Works Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim realises his dream to race Vantage in Germany’s most prestigious motorsport arena
Comtoyou Racing builds on debut DTM season by signing two-time FIA World Endurance GT champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans and Spa winner
Nicolas Baert retained as Thiim’s team-mate in the sister Vantage
Aston Martin partner team Comtoyou Racing will enter works driver Nicki Thiim (DEN) in one of the Belgian squad’s two Vantage GT3s, in a fresh assault on the 2026 DTM. This announcement marks the first time a works Aston Martin driver has contested DTM – one of Europe’s most popular and prestigious GT-only series – driving one of the British ultra-luxury performance brand’s Vantage GT3s.
After a promising debut season Comtoyou Racing, which also retains Nicolas Baert (BEL) in the sister car, returns to the DTM with podium ambitions, having recorded a pole position at Hockenheim and three top-ten finishes during 2025.
DTM is unique among the various GT3-FIA homologated premium GT series. The largely German-based championship, which also hosts events at Austria’s Red Bull Ring and Zandvoort, in the Netherlands, places a premium on hour-long double-header sprint races, with cars allocated to one driver, rather than the more traditional system of shared cars in GT racing.
The announcement marks the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition for Thiim, whose father, Kurt, was a 19-time race winner during his nine-year career in the series and champion in 1986. One of Aston Martin’s most successful and popular works drivers, the Dane is a two-time FIA World Endurance GT champion and has also won his class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Spa 24 Hours (also with Comtoyou Racing) and the ADAC Nürburgring 24 Hours; all of which were achieved at the wheel of Vantage.
“It’s no secret that I have wanted to race in DTM all my life, because when I was a kid, it was the centre of my universe when my father raced in it,” said Thiim, who already has a DTM victory to his name, at the Norisring in 2024. “I’ve already achieved that ambition, but when the DTM moved to an-all GT3 platform, I’ve wanted to represent Aston Martin in the series. So, this is another dream come true for me.
“Carrying the famous wings on my chest in the DTM is very special, and personal, to me. DTM is one of the hardest and most fiercely-contested championships in the world, and its intensity is similar to Formula 1 in this regard. I’ve won with Vantage in so many different arenas, I can hardly wait to try and do it again with Aston Martin in the DTM.”
For Baert, a second season in the DTM is an opportunity to make clear progression with a year’s knowledge of the Vantage GT3 in sprint specification, under his belt: “We made huge progress in 2025,” said the 24-year-old. “DTM is a tough arena to race in, but this year we go in with the advantage of knowing the car, the circuits, the tyres and the championship. This combined with Nicki’s experience, which I’m sure I can learn from, gives us all the elements to make big steps forward in 2026.”
Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, Vantage GT3 – which triumphed at the 24 Hours of Spa in 2024, and more recently finished runner-up in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD Class – is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
Comtoyou Racing is a valued partner team of Aston Martin Racing. Since it started racing Aston Martin Vantages in 2024, the team has enjoyed huge success, including that 24 Hours of Spa overall win – the first for Aston Martin in the GT3 era – and last year claimed the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Drivers’ and Teams’ Silver Cup with Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy winners Jamie Day (GBR) and Kobe Pauwels (BEL).
The DTM is Germany’s most popular racing series, and with its prestigious history dating back more than 40 years, and its impetus on fast, technically advanced and powerful racing cars, it has always attracted some of the best of world’s driving talent. With more than half a million fan attendances in 2025, and a 16-race, eight round championship, Comtoyou Racing will compete against cars from no less than six other major manufacturers.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The DTM is a very prestigious and hugely competitive GT championship and we are proud to see our valued partner Comtoyou Racing choose to race the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 within it. Equally, we are delighted to be able to contribute Nicki Thiim’s outstanding talent and undoubted experience to this programme. Aston Martin Racing wishes Comtoyou Racing, Nicki and Nicolas Baert every success in this venture.”
