Gaydon: Recently-crowned British GT GT4 Silver class champion Jamie Day (GBR) has become the latest aspiring GT racer to graduate top of the class in the Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy.
The 19-year-old, who lives in Dubai, joins an illustrious list of AMR Driver Academy winners that includes IMSA GTD Pro race winner Ross Gunn (GBR), 2022 IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis (CDN), works driver and reigning Le Mans Cup champion Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA), former British GT4 champion Tom Canning (GBR), Romain Leroux (FRA) and most recently Mike David Ortmann (DEU).
Day, who has raced Aston Martin machinery for the past three seasons, first made headlines when he became the youngest ever class winner and polesitter in the British GT [BGT] championship in 2022. In 2024, he enjoyed a stellar multi-campaign season racing the new Aston Martin Vantage GT4, both in the British GT Championship with Forsetti Motorsport and the GT4 European Silver Class with Racing Spirit of Léman. His three class wins en route to the title, as well as two Silver class podiums in Europe helped him to stand out among a record crop of 32 AMR Driver Academy candidates through 2024, though Day excelled in all aspects of the Academy process.
The Briton’s 2025 season begins this weekend when he takes part in his home race, the Dubai 24 Hours, with the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa-winning Comtoyou Racing team in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The rest of Day’s 2025 programme has yet to be announced but will include several further GT3 outings with the ultra-luxury sportscar brand.
Day said of his AMR Driver Academy graduation: “I am truly honoured to have won the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy this year and to have won the support of the Aston Martin factory ahead of 2025. This award allows me to take another step towards my goal of becoming a works driver. I would like to thank the whole of the AMR family for their continued support and helping me progress to the next stage in my career.”
The AMR Driver Academy is an annual initiative designed to fast-track talent from within its thriving partner team network and is another way for Aston Martin to contribute back to motorsport by investing in and honing future talent.
A unique and unrivalled platform for learning and development with an established manufacturer, this essential initiative is fine-tuned every year and improved to effectively coach drivers in the early stages of their careers. Competitors aged between 17 and 26 with Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in recognised championships are eligible. The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2026 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans. Further evaluation of the most outstanding candidates may also include a test in a Vantage GT3 at the end of the 2025 season.
The candidates benefit from an exclusive seminar that includes media training, simulator training and bespoke guidance on physical preparation and nutrition. AMR in-house commercial staff will provide key marketing and sponsorship advice and there is a factory-based engineering workshop to further the candidates’ understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage.
The judging panel, which includes three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD class champion Darren Turner (GB), four-times British GT champion Jonny Adam, former Academy winner and works driver Valentin Hasse Clot, AMR Head of Performance Gus Beteli and Head of AMR Partner Racing Huw Tasker, will evaluate each drivers’ ability to manage the strategic, teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects of their role. Finally, the outstanding candidate will demonstrate the most potential to develop their talent for the future.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “We are delighted for Jamie to have graduated from the AMR Academy. Since he began racing Vantage back in 2022, he has consistently shown a high level of talent and matched it with outstanding results. Jamie has shown all the qualities required to be a successful GT racer and we are pleased to see that he will continue his upwards trajectory in Aston Martin machinery in 2025. As a mechanism for assessing and identifying outstanding talent within our partner ranks, the AMR Driver Academy is an essential tool and one we always value highly.”
