Comtoyou Racing
 | |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Team principal(s) | Jean-Michel Baert |
| Current series | GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup |
| Former series | TCR Europe Touring Car Series World Touring Car Cup TCR International Series Fun Cup ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship |
| Current drivers |  Nicolas Baert |
| Website | http://www.comtoyouracing.com/ |
| Company type | Sprl |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Founded | October 15, 2015 in Waterloo, Walloon Brabant, Belgium |
| Founder | Jean-Michel Baert Sylvie Mulliez |
| Headquarters | Chaussée de Bruxelles 463, , |
 € -1.393.206[1] (2017) | |
| € -1.701.984 (2017) | |
| Total assets |  € 1.184.585 (2017) |
| Total equity |  € 350.000 (2017) |
Number of employees | (2017) |
JNVS Sprl, competing as Comtoyou Racing, is a Belgian auto racing team based in Waterloo, Belgium. Upon its creation the team raced in the Fun Cup. The team has also previously raced in the TCR International Series in 2017.[2] Between 2018 and 2023 Comtoyou Racing represented Audi Sport in the World Touring Car Cup. From 2024 on the team will race Aston Martin cars in various GT3 and GT4 championships.
Racing history
[edit]2014–16: Fun Cup
[edit]Having first entered the championship in 2014. The team raced in the series for many seasons with four or five cars. Having taken many great results, the team kept entering the series for many years. However, the team have never won the championship as of 2016.
2017–2023: Audi Sport representation in TCR and GT Racing
[edit]
After having raced in the Fun Cup, the team entered the 2017 TCR International Series with 2-time series' champion Stefano Comini driving an Audi RS 3 LMS TCR.[2]
Comini took the team's first podium position in the series, in the opening round held in Georgia.[3]
They finished the season with a 3rd place for Stefano Comini scoring a further 3 race wins.
Comtoyou Racing stepped up to the WTCR in 2018 after the TCR International Series was folded. The team ran 4 Audi RS3 LMSs in partnership with Audi Sport. They won 1 race in Macau with Belgian Audi factory driver Frédéric Vervisch. They continued to enter Audi RS3 LMS cars between 2019 and 2022 earning several wins and multiple podiums. The team's best result came in 2021 where they ended runner-up in both the Drivers' and Teams' championship. Aside from The WTCR Comtoyou Racing also ran in the TCR Europe Touring Car Series between 2018 and 2023, running similar Audi RS3 LMS cars. They won the Drivers' and Teams' title in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
In 2023 Comtoyou racing announced their intention to race GT3 machinery. Given their close relationship with Audi Sport the team decided to purchase and enter several Audi R8 LMS Evo IIs in the GT World Challenge Europe. They decided to contest both the Sprint and Endurance cups. In their first race at Monza the team won in both the Gold & Silver Cup classes. At the end of the season the team won both the Drivers' and Teams' titles in the Gold Cup of the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. However, due to the decision of Audi Sport to end their factory backing in GT3 racing, Comtoyou decided to part ways with Audi at the end of the 2023 season.
2024–present: Switch to Aston Martin
[edit]
On September 30 2023, it was announced that Comtoyou Racing would form a new partnership with Aston Martin Racing. The team will enter several of the updated version of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as well as the GT4 cars in various championship under the name of AMR Comtoyou Racing, receiving factory support.[4] On June 30 2024 Comtoyou Racing won the 2024 24 Hours of Spa with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 #007 driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim. The car was on route to second when it inherited the lead less than 1 hour from the finish when the leading Ferrari was blocked in the pitlane by a stranded car. This victory marked Comtoyou Racing's first major victory as well as Aston Martin's first win in the Spa 24 Hours since 1948.
Racing record
[edit]Notable victories
[edit]- Overall winner – 2024 24 Hours of Spa–Francorchamps
Main championship titles
[edit]Timeline
[edit]| Current series | |
|---|---|
| Fun Cup | 2014–present |
| TCR Europe Touring Car Series | 2018–present |
| GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | 2023–present |
| GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup | 2023–present |
| International GT Open | 2024–present |
| Former Series | |
| TCR International Series | 2017 |
| World Touring Car Cup | 2018–2022 |
| ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship | 2019, 2022 |
| TCR World Tour | 2023 |
References
[edit]- ^ "JNVS". Balanscentrale. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Comini in an Audi RS 3 LMS run by Comtoyou Racing". tcr-series.com. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Davit Kajaia holds off Ferenc Ficza for sensational home win". TouringCarTimes. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Comtoyou Racing with Aston Martin from 2024". gt-world-challenge-europe.com. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2024.