Since announcing late last year that it would enter two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s into the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series, the Garage 59 team has been busy finalising its driver line-ups and is pleased to announce that the squad is now complete.
Joining Mike Benham and Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #89 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is Yuki Nemoto, the reigning Italian GT Sprint Champion. Like all of the drivers, Yuki is keenly aware that a top result in this series can earn the team a place on the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid.
“It’s an honour for me to embark on a new journey in the Asian Le Mans Series with this highly-respected British team,” said Nemoto. “I want to thank Garage 59 and, of course, my sponsors for giving me this opportunity. This team had a very strong season in 2020 and came out as endurance Pro-Am winners in the GT World Challenge Europe so this provides a good incentive for us to keep that winning momentum going. We want to achieve a top result in the Asian programme and try to get a chance to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
In the sister #88 Aston Martin Vantage, Alexander West and Maxime Martin will be joined by Garage 59 regular and reigning GT4 European Series Champion, Valentin Hasse-Clot.
“As soon as I heard ‘Asian Le Mans Series’ I thought about Le Mans,” said Hasse-Clot. “As a Frenchman, racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is my childhood dream and now I have the chance to fight for a place in this legendary race for Garage 59. Of course I would then have to fight for a seat but this is the first step. It’s an honour to share the car with Alex and Maxime as we get along well, which is always an advantage in endurance racing. February can’t come soon enough!”
Both Hasse-Clot and Nemoto are ranked as Silver in the FIA gradings, which means that each of the Garage 59 Vantages has a squad comprising a trio of platinum/gold, silver and bronze drivers.