Aston Martin Racing have announced the creation of an official junior team – Generation AMR – with the aim of nurturing young drivers, entering next season's FIA GT4 European Cup.
The new team will be based on two pre-existing family run squads from the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of Great Britain. Drivers Ant Scragg and James Appleby spent most of the season in their families' rival teams but paired up for a one-off entry in the British GT Championship then in the final round of the GT4 Challenge, where they scored a dominant win.
The pair will form a permanent partnership in 2011 for the Tivertone based team, which will enjoy backing from the The Spa Hotel, Royal Tunbridge Wells, and the Hardinge Group.
“We are honoured to have been nominated as the Official Aston Martin Junior Team and will be ensuring that we provide the perfect environment for these talented young drivers to perform to their very best,” said David Appleby, the new team's principal. “Our long-term relationship with the V8 Vantage, in both rally and race forms, means we have a deeper understanding of the cars' capabilities than our competitors.”
“Given the new evolution of the car for 2011, we firmly believe that we can continue Aston Martin Racing's success in Europe and raise the standard even higher against the best that Europe can bring to the grid.”
However, while the immediate aim may be to bring Ant and James up to the FIA GT3 European Cup Generation AMR hope to not bring up other young drivers but also help them off the track with media training, performance mentoring, analysis skills and fitness training.
“Racing is a fundamental part of Aston Martin's heritage,” explained Tony Schulp, Commercial Director at Aston Martin Racing. “We remain committed to developing race winning cars as well as supporting and encouraging the next generation of racing drivers. Aston Martin Racing has appointed Generation AMR to represent the brand at a junior level in the GT4 category in which they will no doubt offer a professional and structured programme to aspiring talents”.
