Aston Martin is inextricably linked with Le Mans. The British luxury sports car manufacturer has been involved in the event for 95 years and made its debut in 1928 with two AM415 "Internationals". Just 15 years after the brand was founded by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin, the company took part in the Sarthe. Three years later, it scored its first victory when Augustus Cesare Bertelli and Maurice Harvey won the 1.5-liter class in an International. It also won the class in 1932 and '33. Two more victories in the 1930s for the Ulster meant that Aston Martin ended the pre-war period as one of the most important manufacturers at Le Mans.
Between 1940 and 1948, the race did not take place in Europe due to the Second World War, but when it resumed in 1949, Aston Martin was also back and made the 3-liter class its own in the 1950s. Aston Martin won the class six times, finishing first, second and third with the DB2 in 1951.
This golden era culminated in a glorious overall victory for Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori in the DBR1 in 1959, during which time Aston Martin also became known as a haven for legendary racing stars. Among the many racing drivers who competed with Aston Martins at Le Mans were Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Jack Brabham, Shelby, Salvadori, Tony Brooks, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Innes Ireland, Paul Frére, Graham Hill and Bruce McLaren.
Since the turn of the millennium, Aston Martin has returned to prominence as one of the truly great GT manufacturers. After returning to racing with a podium finish in the GT1 class in 2006, Darren Turner, Rickard Rydell and David Brabham achieved a famous victory over Corvette in 2007 with the mighty V12-powered DBR9. Aston Martin Racing repeated the victory the following year.
In the WEC era that began in 2012, Aston Martin took five class victories with the Vantage. The V8 Vantage GTE won the GTE-Am class in 2014 with the Danish line-up of Nicki Thiim, Kristian Poulsen and David Heinemeier Hansson. In 2017, Jonny Adam (GBR) overtook the rival Corvette on the final lap to claim a dramatic GTE Pro victory together with his team-mates Turner (Aston's most successful Le Mans racer with 15 starts and three wins) and Daniel Serra (BRA).
The Vantage GTE made its Le Mans debut in 2018 and took a stunning one-two in the class in 2020. Alex Lynn (GBR), Maxime Martin (BEL) and Harry Tincknell (GBR) outsmarted Ferrari in a famous victory without stopping for a traditional Sunday morning brake change, while TF Sport took the GTE Am with Salih Yoluc (TUR), Adam and Eastwood. The team also won last season in its year of the world title with Ben Keating (USA), Henrique Chaves (POR) and Sørensen.
In total, almost 240 drivers in 27 different chassis and engine combinations have competed at Le Mans with Aston Martins over the past 95 years - in practically every famous era. No other venue has given Aston Martin so many successes and proven so often that our DNA is forged from the essence of competition as Le Mans.
Aston Martin is embarking on a quest for an incredible 20th class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to mark its 100th anniversary. Aston Martin can proudly point out that a car bearing its name has competed in 53 races in the history of the event (including 2023). Now this success story is set to continue.
