Aston Martin at Full Throttle

An Aston Martin LMP1 racecar being tested in France this year.

For the past two years Audi and Peugeot have dominated the top class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Audi winning both races and Peugeot finishing second. But when the green flag drops in two weeks, there will be a newcomer blasting through the French countryside: Aston Martin.

Since David Richards took over as chairman of Aston Martin two years ago, he has pushed hard to revitalize the British brand’s racing heritage, which goes back to 1923, when two cars competed in the French Grand Prix.

Richards is a motorsports veteran. Through Prodrive, the company he helped found in 1984, he has managed racing teams in Formula One, the British Touring Car Championship and the World Rally Championship. Under his stewardship, the Subaru World Rally Team won three drivers’ titles (in 1995, 2001 and 2003). And while automakers are cutting back on their motorsports involvement, Aston Martin is increasing its participation.

“How on earth did we get here?” Richards told Autosport when the new car was unveiled in January. “How could Aston Martin be so audacious as to go to Le Mans and challenge the benchmark teams with their turbo-diesel engines and the record of experience that they have had over the last years?”

Aston Martin has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in previous years, but never in the LMP1 class, which has traditionally been dominated by Audi. The German automaker has won eight LMP1 titles in the last 10 years. The last time Aston Martin won Le Mans was in 1959, when it finished first and second, upsetting the heavily favored Ferrari team. Carroll Shelby was a driver of the winning car.

Aston Martin will be the underdog again this year. Audi is introducing a new R15 diesel racecar. Peugeot will also compete with diesel racecars. The three Aston Martins, dressed in the classic Gulf Oil livery, are gas-powered.

“It’s a leap of faith and a step into the unknown for us, it really is a David and Goliath exercise, but it is that British fighting spirit that we are going to give it a try and see what we can do,” Richards said.

And as if that weren’t enough, Richards could also have Aston Martin on the Formula One grid for the 2010 season after filing an entry for Prodrive on Friday.

Formula One’s governing body has proposed a host of changes for next season, and Richards said he was encouraged by the prospect of a new spending cap for the teams. On Friday, he said he was “confident that we now have the opportunity to be both commercially viable and competitive. As we have said all along, we don’t want to be in Formula One just to make up the numbers.”

While it is up to Formula One to approve the three teams that will take the six open slots on the grid, Prodrive should be a favorite. Whether Richards campaigns under Aston Martin has yet to be revealed. But given Aston Martin’s position in the luxury marketplace and Formula One’s position as the ultimate racing series, there’s a strong possibility.

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