Aston Martin Racing has revealed the 24 Driver Academy candidates that are set to compete for AMR support and a test in a Vantage GT3 in 2024.
The initiative, run annually, is designed to fast-track talent from within AMR’s partner team network and is open to drivers aged between 17 and 26 competing in Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in eligible championships.
The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2024 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans. Further evaluation of the most outstanding candidates may also include a test in a Vantage GT3 at the end of the 2023 season.
The candidates benefit from a three-day seminar that includes media training with FIA World Endurance Championship commentator Louise Beckett, simulator training at Base Performance, a DNAFit assessment including a bespoke training programme and nutrition plan, Aston Martin Racing in-house commercial training and a factory-based engineering workshop to further their understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage.
The judging panel includes three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner Darren Turner, four-time British GT champion Jonny Adam, former Academy winner and works driver Valentin Hasse Clot, AMR Head of Performance Gus Beteli and Head of AMR Partner Racing Huw Tasker. The judges will help decide on a winner by evaluating each driver’s ability to manage the strategic, teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects of their role.
This year’s graduate was 2021 FFSA GT4 champion and 2022 ADAC GT4 runner up Romain Leroux, who emerged as the best candidate from the selection of 22 candidates last year.
The 20-year-old Parisian joins a growing list of Aston Martin star graduates that includes IMSA GTD Pro front-runner Ross Gunn, reigning IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis, works driver Valentin Hasse Clot and former British GT4 champion Tom Canning.
He was praised as a standout by AMR for his “extraordinary consistency in all categories and for his attitude towards the Academy processes, as well as his willingness to mentor other younger and less experienced AMR Academy drivers.”
“We are delighted for Romain, who has produced two outstanding seasons of racing in Vantage and has shown all the qualities and characteristics that made his predecessors stand-out as AMR Driver Academy graduates – and we’re certain that he will continue to flourish as a driver within our ranks through 2023 and beyond,” said Huw Tasker, AMR Head of Partner Racing.
“As a mechanism for assessing and identifying outstanding talent within our partner ranks, the AMR Driver Academy remains instructive and essential, and looking at the list of candidates lined up for 2023 we’re certain that tradition is set to continue.”
This year he will compete in World Challenge Europe as part of Bullitt Racing’s Endurance Cup programme.
“I am honoured to be recognised by Aston Martin for my success over the past two seasons,” he said. “My objective when I enrolled in the AMR Academy in 2021 was to establish a relationship with a manufacturer. Being named the winner of the 2022 AMR Academy is a significant achievement that reflects my hard work and improvement as a driver. Now I’m looking forward to building on this with the Vantage GT3 this season.”
The full list of candidates for this year’s programme can be found below:
Images courtesy of Aston Martin Racing/Nick Dungan Photography
