Drudi Embracing “New Challenges” With Aston Martin

Mattia Drudi says his program in the FIA World Endurance Championship as an Aston Martin factory driver has allowed him to “explore new challenges,” as it gives him the opportunity to race on a more global scale.

The Italian became part of Aston Martin’s roster of works talent last year, joining the brand after a multi-year stint with Audi.

After capturing overall victory in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in his first season with the British marque, he was then included as part of Heart of Racing’s revamped lineup in WEC.

The 26-year-old made his series debut in last month’s Qatar 1812km, driving alongside Ian James and Zach Robichon and finishing sixth in the LMGT3 class.

Competing in WEC has allowed Drudi to broaden his horizons after his Audi involvement mainly saw him compete in Europe, with the exception of a number of Intercontinental GT Challenge outings at circuits such as Bathurst, Kyalami and Yas Marina.

“I had quite a lot of experience [from my] years with Audi, but there were maybe some limitations on the programs,” Drudi told Sportscar365.

“Like, for sure, they had no GTE cars at the time. They didn’t [enter] LMGT3 and this kind of stuff.

“And I think now, when I joined Aston Martin, I knew I could [get] more chance to race around, let’s say, with WEC, with IMSA, I already did Daytona this year.

“The target was to explore new challenges as well now of course with the Hypercars it’s one of my targets, maybe for the future.  I’m not in a rush.

“I want to [gain] experience in all this championship before making other steps.

“Everything step by step, but that was the target, to race a bit more in new championships. with new people, new teams so I’m really happy about that.”

Although Drudi has multiple 24-hour races under his belt, he has relatively little experience of the multi-class style of racing that typifies WEC outside of a handful of appearances at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Asian Le Mans Series and a short stint racing LMP3 machinery in the European Le Mans Series.

In addition to that, the Aston Martin GT3 car Drudi races in WEC also has a few key differences compared to other championships, which he has also had to get used to.

“It’s for sure a different version of the car with the LMGT3 rules,” Drudi said.

“It’s kind of changed a bit with the torque sensors and tires of course are different.

“It’s mainly endurance races and you need to deal also the traffic with the Hypercars that of course you don’t have in other series. So I think that’s the main thing.

“And then you just need to survive if you travel quite a lot. You have new tracks for me that I’ve never been before because I mainly raced in Europe, just a couple of times out of it.

“So I think I can use my experience but I also need to learn quite a bit of stuff.”

Although he is still relatively fresh into his stint with Aston Martin, his breakthrough 24H Spa victory with Comtoyou Racing, driving alongside Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim, already served as a key milestone.

“I was really happy, like with the new car, with Marco and Nicki,” said Drudi,

“Actually, they are probably the most experienced with Aston Martin Racing.

“We had a really good race and after so many years from the last win for Aston Martin, I think was the best way to start this new, hopefully long chapter in my career.”