GMB Motorsport Confirms Aston Martin for Le Mans, ELMS

Danish squad GMB Motorsport has confirmed that it will run an Aston Martin Vantage GTE at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and full-time in the European Le Mans Series next year.

The team led by former driver Casper Elgaard will spend one season in the GTE ranks before Le Mans and ELMS organizer the ACO replaces the platform with a GT3-based category in 2024.

GMB Motorsport earned an automatic invitation to next year’s centennial Le Mans by winning the Michelin Le Mans Cup with a three-car stable of Honda NSX GT3 Evo22s.

Because Honda does not have a GTE car, the team went in search of an available car from a different manufacturer to fulfill its automatic entry.

It soon settled on Aston Martin, with which Elgaard finished third in the GT1 class at Le Mans in 2007 driving for Larbre Competition. He also piloted a Massive Motorsport V12 Vantage GT3 in the 2015 ELMS when the series previously accepted GT3 cars.

It is understood that GMB has purchased a single Vantage GTE that is set to complement its continuing Honda program in the ELMS-supporting Le Mans Cup.

Gustav Birch, Jens Reno Moller and TCR Denmark champion Kasper H. Jensen have been confirmed as the all-Danish driver lineup after competing in the Hondas this year.

“Going into a championship like this and becoming part of the ACO family, we knew that if we were good enough to win the championship, we had to go in that [GTE] direction,” Elgaard told Sportscar365.

“Yes, it’s for one year, but we’ll be there. If we want to stay where we are, the car can be changed to the GT3 regulations.

“We gained the Le Mans entry and definitely want to take that up. That means that we have to buy a new car. It is obviously a massive investment, but GTE cars are special.

“If we keep it long enough, it’s not going to be a bad investment.

“Although our plans are still young, next year we will have a car in ELMS and in 2024 we’ll have at least two in ELMS or WEC.”

Elgaard explained that GMB also considered Porsche and Ferrari for its one-year GTE foray, before ultimately going with the Aston Martin which can be converted from GTE to GT3 spec.

The team principal previously drove Porsche RS Spyders in LMP2, while team owner Rene Birch is a Ferrari enthusiast.

“I have history with Aston and Porsche, so for me it’s one of those two,” Elgaard said.

“We have an owner who likes Ferrari, but I didn’t know anyone from there. Before we started to know who to talk to, it was important to go in a direction where we knew some of the key people.

“I knew the race engineer that I wanted and would fit in our team. For me, the spirit of the team and the way we work together is very important.

“I see a racing team a bit like a football team. It doesn’t matter if you have the 11 best players in the world if they don’t play together. I feel it’s important to bring the right people in the right positions and make sure that everybody works well.

“That was very important and one of the main reasons why went in this direction.”

Elgaard added that GMB is relishing the opportunity to represent Denmark at Le Mans next year.

“Every Danish driver’s dream is to go to Le Mans,” he said.

“Since my racing career decreased, I started my first own team in 2012 and I have the same goals as a team manager that I had as a racing driver.

“One of them was to bring a team to Le Mans and trying to be on the other side of the fence. It’s a huge dream coming true next year for us.

“It’s early, but because of the group of people that we have, even though we’re just one year old as a team, we have such great guys that we will be strong enough.”

Head of Aston Martin Racing partnerships Huw Tasker said: “We have known some of the team members for many years
and with our close working relationship with Danish drivers and staff, it will be, no doubt, an enjoyable working relationship and we’re looking forward to reaching new heights together.”