Young stars headline second R-Motorsport Aston

R-Motorsport has confirmed a trio of young stars will drive their second entry in the 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. 

Having already announced their Castrol-supported entry to be driven by Rick Kelly, Scott Dixon and Jake Dennis, the team has locked in three rising stars of GT and open-wheel racing to drive the sister entry.

17-year old Olli Caldwell from Hampshire in the UK and 24-year old Luca Ghiotto from Vincenza in Italy will be the latest newcomers to R-Motorsport. They will be joined by experienced German GT3 driver Marvin Kirchhöfer, 25, who finished runner-up in last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

The team’s youngest rookie Olli Caldwell debuted in junior karting in 2013 and progressed in various karting categories before starting his single seater career with a few Formula 4 races in 2017. In 2018, the Englishman finished 3rd overall in the Italian Formula 4 Championship and in the same year he also contested the ADAC Formula 4 Championship. One Highlight of Caldwell’s first complete year in automobile sport was his win of the GT4 categoriy in the Abu Dhabi 12H in December 2018.

In the 2019 season, Caldwell stepped up to the Formula 3 Regional European Championship ending his first F3 year in 5th. The Bathurst classic will be his very first GT3 race.

“I am really excited to join such a professional and capable team like R-Motorsport in the famous Bathurst 12 Hours,” enthuses Caldwell.

“The Swiss outfit has a proven record of success and I am looking forward to the enormous challenge that the Mount Panorama circuit offers.

I want to learn as much as I can from everybody in the team to quickly adapt my driving style to the Aston Martin Vantage GT3’s needs with the main target to support my team mates in a capable way. I can’t wait to go out onto the Mountain circuit for my first lap.”

Ghiotto finished third in the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, winning four races for the UNI-Virtuosi team last year.

After three years in F2, the Italian has five wins and 20 podium finishes to his credit in the Formula One feeder category.

“We are proud to enter our strongest GT3 driver line-up ever. With Luca Ghiotto and Olli Caldwell joining R-Motorsport GT3 Pro Marvin Kirchhöfer we welcome two young talents at the season opener at Bathurst,” says team principal Dr. Florian Kamelger.

“Together with the drivers squad of Scott Dixon, Rick Kelly and Jake Dennis in the Castrol liveried car they complete our formidable two-car team.”

“We are delighted to be returning ‘Down Under’ for the GT3 season opener with this fine driver line-up. The last time we competed at Bathurst we achieved a sensational second, the best result ever managed by Aston Martin in this famous event. The 12-hour race in Australia is one of the most important GT3 endurance races in the world, and achieving a top result in the classic at Mount Panorama is sure to be a big challenge for us again.”