Autosport Designs Racing has announced that it will field a pair of Aston Martin DB9s for all 10 rounds of the 2006 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship.
The move ends a lengthy absence from United States GT racing for Aston Martin, which last took part in a full United States-based GT series in the 1960s.
“We are delighted to be involved with Aston Martin’s return to GT Championship racing in the United States,” Autosport Designs Racing Chief Engineer Barry Wagner said. “We feel that the other cars in World Challenge will be good competition for the DB9.”
American Tom Papadopoulos and Britain’s Johnny Mowlem will team up in 2006 to pilot the DB9s.
Mowlem comes into SPEED GT with a wealth of talent and driving success, having competed in Porsche Super Cup and the American Le Mans Series. He has also successfully competed in many prestigious events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
Papadopoulos, who is also a team principle, is a former Ferrari Challenge Champion (1997, ‘9
, and more recently has achieved success in Grand-Am driving Porsches.
The cars will be based on the Aston Martin Racing-built DBRS9 – a motorsports version of the road-going DB9. The two-door coupe is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 engine, which marks the first appearance of a V-12 in SPEED GT competition.
SPEED World Challenge enthusiasts will get their first look at the brand-new DB9s March 15-17 at Sebring International Raceway, site of the opening round of the 2006 SPEED World Challenge Championships.