The Aston Martin GT1 Championship teams are now known

JMW Motorsport have announced that they will race an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 in 2010. This was the first of a number of announcements from Aston Martin just before Christmas.

The team which competed with a Ferrari 430 in 2009 will lead the GT2 race program. In the past Drayson Racing had run the car but were besieged with mechanical issues.

“This is a very exciting development for our team and reflects the efforts invested over the past seasons. This may be a new car for JMW, but the same desire, commitment and perseverance is still there and we are confident we shall be in the mix from the start," said Team Owner Jim McWhirter.

The team will continue with Dunlop tyres and Rob Bell as one of the drivers.

"I am convinced that the ‘Best of British’ partnership of JMW, Aston Martin, Rob Bell and Dunlop can compete for the 2010 Le Mans Series podiums and stand out in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours," said Jean-Felix Bazelin, General Manager Dunlop Motorsport Europe.

But this was not the only Aston Martin related announcement for the day.

JMW will have a hard task ahead of them. Used to the fast and reliable Ferrari, they will now have to battle with the Aston Martin

The details of the FIA GT1 World Championship campaign also was announced.

Two teams lodged entries for the World Championship - one was Hexis, the other AMR Junior Team.

Both teams will run a pair of GT1 cars and Hexis will continue with the GT3 efforts as well.

Drivers have not been announced yet.

Aston Martin Racing also mentioned on their Twitter, that contrary to rumours, they will compete in more than just Le Mans with their P1 car in 2010.

Sam Tickell