Will the Aston Martin FIA WEC army get smaller?

Although good news from Aston Martin came in the past weeks with the public showing of the 2016 version of the Vantage V8 GTE car, it seems that the British manufacturer will tackle the FIA World Endurance Championship with less cars next year.

It was confirmed today (24) that the No. 96 ROFGO-backed Aston Martin Racing crew won’t be back in 2016, as the Bronze-rated driver Roald Goethe will step out of the competition. The German enterpreneur and car collector mentioned that clashes between the FIA WEC calendar and his business commitments, as well the finalcial constraints, were the reasons why he is won’t be back in 2016.

In fact, after the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, Goethe’s business Schedule prevented him to compete in three events, being back only the last round of the competition, the 6 Hours of Bahrain. During his time out of the car, Benny Simmonsen, brother of Allan Simonsen, and Liam Griffin did the third driver duties.

Although the effort in the LMGTE-Am category will lose a car, the other may be on track next year, as the Canadian driver Paul Dalla Lana will likely continue in the championship with Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda by his side.

Other doubt in the Aston Martin camp is about their LMGTE-Pro efforts, as the No. 97 will return, and as always will have in Darren Turner their captain. The other two cars, the No. 99 and the Young Driver-backed No. 95, are still unconfirmed for the next season.

The Dane Train almost made its way into the podium in three occasions, and also elected to be out of the 6 Hours of Shanghai due to Balance of Performance concerns, which is less likely to affect Aston Martin next year. The Hanergy-backed No. 99 car was the only LMGTE-Pro Aston to win this year, with Fernando Rees, Alex MacDowall and Richie Stanaway bringing their car to glory in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

PHOTOS: Aston Martin Racing, FIA WEC