Aston Martin leads GTD manufacturers' standings at IMSA season midpoint

The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 continued its strong run in American endurance racing, with a debut podium from a new partner team and consistent results from the series leader combining to lift Aston Martin to the top of the GTD manufacturers' championship at the midpoint of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Aston Martin announced Wednesday that the Vantage GT3 claimed a GTD class podium at the Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen, held at Watkins Glen International in New York. The result extended the Vantage's streak to five consecutive GTD class podiums since the start of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The standout team of the weekend was Carte Blanche, run by YRB Racing, which finished third in the GTD class in its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut.

The car was driven by Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot, Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy candidate Marius Fossard, and Trenton Estep. It was Fossard's IMSA debut and Estep's first time behind the wheel of the Vantage GT3.

Carte Blanche's race was far from straightforward. Starting from 18th on the grid, the team consistently climbed through the field, and Hasse-Clot moved into third place with less than 10 minutes remaining to secure the team's first IMSA podium.

The Vantage GT3 shares its mechanical architecture with Aston Martin's road-going Vantage, built around a bonded aluminum chassis and a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The car has shown consistent competitiveness in the GTD class this year.

Watkins Glen has been a strong circuit for the Aston Martin Vantage in recent years. The Vantage swept the GTD Pro and GTD classes there in 2022 and topped the GTD class again in 2025. This year's result fell short of a win, but the new team's third-place finish reaffirmed the car's competitiveness at the venue.

The result made Carte Blanche the third Aston Martin racing partner team to reach the podium in IMSA this year. The Heart of Racing stood on the podium at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Twelve Hours of Sebring and Laguna Seca this season, while Magnus Racing finished runner-up at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in February.

The Heart of Racing's No. 27 Vantage GT3 was also in contention throughout the race. Former series champion Zacharie Robichon started from GTD class pole position, and he and Dudo Barrichello led the race in the early stages, controlling the pace through the middle portion.

However, a series of full-course caution periods disrupted their rhythm and dropped them down the order. Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble mounted a late charge but ultimately finished fifth.

After the race, Barrichello retained the lead in the GTD drivers' championship, and The Heart of Racing held on to first place in the team standings. With Carte Blanche's podium added to the tally, Aston Martin moved to the top of the GTD manufacturers' championship at the season's halfway point.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin's head of endurance motorsport, said the Vantage had once again proven its competitiveness at Watkins Glen, and that having three partner teams combine to deliver five consecutive GTD class podiums since the season opener was a significant achievement. He said the team would look to carry that momentum through the second half of the season and consolidate its lead in the manufacturers' championship.

The same weekend, the Crowdstrike Spa 24 Hours — a GT3-exclusive endurance race held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium — also featured the Vantage GT3. The event served as the third round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe.

The No. 34 Vantage GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport was caught up in a multi-car collision shortly after the start, suffering bodywork damage and a tire puncture that dropped it outside the top 60. Jamie Day, Henrique Chaves and Christian Krognes fought back through the field to finish seventh overall, and the car briefly led the race during pit stop cycles in the latter stages.

Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn, making its Spa 24 Hours debut, finished sixth in the Bronze Cup class. The team fielded a lineup of Giacomo Petrobelli, Lorcan Hanafin, Romain Leroux and Jonny Adam.

Come-to-You Racing, which had been running near the front of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup standings, failed to finish. The team nonetheless held on to second in the drivers' championship and third in the team standings. The No. 007 Vantage GT3 started from 29th on the grid and climbed into the top 10 through the night race, but retired with a mechanical problem while running fifth, with Nicky Thiim at the wheel.