Senna Rejoins Aston Martin Racing for Spa

Photo: Drew Gibson/AMR

Bruno Senna will make his return to Aston Martin Racing this weekend, in preparation for the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The Brazilian ex-Formula One driver will join Darren Turner and Stefan Muecke in the No. 97 Vantage V8 for the FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with the same lineup also set to tackle the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic.

“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Vantage GTE,” Senna said. “Spa-Francorchamps is a fantastic track and will be good preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

AMR will again field four Vantage GTE entries, with the only other driver change from the season-opener at Silverstone coming in the No. 95 Young Driver AMR-backed effort, which sees Richie Stanaway take the place of Nicki Thiim, who has prior commitments.

The British squad claimed victory in GTE-Am with Thiim, Kristian Poulsen and David Heinemeier Hansson, while Turner and Muecke managed to take a third place finish in GTE-Pro.

“Silverstone went better than expected because of the changeable weather conditions but Spa will be challenging,” team principal John Gaw said. “We have some of the top GT drivers in the world in our team but we have work to do to match the straight-line speed of our competitors.

“There is also further work to do to get the balance back in the car following the ride-height change required by the organizers this year. Spa-Francorchamps is a fast flowing circuit so more changeable conditions would suit us well.

“However, despite the challenges, we go there, as always, with the aim of winning and we welcome Bruno and Richie back into the WEC mix. We very much see Spa as preparation for Le Mans so we must work hard to catch up with the developments made by our competition during the winter.”

The Astons have been given a 15 kg weight reduction for Spa but maintain the ride height it used in the season-opener two weeks ago.

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