it seems like a mystery for everyone but it’s not like a marketing plan. It is what it is.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John