The Aston Martin DBR9 is a

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

built by

Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Racing is a British auto racing team established in 2004 as a partnership between automobile manufacturer Aston Martin and engineering group Prodrive. The partnership was initially created for the purpose of returning Aston ...

, debuting in 2005 and racing actively in international sportscar racing until the end of GT1 category in 2011. The name DBR9 is derived from the original

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

-winning DBR1 car, named for then-owner David Brown, which not only won the 24 Hour race in 1959 but also the World Sportscar title. The car is most famous for taking two LMGT1 class wins at Le Mans 24 Hours (2007 and 2008) by the Aston Martin Racing factory team.

Development

Based on the

Aston Martin DB9 The Aston Martin DB9 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin. Available both in coupé and a convertible bodystyles, the latter being known as the Volante, the DB9 was the successor to the DB7. It was first shown at the 2003 Frankfurt Aut ...

road car, the DBR9 retains the

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

, engine block, and cylinder heads of the road car's

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

. The rest of the car is re-engineered for high performance competition use. The DBR9's bodywork is a blend of optimum aerodynamic performance and the styling of the DB9 road car. All the body panels are constructed from

carbon fibre composite Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

(except the roof) to minimize the weight of the car. To complete the aerodynamic body, the bottom of the car is flat all the way from the front to the rear diffuser. To optimise rear downforce a carbon fibre wing has been added. The engine develops and of torque, using two 31.2 mm (1.2-inch) air restrictors. Completely unrestricted, however, this engine is capable of developing over , and over of torque.https://astonmartins.com/car/dbr9-aston-martin-racing/ The DBR9 goes from 0 to in 3.4 seconds, and 0 to in 6.4 seconds. For the

2007 24 Hours of Le Mans The 75th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''75e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Grand Touring cars, which took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near Le Mans, France, from 16 to 17 June 200 ...

, Prodrive made modifications to the DBR9 design to not only improve performance, but also to increase driver comfort in the cockpit. Due to new regulations put into place by Le Mans organizers, the DBR9 required the installation of an air conditioning unit, to prevent overstressing drivers. Prodrive went further by putting a heat-resistant white roof on all new cars to assist in keeping cockpit temperatures down. Performance modifications included the removal of two, now immaterial, cooling vents from the bonnet of the car.

Racing history

The DBR9 won the

Sebring 12 Hours The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second rou ...

for its LMGT1 category in 2005, but came third in

Le Mans 24 Hour The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...

behind arch-rivals

Corvette Racing Corvette Racing is an American auto racing team established in 1999 by General Motors and Pratt & Miller for the purposes of competing in sports car racing internationally. Corvette Racing is an official racing program for General Motors and t ...

due to fuel problems. In 2006, the DBR9 was unable to repeat its success at Sebring, finishing second behind a Corvette. A similar situation occurred at Le Mans as well. Despite not winning Sebring and Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing regularly challenged Corvette Racing for victory in the rest of the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The American Le Mans' hea ...

schedule, with victories at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's third oldest continuously ope ...

Miller Motorsports Park Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a adva ...

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

, and

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

. Aston Martin capped their 2006 ALMS season by finishing second in the GT1 Manufacturer's Championship, earning the factory team an automatic entry to the

. In the Le Mans Endurance Series,

Larbre Compétition Larbre Compétition is a French auto racing team founded in 1988 by Jack Leconte. Based at the Circuit du Val de Vienne in Le Vigeant, Larbre has had considerable success in the Porsche Carrera Cup, French GT Championship, and international ...

took the Team's Championship, with victories at the 1000 Kilometres of Istanbul and 1000 Kilometres of the Nurburgring, a second-place finish at the 1000 Kilometres of Jarama, and a fifth-place finish at the 1000 Kilometres of Donington. The DBR9 came into the 2006 FIA GT Championship being title contender favourites, but the season was somewhat lacklustre with only two victories at Mugello and Dubai. The Phoenix Racing Aston Martin DBR9 narrowly missed out on victory at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

