LM24: ELMS champ joins Aston Le Mans line-up

Reigning European Le Mans Series champion Gary Hirsch has joined the Beechdean Aston Martin squad for next month's Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 29-year-old Swiss, who won the 2015 ELMS together with Jon Lancaster and Bjorn Wirdheim at Greaves Motorsport, will drive Beechdean's Aston Martin Vantage GTE in the World Endurance Championship double-points round on June 18/19. He will share the Aston Martin Racing-run GTE Am entry with team owner Andrew Howard and British GT race winner Liam Griffin, who contested two WEC rounds with AMR last season.

Hirsch said: "I am honoured to be part of Beechdean Aston Martin Racing for the Le Mans 24 Hours. "This new journey is very exciting, especially as my last race in a GT car was in 2011 [a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3]."

Beechdean has graduated to the European Le Mans Series for 2016 after winning the British GT title last season with Howard and AMR factory driver Jonny Adam.

This will be Beechdean's second appearance at Le Mans, six years after running a Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S LMP1 for ex-Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell and sons Greg and Leo.

Originally on Autosport.com