YRB Racing, Car Blanche Elevate To GTD Pro Class Starting Now

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There's a lot going on with the newest team on the IMSA WeatherTech grid as we've gotten another dose of 'what the?!' with YRB Racing.

Revealed to their Instagram page just before Noontime on Monday, the former Van Der Steur Racing outfit announced that not only has the driver lineup changed in time for their second race coming up at CTMP on Sunday, but more shockingly that the car will be joining into the GTD Pro ranks for the race as well.

Out are Trenton Estep and Marrius Fossard, and in draws Scott Andrews who returns to the fold alongside Valentine Hasse-Clot.

Andrews last raced with VDSR at Laguna Seca back in May so there draws the familiarity between the two parties, while the Aussie was also racing with Lone Star Racing through the first three Michelin Endurance Cup rounds of the 2026 season at Daytona, Sebring and just recently at the Glen.

For the GTD Pro class, the entry will serve as the first Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo to enter into the class since the Heart of Racing fielded a one-off entry No. 007 to the 24 Hours of Daytona last season, which before that THOR ran the No. 23 AMR as a full-season Pro entry in 2024 before turning their efforts towards their Valkyrie entry in 2025.

As for YRB, this move is a fantastic addition to the Pro ranks as we'll always accept more entries into the class. YRB's first race as a team at the Glen produced an amazing podium finish, with the trio of Hasse-Clot, Trenton Estep and Marius Fossard beating out all but two fellow class competitors to claim a P3 finish.

There is a bit of a whiplash effect for Estep and Fossard after having just completed that first race with the team, and at this time it remains to be seen what will come of the two for the rest of the IMSA WeatherTech season and how the Pro lineups would shake out, and if YRB would opt to try and secure the services of another Pro talent for the final endurance rounds of the year at Road America and Petit Le Mans.

It is also completely fascinating to try and figure out more about YRB and how they've burst onto the scene here in the middle part of the campaign. Obviously the transition of VDSR to YRB took place and we can assume most things stayed the same while a new paint scheme was simply applied, however it is interesting to think about who and how much was retained or changed between the organizations? We're talking race directors, engineers, the pit crew, equipment, etc. Ideally we'll get more answers soon as they continue building their foundation in the series.

More to come...

(photo via Motorsport Media Hub)





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