BMS Scuderia Italia BMS Scuderia Italia SpA (sometimes referred to as simply Scuderia Italia) is an Italian auto racing team founded by Italian steel magnate and motorsports enthusiast Giuseppe Lucchini in 1983. Initially named Brixia Motor Sport (BMS) the team br ...

cited a problem with finding the right tyre compound with their

Pirelli Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...

s as the factor for their lack of success. For 2007, Aston Martin was finally able to overcome their woes at Le Mans, securing the GT1 class victory for the #009 Aston Martin Racing DBR9. Larbre's DBR9 would also manage third place in class. The teams running DBR9s managed to finish every car entered. To celebrate that historic victory, Aston Martin built a very limited edition of the DB9 called the DB9 LM (Le Mans), which featured a unique color, called the Sarthe Silver (named to the track where the Le Mans racing is held), also DBS clear taillights, specific wheels, Magnum silver meshes and crossbar, Sport Pack as standard, a specific interior with red stitching and tertre rouge facia trim. All cars were individually numbered and they are very sought-after today. Later in 2007, Aston Martin launched another limited production, the DBS road car which has many styling cues taken from the DBR9 in conjunction with the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Casino Royale''. Aston Martin Racing's DBR9s raced 2006 and 2007 under the numbers 007 and 009, in honour of James Bond. Unlike the DB9 LM, which was an ultra-exclusive (only 60 built) cosmetic package, the DBS brought many technology from the racing world. A lot of carbon fiber and aluminium used in the body, a serious power upgrade to the engine and a new interior. In 2008, while Larbre and Scuderia Italia moved on from Aston Martin, Prodrive continued to field a two-car factory team at the

. The #009 numbered car, with the new

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

Teams

The Aston Martin DBR9 was last run by two customers team in the

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand to ...

. In the past, there were up to three factory teams and the car has also been sold to customers for private use in various racing series, such as the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

FIA GT Championship The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout ...

FFSA GT Championship The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French Grand Touring-style sports car racing series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' a ...

, and

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

Past factory teams

, run by

Prodrive Prodrive is a British motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races automobile, cars for companies and teams such as Aston Martin, Bahrain Raid Xtreme and Team X44. Its advan ...

(2005–2008) * Aston Martin Racing Larbre, run by

(2005–2007) * Aston Martin Racing BMS, run by

(2005–2007)

Past customer teams

* Team Modena, formerly Cirtek Racing (2005–2008) *

Jetalliance Racing Jetalliance Racing is an Austrian racing team which currently competes in the FIA GT Championship. Founded by Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, former CEO of Jetalliance airlines, in 2006 under the name Race Alliance Motorsport, the team has run two private ...

, formerly RaceAlliance (2006–2009) * Phoenix Racing (2006–2007) * Barwell Motorsports (2007) * Gigawave Motorsport (2007–2009) * Bell Motorsports (2008) * Strakka Racing, also under the

Vitaphone Racing Vitaphone Racing is a German racing team who participate in the FIA GT Championship. The team is actually Bartels Motor & Sport GmbH but runs under the title of their primary sponsor, Vitaphone GmbH. In 2011 Vitaphone Racing was renamed Vita4One. ...

banner (2008) * Team Nova (2009) *

Hexis AMR Hexis Racing is an auto racing team based in Lédenon, France. Hexis Racing was founded by Michel Mateu, CEO of Hexis S.A. in 2001, initially for participation in the French Formula Renault Championship. Hexis later moved into grand tourer racin ...

(2010 - 2011) * Young Driver AMR, run by

Fischer Racing Fischer Racing GmbH is an auto racing team founded by Erhard Fischer in 2006 and based in Paderborn, Germany. Initially created to compete in the German SEAT León Supercopa, the team expanded in 2009, purchasing Ford GTs to compete in the Germ ...

(2010 - 2011)

Chassis

A total of 16 DBR9 chassis were made including a few upgraded chassis' over the five years it has raced so far.

