Van Uitert to Make GT3 Debut with Comtoyou

LMP2 regular Job van Uitert will make his GT3 racing debut in this weekend’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup opener at Paul Ricard, joining Comtoyou Racing’s Bronze Cup crew.

The Dutch racer will step into the No. 11 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo alongside Bronze-rated driver John de Wilde and Kobe Pauwels, with the latter having debuted for Comtoyou in Endurance Cup last year.

Van Uitert, meanwhile, will embark on his first competitive outings behind the wheel of GT3 machinery after spending the majority of his career racing in prototypes.

The 25-year-old initially moved into the European Le Mans Series’ LMP3 class after transitioning away from single seaters and graduated to LMP2 after winning the title.

Since then, he has won three LMP2 races and raced for G-Drive Racing, United Autosports and Panis Racing. He will dovetail his Endurance Cup commitments with a seventh season in ELMS, joining IDEC Sport.

Comtoyou has also altered the lineup of its No. 12 Aston Martin, entered into the Silver Cup, with Esteban Muth replacing Finlay Hutchison.

Muth, a former DTM racer and Vanwall reserve driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship, will team up alongside Nicolas Baert and Sebastian Ogaard.

Hutchison was initially listed when SRO released the provisional 55-car entry list last week.

The Belgian squad’s first campaign with Aston Martin will be spearheaded by a Pro car driven by Nicki Thiim, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi while the lineup for its second Silver Cup car consists of Matisse Lismont, Sam Dejonghe and Charles Clark.

“We put a great deal of work into finalising our crews, as we wanted to bring together four competitive trios in their class,” said team manager Francois Verbist.

“But I am proud of it! There is a mix of professionals and young drivers with huge appetites. What is more, we will be entering the Bronze Cup for the first time.

“To be honest, we would have liked to have had a little more preparation time, but the Circuit Paul Ricard is a great place to launch our season and build the confidence of our drivers.”