The duo will share the team’s new acquisition in Round 3 of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Queensland Raceway as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries on August 2-4.

Gardner came to notice when as a 16-year-old, he became Rookie of the Year and won the overall Radical Australia Cup title for Volante Rosso last season.

“The step is quite large from a Radical to a GT3,” said Gardner after he gave the Aston Martin a shakedown run at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“It’s a big progression and jump, but the team is confident that I’ll be able to do it. It’s really exciting as well to do it at such a young age, these cars are what people strive to drive in their career and to do it so early is a great opportunity that I’m really grateful for.

“As a race driver you want to go out there and win, but for me this is a big step. I just need to make sure that I jump in the car, learn everything first and take it easy, a similar approach to what I took with the Radical last year at Round 1.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Ben. He’s very experienced, which is good to have alongside me and I can learn off him as well as the rest of the team.”

Porter returns to local GT competition after racing in the inaugural Fanatec GT Australia season alongside Andrew Macpherson. Porter will continue this partnership in Fanatec GT Asia where the duo have achieved success in the Am Class.

“I’d spoken to various teams earlier in the year, but unfortunately my calendar conflicted with the Australian events,” Porter said.

“To get the call up to run the Aston Martin is super cool. It’s a car that has always been fast overseas where I usually run and I’m excited to get behind the wheel of it here in Australia.

“I’ve had a chance to look at an Aston Martin plenty of times. The Aston Martin appears very strong and this generation of Vantage I was running against it last year where it was a serious title contender. I think we’ve got a pretty good package.

“I’ve kept an eye on Alex through Radicals and the kid is a bit of a jet! Obviously jumping out of Radicals he’s in with the big boys now, there’s no question about that. I don’t think he’ll have a problem with his speed and he’s pretty level headed, so I think he’ll do a good job.”

In a partnership that combines the best of youth and experience, Volante Rosso’s Aston Martin attack heralds a new era for the team as it enters an official partnership with the brand.