Walkenhorst Motorsport with high-calibre international line-up

Walkenhorst Motorsport starts with top-class drivers in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe pwd. by AWS Endurance Cup.

For many years, the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe pwd. by AWS Endurance Cup has established itself as the world’s most important GT racing series. On average, more than 50 GT3 cars take part in the Endurance Cup races, and at last year’s season highlight – the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – there were even 70 cars on the grid! A feast for every fan of GT racing. Walkenhorst Motorsport is contesting the five races of the season this year with three brand-new Aston Martin Vantage GT3s. The objective of the team from Melle is clear: the 2018 overall victory at the 24-hour race in the Ardennes is to be repeated and the team also wants to have a say in the class title fights.

“The Fanatec GT World has been part of our regular programme for many years. In the past, we achieved one of the greatest successes in our team’s history by winning the 24-hour race at Spa. This year, thanks to the cooperation with Aston Martin Racing, we will complete our biggest programme in the racing series. Our goals for the upcoming races are high!” says Henry Walkenhorst, founder of Walkenhorst Motorsport.

In order to realize these ambitious goals, three Aston Martin factory driver will be competing for the team in the highly competitive Pro class. The two Brits David Pittard and Ross Gunn will share the Vantage GT3 with Henrique Chaves from Portugal. It is a return to WMS for Pittard. Between 2018 and 2021, he raced for the team on the Nordschleife and in SRO racing series. He established himself as one of the fastest GT3 drivers. His greatest success was winning the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2023. For Gunn, it will be a return to European racing after driving mainly in the American IMSA championship in recent years. Chaves has celebrated many class victories in the Pro-Am class of the Fanatec GT World in the last years and also won a title there in 2021. This year, the 26-year-old Portuguese driver will be competing in the top class for the first time.

David Pittard is delighted about his return to the team: “Rejoining Walkenhorst feels like a full circle! I made my GT3 debut with the team back in 2018, so it’s great to be back working with some old and new faces. I know from first hand experience that Walkenhorst can win big races and championships for manufactures, such as the Spa24hrs, Intercontinental GT Challenge, and it is clear that these are our goals for 2024. 

Fanatec GT World is one of the most competitive championships in the world, so it is the ultimate test for the brand new Vantage GT3, where I think the car will be immediately competitive. It’s been a long winter, so I can’t wait for the lights to go green at Paul Ricard in April!”

“I am delighted to join Walkenhorst Motorsport for the Fanatec GT World season. To be working with such an established team and with the new Aston Martin Vantage gives a great deal of optimism. The Fanatec GT World is one of the most competitive GT3 series anywhere in the world, so as a team we have a lot of hard work ahead to reach our goals,” said Ross Gunn.

“I’m really happy to be joining Walkenhorst Motorsport in this new adventure with the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3. It will be a very challenging season but I’m sure we have all the ingredients to succeed in this super competitive championship,” says Portuguese factory driver Henrique Chaves. “To be fighting for overall honors in the Crowdstrike Spa 24 Hours centenary will be truly special and I hope to bring Aston Martin and WMS to the top step of the podium.”

In the Silver Cup, the talented Frenchman Romain Leroux, who won the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy in 2022, and Briton Lorcan Hanafin will compete for Walkenhorst Motorsport. Maxime Robin will drive the car as the third driver. Leroux, who began his motorsport career in Singapore, has driven exclusively Aston Martin cars since switching to GT racing in 2021. In 2022, the youngster finished runner-up in the ADAC GT4 Germany. The young Brit Lorcan Hanafin is best known to German fans for his season in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany; he will contest his first full season in GT3 racing in 2024. At the Fanatec GT World 2023 season finale in Barcelona, he has already competed in the SRO racing series, which ended directly with a class win! Robin has been active in European GT racing since 2022 and was also able to gain one year of experience in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe pwd. by AWS Endurance Cup – now he will work with the team from Lower Saxony for the first time.

Romain Leroux is very much looking forward to working with Walkenhorst Motorsport: “Very excited to be joining a team with this much experience and success in GT racing. Will be great to use all this experience to get the best with the team out of this new Vantage GT3, can’t wait to get the new season going.”

“I´m really excited to get my first full season of Fanatec GT World Endurance Cup underway! We have a strong lineup with Romain, Maxime and myself paired with everyone at Walkenhorst Motorsport – I’m sure we will have a successful season!” said Lorcan Hanafin ahead of his debut season in the high-caliber SRO racing series.

“Really proud to join Walkenhorst Motorsport for this season,” said Maxime Robin. “I´d like to thank the team for their confidence in me, now it’s time to work!”

Walkenhorst Motorsport announced their Bronze Cup trio back in December. Gentleman driver Timothy Creswick, ADAC GT Masters race winner Ben Green and Dutchman Mex Jansen, who is moving up from the ADAC GT4 Germany with Walkenhorst Motorsport, will line up for the Melle-based outfit.

“We are proud of our line-up in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe pwd. by AWS Endurance Cup,” said Walkenhorst Motorsport Managing Director Niclas Königbauer. “Our Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be driven by factory drivers and fast, talented youngsters! Plus Timothy Creswick, a fast gentleman driver who has already proven his abilities. The highlight of the season is of course the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, where we want to repeat our overall victory from 2018, but we are also confident of fighting for the title in the overall standings of the three classes! We are all already looking forward to the season opener in France at the beginning of April.”

Provisional Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup 2024 calendar:

05.03. – 06.03. – Official Test Days Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA)

05.04. – 07.04. – Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA)

21.05. – 22.05. – CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Prologue (BEL)

26.06. – 30.06. – CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa (BEL)

26.07. – 28.07. – Nürburgring

Photo-Credits: Paragraph5