Walkenhorst Motorsport 2026: Aston Martin’s most successful year

Walkenhorst Motorsport’s racing season came to an end with the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup in Portimão. The Lower Saxony-based Aston Martin team can look back on an intense season, which was the team’s most successful since switching to the British make in 2024.

At the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the three Aston Martin works drivers – Mattia Drudi, Christian Krognes and Nicki Thiim – finished in second place. It was the best result in Walkenhorst Motorsport’s history at the endurance classic in the Eifel. The 24-hour race also marked the start of the collaboration with new team partner natural elements, which gave the team’s Pro cars a new livery.

Throughout the 2026 season, the partnership between Pirelli and Walkenhorst Motorsport continued on the Nordschleife, where the experienced team acts as a development team. Both sides were able to make progress together over the course of the season. Regular drivers Christian Krognes and Mateo Villagomez can look back on strong results and consistently impressed with fast lap times.

In the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup, Mateo Villagomez and Jamie Day finished as runners-up in the Silver Cup. The duo finished on the podium in seven of the ten races of the season and put in strong performances at every event. Maxime Robin and Gaspard Simon also demonstrated good pace at the wheel of the Vantage GT3 and finished the season in eighth place.

The season proved more challenging in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup. The only points-scoring result came from the Pro car driven by Henrique Chaves, Christian Krognes and Jamie Day at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s biggest GT3 race, where they finished seventh. Following an accident on the opening lap through no fault of their own, the trio staged an impressive comeback. The Silver Cup car secured points in three races.

At the season finale in Hockenheim, Walkenhorst Motorsport also made its debut in the newly created BMW M2 Cup on the DTM platform. The 15-year-old Hungarian Marcell Zsebő impressed with his pace and, following a bitter retirement in the first race on Sunday, finished in seventh place. Walkenhorst Motorsport aims to expand its presence in the series in future.

“Many thanks to the whole team for their fantastic work during the 2026 season! The highlight of the season was undoubtedly second place overall in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, which was the team’s best result ever at the Eifel classic. I’m also delighted to look back on our runners-up finish in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. Next year, we aim to build on these successes and improve our performance even further. The whole team will be working hard over the winter to achieve this!”, said team principal Jörg Breuer.

Outlook for the 2027 season:

Next year, Walkenhorst Motorsport will once again compete in the world’s largest GT3 racing series – the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. The team from Melle plans to field two Aston Martin Vantage GT3s in the Endurance & Sprint Cup once again.

The team’s involvement at the Nürburgring Nordschleife will also continue. In addition to fielding a Pro car at selected events, the tyre development programme for Pirelli will continue on the Nordschleife. The team is aiming for another top result at the ADAC Ravenol 24-hour race and in the NLS series.

Following its debut at the season finale in Hockenheim, Walkenhorst Motorsport is also planning a full-time programme in the BMW M2 Cup. This marks a return to the DTM platform following a one-off appearance. A return to the ADAC GT Masters is also a distinct possibility, following the series’ decision to make the ‘Road to DTM’ development programme significantly more attractive for the coming season through substantially increased funding.

The first test sessions to prepare for the season are already scheduled for December. Walkenhorst Motorsport will announce further details of next year’s programme at a later date.