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Australian Jonathan Venter will contest this weekend’s prestigious 24 Hours of Spa GT3 endurance race with renowned British outfit Motorbase Performance.
The 19-year-old from Sydney has been named alongside factory Aston Martin driver Jonny Adam, Daniel Lloyd and Ahmad Al Harthy in the team’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Pro-Am entry.
After impressing in the GT Asia Series, the Blancpain Endurance Series showpiece event will present Venter with the biggest challenge of his career to date.
The Aston Martin Racing Academy driver, who has been eyeing a drive in the British GT Championship this year, is eager to make his debut at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
“It’s a great privilege to be racing for the Oman Racing Team at Spa 24 hours,” said Venter.
“They (Motorbase) have a great track history in many categories and will be strong contenders this year in the Pro-Am category.
“The car line up looks quite strong with lots of talent, so I’m eager to add my own experience to the car and work hard to get up to speed quickly as I have not raced at Spa before.”
Motorbase boss David Bartrum said Venter had been recommended to him for the seat and believes the young Aussie is the perfect fit for his outfit.
“It’s essential not only to get the grading right but also to find a driver that fits well within the team, has the character we need, offers the turn of speed required and is also able to use the product – and in Jonathan we have the ideal man,” said Bartrum.
“He (Venter) comes very highly recommended and from what we know so far we have a young, dynamic driver that fits perfectly in the Oman Racing Team line-up and I’m really, really excited about Spa now.”
Venter joins fellow Australian Liam Talbot and Kiwi V8 Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen at the famous GT endurance event.
Talbot will rejoin the Kessel Racing Ferrari 458 GT squad for a second attempt at the race, while van Gisbergen will pilot the Von Ryan Racing McLaren 650S GT3.
