Aston Martin has achieved its best-ever result at the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring after the Vantage GT3 secured a hard-fought third-place finish in one of endurance racing’s most punishing contests.
The result marked a milestone moment for both Aston Martin and Walkenhorst Motorsport during the 54th running of the legendary race, held on the infamous 15.8-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany’s Eifel mountains. It also coincided with the British manufacturer’s 20th anniversary of competing in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic.
Driven by factory stars Mattia Drudi, Christian Krognes and Nicki Thiim, the Walkenhorst Motorsport Vantage GT3 delivered a composed and relentless performance against a field packed with more than 40 GT3 entries in the top SP9 category. With four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen also attracting attention in this year’s event, competition at the front resembled a rolling gladiator arena wrapped in fog, rain and brake dust.
Strong qualifying pace immediately hinted at Aston Martin’s potential. Drudi and Krognes both impressed in the Top Qualifying sessions, while Thiim ultimately placed the Vantage 11th on the enormous 161-car grid.
Walkenhorst Motorsport approached the opening stages with tactical precision, choosing to pit earlier than many rivals to alter its fuel strategy. The move paid off quickly as Thiim sliced through the order and carried the Aston Martin into the top five, where it remained throughout the race.
Cool temperatures hovering between 3°C and 5°C played perfectly into the hands of the Vantage and its Pirelli tyre package, allowing the car to maintain strong and consistent pace through the constantly evolving conditions.
Krognes later elevated the Aston Martin into second place before handing over to Drudi, who faced increasingly slippery conditions as intermittent rain showers swept across the Nordschleife. The Italian responded with remarkable composure, building a lead of more than 40 seconds at one stage while rivals wrestled the circuit’s treacherous surface.
As darkness swallowed the Nürburgring and several leading contenders fell victim to crashes, penalties and mechanical failures, the race evolved into a tense three-way battle involving the Aston Martin, a Lamborghini and a BMW. Ahead of them, two Mercedes entries controlled the front of the field until late drama reshuffled the order once again.
With under two hours remaining, trouble for Verstappen’s car elevated the podium battle into a fight for second place. Drudi was tasked with bringing the Vantage home and launched an aggressive charge to close a gap of more than two minutes to the Lamborghini ahead.
When the Lamborghini was later hit with an 86-second Code 60 penalty, Drudi surged into second position. But the Nürburgring, that beautiful green cathedral of chaos, still had one final cruel joke waiting in the dark trees.
A late Code 60 neutralisation on the final lap halted the Aston Martin’s momentum on the Döttinger Hohe straight and denied Drudi the chance to secure second place before the chequered flag. The trio ultimately crossed the line in third, still earning Aston Martin’s first overall Nürburgring 24 Hours podium finish.
“It was frustrating that we couldn’t finish second,” said Drudi after the race. “But we can be very proud of finishing on the podium, Aston Martin’s first at the Nürburgring. This track is already very challenging, but with the rain and the level of competition it was very hard.”
Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter described the achievement as a landmark moment for both the team and the Vantage programme.
“There is no more robust a test for a racing car than the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and Vantage passed it with flying colours,” Carter said. “To be in the podium fight for 24 hours once again underlines the pedigree of Vantage.”
The podium also represented Aston Martin’s 34th class podium finish at the Nürburgring since returning to endurance racing in the mid-2000s. Across various generations of Vantage machinery, the manufacturer has claimed 10 class victories and built a reputation for resilience around the Nordschleife’s unforgiving ribbon of tarmac.
That legacy stretches back even further. Aston Martin enjoyed major success at the Nürburgring during the 1950s, with Sir Stirling Moss helping the marque secure three consecutive 1000km victories, including the 1959 triumph that contributed to Aston Martin winning the World Sportscar Championship in the same season as its iconic Le Mans victory with the DBR1.
Today’s Vantage GT3 continues that bloodline with a machine closely related to the road-going Vantage. Built around Aston Martin’s bonded aluminium chassis and powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, the GT3 challenger has already proven itself on the global stage with victory in the 2024 Spa 24 Hours.
Now, after conquering the Green Hell with Aston Martin’s best-ever Nürburgring finish, the Vantage heads into a crucial stretch of the endurance racing season carrying serious momentum into both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Spa 24 Hours.
