DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — New entrant Car Blanche has certainly made a splash in its first two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races — both on- and off-track.
Heading into Watkins Glen International, YRB Racing entered as a new team after acquiring the previous van der Steur Racing team that has concluded operations. That said, the bulk of the Car Blanche staff have carried over from the VDSR banner, in collaboration with some Aston Martin technical support.
The all-white No. 068 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo came out strong, topping the Grand Touring Daytona charts in both practice sessions. The car started ninth in the 20-car class after GTD qualifying was abandoned due to failing to meet the guaranteed minimum green flag time, and the grid was set by Other Means (team championship points).
As the Car Blanche entry acquired the transferred VDSR GTD team points, that at least got it a mid-grid starting position rather than a back-of-the-grid slot for its debut.
Despite a roller coaster race amidst the nine full-course cautions, the trio of Valentin Hasse Clot, Trenton Estep and WeatherTech Championship debutant Marius Fossard fully kept their noses clean and scored a debut podium finish. Hasse Clot was brimming with confidence from the car’s practice pace and said he wasn’t surprised with the podium.
“It was not unexpected because we topped both practice sessions and got just a bit unlucky at some stages in the race with pit lane closed and everything,” Hasse Clot said. “And we made our way back into the top three, so we had a very good lineup for that race with two drivers we trust.
“Trenton is an in-house driver in the GT4 category, so he had a lot of running the same weekend and knows the team. Marius is my little protégé in Europe, in ELMS and Le Mans, and we’d just finished 24 Hours of Le Mans days before. So, it was in a good rhythm. I think it was not a huge surprise, but for sure a big relief for us.”
No sooner than Car Blanche scored a debut GTD podium came its next new chapter early in its story: stepping up to Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) for the next round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. And that decision came shortly after the podium, per Hasse Clot and Car Blanche Team Principal Christopher Deely.
“I think it has always been a goal for us,” Hasse Clot said. “Especially for Chris and I in the background. For two or three years, our goal was to one day reach GTD PRO. So after the switch and the change and we decided to go as soon as possible to learn.
“We could have waited for the end of the year, but it’s good testing. As Chris said, at some point you need to go. So why not now? So especially after a very good weekend in Watkins, with the first podium for us, we thought it would be the right moment.”
Hasse Clot and Scott Andrews shared the renumbered No. 68 car for its GTD PRO debut, qualifying fifth and finishing 10th.
Livery-wise, the team’s white car had some new matte black added to the car’s undertray with Deely noting the team “loves the white” and “loves to start with this new, fresh delivery.” The other change was the car color number going from the green and white GTD number panels to the red and white GTD PRO ones. That also meant adapting to the slightly different GTD PRO procedures, such as the wave-by process during full-course cautions.
The goal for 2027, the team indicated, is a full-season GTD PRO effort with one Aston Martin.
Somewhat under the radar has been Car Blanche’s success this season in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, with its GT4 specification No. 66 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO. This Car Blanche car features a predominately black livery.
Leaving CTMP, Estep and Allen Patten sit sixth in the GS championship after improving their result in each of the six races so far this year.
Estep and Patten finished 16th in a Thunder Bunny Racing-entered BMW M4 GT4 EVO at Daytona but switched to the then-van der Steur Aston at Sebring. In the three VDSR GS races, the pairing finished 14th, 12th and ninth. In its two Car Blanche races, they’ve finished a season-best fifth and fourth at Watkins Glen and CTMP.
“We’ve been chasing the results big time in that car, and Trenton’s been almost the fastest driver in every session that we put him in,” Deely said of Estep. “So, we wanted to give him the opportunity in the GT3 (at Watkins Glen), just because he’s an in-house name, and he deserved the opportunity.”
Hasse Clot is fully enjoying his first run through the full WeatherTech Championship schedule, too. While he missed the Monterey round – where Andrews filled in alongside Rory van der Steur in what proved to be the last race for the No. 19 VDSR entry – the young Frenchman is quickly establishing himself as a driver to watch.
“I love it because I always think that a (full) championship is interesting,” Hasse Clot explained. “The more races you have, the more interesting it is because it rewards the reliable and consistent drivers. So far, I love doing endurance and sprint. Unfortunately, we’re not looking at points this year because, A, I missed a race for ELMS (European Le Mans Series) and B, we changed the class. But I’m excited to kick off next season and chase the points.”
As for the Car Blanche outlook? If its white Aston Martin becomes as much of a notable or memorable livery as Corvette Racing’s yellow, Ford Racing’s blue, BMW’s white, blue and red, Pfaff’s plaid, Vasser Sullivan Lexus’ neon and black, McLaren’s papaya, or AO Racing’s “Rexy” green and its other associated characters, among others, it’ll be mission accomplished.
“It’s the start of a new adventure, so we’re starting from a white (blank) page and a white car, and we will see later on,” Hasse Clot laughed. “It’s funny because the people seem to love that white car.”
