The partnership between Aston Martin and Prodrive was formed with the specific purpose of developing the DBR9, a heavily modified racing variant of the Aston Martin DB9. Aston Martin plays an integral role in designing the race cars and in feeding lessons from motorsport back into its road car development; all cars are physically built by Prodrive at their factory. The DBR9 made its racing debut in 2005 at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where the team claimed victory in its very first race, defeating the Corvette Racing squad. The RAC Tourist Trophy was also won later that same year.
For 2006 Aston Martin Racing entered the full American Le Mans Series season, earning five victories including the Petit Le Mans and finishing second in the GT1 championship by just three points from Corvette Racing. The team's GT1 program continued to bear fruit internationally: in 2007, Aston Martin earned its first Le Mans GT class victory since the company's overall win in 1959, overcoming Corvette. This result was repeated in the GT1 class in 2008.
A broader customer program developed alongside the factory effort, with the V8 Vantage forming the basis for cars competing in GT3, GT4, and eventually the GTE class. The DBRS9 was used in GT3 ahead of the dedicated GT3 Vantage's introduction.
In 2008, Aston Martin Racing entered the Le Mans Prototype category by installing a DBR9 V12 engine into a Lola B08/60 LMP1 prototype chassis, in partnership with Charouz Racing System. A full works LMP1 entry followed for the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Lola-Aston Martin B09/60. Two cars ran in the iconic Gulf Oil blue and orange livery, echoing Aston Martin's 1959 overall Le Mans win with the DBR1. At Le Mans the 007 car of Jan Charouz, Tomáš Enge, and Stefan Mücke finished fourth overall, the highest-placed petrol-fuelled car in the race. The 2009 Le Mans Series season was more successful, with Aston Martin securing the overall drivers and constructors championships including a 1-2-3 sweep at the ADAC 1000 km Nürburgring.
The prototype program continued in 2010 with three entries at Le Mans before a more ambitious step for 2011: the Aston Martin AMR-One, powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine. The car proved deeply troubled in its first outings, lapping at LMP2 pace. At Le Mans 2011 the program collapsed dramatically, with both cars retiring within four laps — a combined six laps completed at the 79th Grand Prix of Endurance. The team reverted to running the older B09/60 for the remainder of the season.
From 2012 onward, Aston Martin Racing focused its factory effort on the GTE classes of the newly formed FIA World Endurance Championship with the Aston Martin Vantage GTE. The car proved consistently competitive, earning victories and titles across multiple seasons. In 2014 Aston Martin won the LMGTE Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Danish duo Kristian Poulsen and David Heinemeier Hansson, and also claimed the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams and Drivers. The 2016 season brought the World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers with Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen, along with the LMGTE Pro Teams championship. The 2017 season added championships in both the GTE Am Drivers and Teams categories, and the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro class was won by Darren Turner, Jonny Adam, and Daniel Serra.
On 23 December 2020, Aston Martin Racing announced the end of its LMGTE Pro factory program to focus on the Formula One effort and continuing the LMGTE Am program via customer partners.
In October 2023, Aston Martin announced a return to the top class of endurance racing with the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, in partnership with The Heart of Racing. The car uses a 6.5-litre Aston Martin-Cosworth RA V12 engine adapted to Le Mans Hypercar regulations, with a 7-speed sequential gearbox developed by Xtrac. The program entered the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship grids in 2025, running two cars in the WEC hypercar class and one in the IMSA GTP class.
Aston Martin Racing has demonstrated consistent success across multiple eras and classes. Its 2005 race debut win at Sebring, the consecutive GT victories at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008, and the sustained GTE championship campaigns established AMR as one of the more dependable GT operations in international endurance racing. The return to hypercar competition with the Valkyrie AMR-LMH brings Aston Martin back to the outright top tier for the first time since the troubled AMR-One program of 2011.
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