Chassis history

* DBR9/1 The first DBR9 chassis to be built and raced at Le Mans in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

under

, qualified on pole and finished 3rd in class. In 2005, it also competed in the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

, winning the GT1 class and finishing fourth overall. In 2006,

only raced this chassis at the

but, in 2007 they raced it in the

and the

. This chassis competed in the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season and 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season with the

team, eventually winning the 2011 Team's championship. * DBR9/2 Another factory

DBR9 that only picked up one class win and best overall finish of second. Raced in the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship season for

as Car number 4. * DBR9/3 Entered by

for the

2006 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 74th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over 17–18 June 2006. The winners of the race were Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Emanuele Pirro, driving the Audi R10 TDI. For the first time in the history of th ...

and competing in the full

2006 American Le Mans Series season The 2006 American Le Mans Series season was the 36th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the eighth as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP1, ...

and got two class wins. Also raced by

at the

. * DBR9/4 Raced by Team Modena in 2006 and then in 2008 by Strakka Racing who raced at the

2008 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 76th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place on 14–15 June 2008 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The test day was on June 1. The race was atten ...

under the

Vitaphone Racing Team Vitaphone Racing is a German racing team who participate in the FIA GT Championship. The team is actually Bartels Motor & Sport GmbH but runs under the title of their primary sponsor, Vitaphone GmbH. In 2011 Vitaphone Racing was renamed Vita4One. ...

banner. Achieved one class win in the LMS in 2006. * DBR9/5 Raced by Bell Motorsports in the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. No class wins, 4 podiums out of 6 races entered. * DBR9/6 Raced by

under the name

BMS BMS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Be-Music Source, a computer file format and Beatmania simulating game system * Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee, US * '' Blue Mountain State'', a television series * Bibliography of Music Literature (BM ...

. Raced a full

2007 FIA GT Championship season The 2007 FIA GT Championship was the 11th season of FIA GT Championship auto racing. It was a series for Grand Touring style cars competing in two classes, GT1 and GT2, the latter being less powerful and more closely related to road-going models.GT ...

. * DBR9/7 Another

car. No podiums or class wins despite entering a full 2006 FIA GT Championship season. * DBR9/8 Raced by

in the

and the

where it won in the GT1 class. Also raced by

in the

. * DBR9/9 Raced by

at the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

s where it picked no wins. Written off at the 24 Hours of Spa in 2007. * DBR9/10 Only raced at the

where it won in the GT1 class and finished fifth overall. * DBR9/101 Raced under privateer teams under Russian Age Racing who also raced alongside Cirtek Motorsport in 2005 and 2006 who picked up two wins. It was then owned by Team Modena who raced it in 2007 and 2008 including appearances at Le Mans, and Le Mans Series, gaining 4 victories. * DBR9/102 Scheduled to race at the 2006 Mil Milhas Brasileiras under Capuava Racing Team but had engine problems in practice. * DBR9/103 Only raced by

from 2006 right up to the

2009 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: 24 Heures du Mans 2009) was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club ...

. In the three years it picked up 4 wins. * DBR9/104 Raced by Phoenix racing in a full 2006 FIA GT Championship season and only raced once in 2007. It only achieved one win but seven podiums. * DBR9/105 Another DBR9 raced by

including three wins and four podiums in the 2008 FIA GT Championship season. * DBR9/106 Raced by Gigawave Motorsport in 2008 and picked up five podiums. It was meant to race at the

but Gigawave ditched the DBR9 to focus on the

Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alth ...

GT1 programme. The car was used in Gigawave's first Le Man Series race of 2009, the final round at Silverstone, where it won the GT1 class. * DBR9/109 Built for the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season; it raced in the early part of the season. It was also entered for the 1000 km of Spa, where it was extensively damaged in an accident.

Gallery

Image:DBR9celebration1.JPG, Front quarter Image:DBR9celebration2.JPG, Front Image:DBR9celebration3.JPG, Side Image:DBR9celebration4.JPG, Rear end

References

External links

Aston Martin Racing Official Website

*
Aston Martin DBR 9 serial number on Endurance-Series
{{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers Grand tourer racing cars DBR9 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars