The new Aston Martin Vantage GTE will make its World Endurance Championship debut with the manufacturer’s two-car GTE pro line-up this season.

Aston Martin Racing is aiming to replicate the success of the previous Vantage, which the team has run in the championship since 2012.

“The evolution of the FIA WEC is moving in a great direction for manufacturers within the sport,” said managing director John Gaw.

“The GT category offers a unique, realistic, achievable and most importantly a tough contested goal for prospective manufacturers when compared to the prototype categories.

“You only have to look at historic battles such as at Le Mans in 2017 to see that the GT category is alive with excitement and viewers of the series are offered the opportunity to see the world’s top racing drivers battling it out in cars they can relate to.

“The new car has been very impressive in pre-season testing and that is true testament to the whole team back in the factory who have worked synchronously with the design team at Aston Martin Lagonda and we are confident the new Vantage will be a big step on from its predecessor.”

Three time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Darren Turner joins Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the #95 car, while Maxime Martin, Alex Lynn, and Johnny Adam share the #97 entry.

All six drivers have tested the cars as the team developed the new Vantages for what team principal Paul Howarth believes will be the class’ most competitive season to date.

“The FIA has reinvested in the World Endurance Championship, which is going to offer Aston Martin Racing the challenges it looks for when competing in the top level of motorsport,” he said.

“Our heritage in the sport and our track record shows that we are all about delivering race wins and championship titles, and we look forward to fighting for both in the new Super Season format, which also offers us the opportunity to return to Sebring in America and race at great circuits like Silverstone and Spa.

“We are expecting the competitiveness of the GTE Pro category to be at the highest level ever, with a massive talent pool of drivers as well as leading car manufacturers, which will lift the standard of racing to a level it’s not seen before in WEC.”

The manufacturer will also run the previous Vantage in the GTE am class as Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda, and Pedro Lamy aim to defend their class title.