Aston Martin looks to win 2020 FIA WEC title and make history at the same time

World GT Manufacturers' champions Aston Martin embark on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) finale - the 8 Hours of Bahrain - on Saturday, 14 November 2020, aiming to record a level of title glory unprecedented in the British luxury sportscar brand's history.

Aston Martin has enjoyed its most successful endurance racing season since 1959 with the turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 Vantage GTE.

61 years ago, Aston Martin won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, as well as the World Sportscar Championship thanks to additional wins by Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman at Goodwood and the Nurburging in the DBR1/300, ahead of old adversaries Porsche and Ferrari.

Six decades later and Aston Martin has done it again, clinching a historic double victory in both the GTE classes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in September, when Alex Lynn, Maxime Martin and Harry Tincknell delivered a brilliant performance to clinch the GT Manufacturers' FIA World Endurance Championship crown, ahead of those same old adversaries Porsche and Ferrari.

The #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Pro crew's win was their first of the season, which has been the longest in FIA WEC history due in part to the coronavirus pandemic.

The result also moved the drivers back into contention for the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers' Championship, 15 points behind team-mates and series leaders Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim in the #95 car.

Unfortunately, only Martin will be able to compete alongside the Danes for the world title after Lynn received a positive test for COVID-19 last weekend and has therefore not travelled to Bahrain. His place in the lineup has been taken by Richard Westbrook, who was already expected to race with the team in the #98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE Am entry.

Thiim and Sorensen have been the on-form driver pairing this season, with three victories and two second places from seven starts.

With the eight-hour race worth 1.5 times the points of a normal six-hour event, meaning for the second time this season there are 38 points available for a victory plus another for pole position, there is no room for complacency. This is especially since the drivers from Ferrari's leading GTE crew is also within striking distance.