WEC: Mathias Lauda gets works Aston deal

Former DTM driver Mathias Lauda will return to sports cars in 2015 to contest the World Endurance Championship with Aston Martin Racing.

Lauda, whose previous full sports car program came in 2012 with the Vitaphone Racing BMW team, will share a GTE Am class entry in the eight-round WEC together with Paul Dalla Lana and Pedro Lamy.

The son of three-time Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda will also take part in selected rounds of the North American Endurance Cup rounds in the GT Le Mans class, starting with the Rolex 24 at Daytona alongside Dalla Lana, Lamy and Darren Turner.

Lauda has been signed to replace Dane Christoffer Nygaard, who has lost his place in the line-up after being upgraded from silver to gold status. The Austrian becomes the car's mandatory silver-rated driver after being downgraded from gold ahead of last season, despite racing in Formula 3000 and GP2 in 2004-'05.

"We have done quite a lot of research and we think that Mathias is one of the best silvers around," said AMR team boss John Gaw. "Stefan [Mucke] has driven with him in the past and told us that he is a good team player, which is also very important."

Lauda has yet to drive the Aston Vantage GTE and will get his first taste of the car in the official "Roar Before the 24" test at Daytona, which starts this Friday. Gaw explained that it made sense to bring Lauda in for Daytona so that he could get used to working with his WEC teammates.

AMR has not ruled out utilizing a fifth driver in Mucke, who will not be at the test because he is contesting the Dubai 24 Hours with the KPM Aston squad.

The exact lineups for subsequent rounds of the NAEC at Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta have yet to be finalized.

Gaw would not be drawn on the driving squads in AMR's second Am car and its Pro entries.

Nygaard, 28, will drive The Racers Group team's lead GT Daytona class Aston Martin V12 Vantage together with James Davidson and Christina Nielsen in the four NAEC events.