Good news for Aston Martin Racing fans as the marque’s popular Festival event will no longer be confined purely to the Circuit de la Sarthe following the creation of Aston Martin Heritage Racing for this season.

The Aston Festival has traditionally only been run as a support event to the Le Mans 24 Hours – in 2012, ’15 and ’18 – and allows all competitive models of Aston produced since the turn of the millennium to compete against each other on the same grid. That means entries of GT1, 2, 3 and 4 variety, plus special-edition track and performance models such as the Vulcan hypercar.

This year Aston’s new Heritage division will expand the concept to become a series, with a mandatory pitstop allowing for two- or one-man crews to compete on equal terms. This series brings endurance racing to a healthy range of meetings. The six dates include supporting ELMS at Paul Ricard on May 10-12, the French Historic GP at Magny-Cours on June 28-30, and Silverstone Classic on July 26-28. The races will take place on events organised by Masters Historic Racing, and AMR will partner with the organisation to provide Vantage or Rapide pace cars.

Aston Martin has also created a new AMR Drivers’ Club, aimed at giving existing customers and novices alike on-track training in a wide range of its models. Customers can handle the full road range for an entry point or advanced driving courses, or get really serious with the four-and-a-half-day AMR Academy course, which includes tuition from the factory drivers in a GT4 machine. Costs range from £750 to £7,600.