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Interview with François Verbist, Team Director

François Verbist, Team Director – Receiving the winning trophy at the CrowdStrike 24hr of Spa 2025 - SRO Motorsports - CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa

Victory in the 24 Hours of Spa, on June 30 2024, will go down as one of Aston Martin’s most significant victories. It was an epic battle between the Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes that lasted throughout the race. All teams fought with the weather which was remarkable both its intensity and variation with storm conditions prevailing throughout the day and night.

Other founding partners included racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Between 2010 and 2022 the team campaigned Audi R8 LMSs in several international sports car series. WRT are currently one of the leading global sports car racing teams.

In 2016 François and Rene sold a 45% shareholding stake in WRT. François then chose to alongside the Jean-Michel Baert, Founder and Team Principal of Comtoyou Racing who had formed the team in 2014. They continued as an official Audi racing team Partner from 2017–2023 with representation in various European Touring Car and GT racing series.

Notable championship titles included

• TCR Europe Touring Car Series
• Drivers' champion in 2020, 2022 and 2023
• Teams' champion in 2020, 2022 and 2023

Comtoyou have also had a competitive presence in the Fun Cup Endurance series and this continues today. I asked François how the transition to AMR came about. "In 2023 Audi ended its factory support of the R8 and so we reviewed a number of different manufacturers. AMR offered us the most common-sense proposal and importantly were offering a competitive car coupled with a 4-year partnership agreement. This made sense to us as a team and allowed us to invest and make long term strategic decisions. Audi had only previously offered us a contract on a year-by-year basis. Negotiations took place between June 2023 and September 2023 and the car was delivered in Jan 2024 and in June 2024 we won the 24hr Spa creating a wonderful story for us and for Aston Martin."

On September 30 2023, it was officially announced that Comtoyou Racing would form a new partnership with Aston Martin Racing.

Looking forward for the 2025 season François commented "2025 offers a wealth of opportunity with the team entering the Aston GT3 into both the GT World Endurance Championship (Europe) and the German DTM series. We will be running 5 Vantage GT3 chassis across these racing series and we will be entering 4 GT3 at this year’s 24hr Spa. We have secured the funding, drivers and paddock space to make this happen and are confident that we can launch a competitive defence of our title. The aero package on the GT3 favours the high-speed circuits and allows us to have strong space at Spa."

François has also secured an impressive driver line up for 2025. "I am really pleased that we have secured for the 2025 last year’s winning trio of Mattia, Marco and Nicki. Their team work, level heads, professional and fast pace is tremendous. They are all race and championship winning drivers and we look forward to having them on board for the rest of this season and I hope we can extend our partnership into future years. During the recent GTWC (Europe) race at Paul Richard we had the car knocked off in the opening laps and we ended up at the back of the grid. However, over the next 6 hours the driver trio and team managed to drive an unbelievable race to secure p6."

#7 - Comtoyou Racing - Mattia DRUDI - Marco SORENSEN - Nicki THIIM - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. Paul Richard Circuit, France.
Credit - SRO Motorsports – GT World Challenge (Europe)

We are also delighted to have Jess Hawkins driving for us this year. Due to accidents, not of her own making, she has had no race time in the car so hopefully we can provide that for her over the coming season and she can continue to improve her pace and race craft. We are delighted to be working with her and to also have that link back with David Brabham which has been really positive for us. We also welcome Jamie Day (AMR Academy Winner 2025) to support his impressive career development.’

Ultimately the race weekend at Brands Hatch proved a little disappointing for the team. François reflected - "Poor qualifying ultimately hampered the race for us. Brands is a wonderful circuit and we love being here. The crowd is very knowledgeable and it's a great opportunity for the fans to get up close to the cars. As a driver the circuit is tricky for overtaking and if you qualify midfield then it's difficult to get a podium position. It’s going to be really tough to repeat the Spa win this year but we are confident that we have a competitive package and we will be ready for the race. We will be spending the 13th and 14th May in Spa for the prologue and will be using this opportunity to prepare the drivers, team and set up of all 4 cars."

Brands Hatch – May 2025 - #21 - Comtoyou Racing - Jaime DAY - Kobe PAUWELS - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.
Credit SRO Motorsports GTWC (Europe).

"We will continue to liaise and share data with AMR as we evolve the performance package of the new GT3. The Vantage has a strong aero package for the high-speed circuits. Improvements are developing well to improve overall balance of the car. This is normal in the evolution of a great race car and we are really confident that the Vantage will improve year on year as more race data is available for analysis. Considering we are only in the second year of race development we are really pleased with the results we have secured so far and enjoying our partnership with AMR."

2025 sees the team compete in the GTWC (Europe) and the DTM. This involves 18 races in total between April and October this year. "We are very happy with the level of exposure and opportunity that both of these series provide us"

In 2024 Comtoyou competed in the Jeddah 24 hours and achieved a very strong 4th place overall. This was followed quickly by Fernado Alonso driving the Vantage GT3 in December 2024 as part of a sponsorship deal. ‘It was great to meet with Alonso and for him to drive and experience our car. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with him again.’

Looking further ahead François alluded to World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans. "We were in discussions for the 2025 WEC drive when D'Station Aston dropped out at the end of 2024. In the end we decided we were not ready for this now and we wanted to concentrate on the GTWC (Europe) and DTM. But we would consider this for the future for sure and Le Mans will always remain in our sight."

Comtoyou have grown from strength to strength and are a really strong player in the GT racing world and have built up an active fan base with 20,000 social media followers.

Aston Martin has officially commemorated its landmark victory at the 2024 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa race with the launch of the exclusive Vantage AMV24 Edition which has been crafted in tribute to the Comtoyou Vantage GT3’s historic win. Only 24 units of this limited-edition model will be produced exclusively for clients in Continental Europe, each featuring bespoke styling and an exclusive ownership experience.

The Vantage AMV24 Edition, designed by Aston Martin’s Q division is finished in Podium Green with Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Lime accents on vent surrounds, mirror caps, and a racing stripe that emphasizes its motorsport DNA. Gloss Black bodywork pairs with 21” Satin Black Y-Spoke wheels, giving the car an unmistakably aggressive look. Inside, the Vantage AMV24 Edition is outfitted with unique badging, AMR Lime stitching, and black ventilated seats, creating an interior inspired by the Vantage GT3 race car.

Aston Martin Europe Regional President Andreas Bareis emphasised the significance of this exclusive edition, celebrating Aston Martin’s first overall win at Spa since 1948, a victory made possible by Comtoyou Racing and drivers Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen, and Nicki Thiim.

François and the team are inviting each AMV24 Edition owner to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, where they can drive their car on the legendary track before this year’s 24hr race.

1st June 2025 Comtoyou achieved an impressive 3rd Place overall in the GTWC(Monza). A strong result at this high speed circuit bodes well for a good result in Spa at the end of the month.