Aston Martin will return to the starting grid of the Nordschleife circuit for the fifth consecutive year at the 38th ADAC Nürburgring 24-hour race on May 15-16 with the manufacturer’s new four-door sports car - the Rapide.
The new Rapide will follow the tradition of past Aston Martin road cars that have competed such as the V8 Vantage and V12 Vantage. The Rapide will compete in near-standard specification apart from mandatory changes required to compete. It will be driven by a team of engineers from the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, England. The Rapide race car will be close to production standard with only essential race safety modifications, interior trim removed to reduce weight, re-tuned suspension and will run on slick tyres designed for track use.
Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez explained, “This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car – it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny. The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars. We already have a proven track record at the Nürburgring racing our road cars with limited modification and in recent years we have enjoyed success in winning the SP8 class both in 2008 and 2009.”