Academy Motorsport will return to running two Aston Martins in British GT this year after adding a second Vantage GT4 to 2018 its roster.
It brings the class’ total number of full-season manufacturers to seven, and also sees Academy return to a two-car entry for the first time since 2015 after running a single Aston Martin last term.
19-year-old Dane Jan Jonck, who won last year’s GT4 race at Brands Hatch driving an Aston Martin, has now switched to Academy to lead a Silver Cup line-up also featuring 16-year-old Tom Wood, who finished fifth in 2017’s Ginetta Junior Championship standings.
The team’s second Aston Martin sees Matt Nicoll-Jones – who claimed the final two pole positons of 2017 at Brands Hatch and Donington Park – partnering an as yet unconfirmed co-driver.
And the promise shown towards the end of last season ensures Nicoll-Jones is full of confidence for the upcoming campaign.
“We were fairly consistent throughout 2017 but couldn’t always demonstrate what the car was truly capable of until the final two rounds,” he said. “That’s laid the foundations for our expansion back up to two entries once again, and I feel like everything’s now in place to have a really good run at both titles.
“Jan [Jonck] is completely at home in the Aston, as anyone who saw his amazing performance at Brands Hatch last season will testify. Had his previous team not missed the final round there’s a very good chance he would have finished third in the GT4 standings, which would have been very impressive given it was also his first season of GT racing. He’s the perfect driver to have alongside Tom [Wood] who already knows the circuits and also demonstrated what he’s all about throughout 2017 in Ginetta Juniors.”
Academy’s prior testing commitments will see it miss next Thursday’s British GT Media Day at Donington. However, both its Aston Martins will be back in time for the championship’s 2018 curtain raiser at Oulton Park on Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (March 31-April 2).
2018 BRITISH GT SCHEDULE
1 Oulton Park, March 31-April 2 >> TICKETS
2 Rockingham, April 28-29 >> TICKETS
3 Snetterton, May 26-27 >> TICKETS
4 Silverstone 500, June 9-10 >> TICKETS
5 Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), July 21-22 >> TICKETS (FREE ENTRY)
6 Brands Hatch, August 4-5 >> TICKETS
7 Donington Park, September 22-23 >> TICKETS