There’s a pleasing bit of mischief in the name, but Car Blanche is taking its 2027 IMSA program very seriously. The team has been confirmed as the first entry for next year’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, committing to a full-season campaign in the GTD Pro class with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO.

The all-white No. 68 Aston Martin will be driven by Aston Martin Racing factory drivers Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sørensen. That gives the new program a proper professional foundation from the outset, rather than the familiar motorsport approach of assembling a car, finding two available drivers, and hoping the timing screens show mercy.

A Full-Season Commitment, Not a One-Off Appearance

IMSA’s confirmation makes Car Blanche the first officially announced entry for the 2027 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The distinction matters because a full-season GTD Pro effort requires considerably more than showing up with a handsome GT3 car and a large quantity of optimism.

The team will need to prepare for the demands of a championship that mixes sprint-style intensity with long-distance endurance racing. A car that is fast over a short run is useful. A car that can protect its tires, manage fuel, survive traffic, tolerate changing weather and remain mechanically healthy deep into a race is far more valuable. Endurance racing has a habit of punishing theatrical ambition.

Car Blanche’s announcement establishes a firm base for its 2027 plans, although the available details stop short of outlining the team’s wider operation. There has been no information released here about its technical partners, crew structure, testing schedule, commercial backing or race-by-race objectives. Those details will shape how seriously the program can challenge once the season begins.

Why GTD Pro Is the Right Place for the Aston Martin

GTD Pro is built around current GT3 machinery, which means the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO will not be some exotic prototype disguised as a road car. It is a purpose-built racing machine derived from Aston Martin’s Vantage family, developed for international GT competition and balanced against rival GT3 cars through the regulations.

That balance is central to the class. GT3 cars use different engine layouts, chassis concepts and aerodynamic solutions, but series organizers work to keep the field competitive through measures such as adjustments to weight, power and aerodynamic performance. The intention is to reward teams and drivers without allowing one manufacturer’s fundamental design advantage to turn the season into a parade.

GTD Pro also places the emphasis firmly on professional driver lineups. That is where Hasse Clot and Sørensen become particularly important. Their appointment gives Car Blanche a pairing with factory-level experience and aligns the team with the class’s intended character: serious machinery, serious drivers and very little room for the sort of amateur improvisation that makes for entertaining club racing but rather less useful championship points.

Aston Martin’s GT3 Package Gets a New American Home

The Vantage GT3 EVO is the latest development of Aston Martin’s GT3 race car. The “EVO” label indicates an evolution of an existing platform rather than a clean-sheet replacement, a sensible approach in a category where manufacturers refine aerodynamics, suspension behavior, reliability and serviceability over time.

For Car Blanche, choosing the Aston Martin brings the advantages and complications of joining an established global GT program. Factory support can provide valuable technical knowledge, driver expertise and access to a broader racing network. It also means the team will be judged against other Aston Martin operations in major championships, not merely against the cars in its own garage.

That comparison can be useful. A new team running a familiar platform has a clearer reference point than one trying to develop an entirely new car and race operation simultaneously. But the Aston Martin still has to be integrated into Car Blanche’s own engineering systems, pit-stop routines and operational culture. A capable car does not automatically produce a capable race team. If it did, motorsport would be much cheaper and far less interesting.

The Drivers Bring Factory Experience

Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sørensen will share the No. 68 entry throughout the campaign. Both are Aston Martin Racing factory drivers, giving the program an experienced pairing with a direct connection to the manufacturer’s GT effort.

That continuity should help Car Blanche during the long process of turning a new entry into a dependable championship operation. Drivers in endurance racing do more than produce lap times. They help engineers understand tire behavior, traffic management, braking performance and the subtle changes that occur as a car carries more fuel, loses grip or moves through a long stint.

Their role will be particularly valuable during the early stages of the program. New teams often discover that the difficult parts of endurance racing are not the obvious ones. Pit-lane procedures, driver changes, communication, setup compromises and traffic management can decide a result just as decisively as outright pace. A factory driver can identify those problems quickly, but the team still has to build the systems that prevent them from returning.

The No. 68 Will Be Difficult to Miss

Visually, Car Blanche is not attempting camouflage. The Aston Martin will run in an all-white livery, carrying the No. 68. In a field of GT3 cars covered in sponsor panels, neon accents and aerodynamic visual noise, a clean white race car could look almost rebellious.

It also suits the team’s name rather neatly. Whether the final livery remains completely white or gains additional branding before the season begins, the No. 68 should be one of the easier entries to identify on track. That is helpful for fans, photographers and anyone trying to follow a multi-class race while several cars of different manufacturers appear to be occupying the same patch of asphalt at once.

What Car Blanche Must Prove in 2027

The announcement confirms commitment, but not competitiveness. That will be determined by the details still to come: the quality of the engineering group, the depth of the crew, the team’s preparation mileage and its ability to execute without wasting performance in the pits or the control room.

A full IMSA season is an excellent way to expose weaknesses. Sprint races punish a lack of qualifying speed and slow pit work. Endurance events punish fragile components, poor strategy and drivers who cannot share a car cleanly over several hours. Weather can turn a carefully prepared plan into a damp piece of paper. The championship does not care how elegant the press release looked.

Car Blanche has, at least, started with the most important ingredients clearly defined: a current Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, a full-season GTD Pro commitment, the No. 68 and two factory drivers. The rest of the operation will determine whether this is merely a stylish new entry or a genuine contender.

For Aston Martin, the program adds another American platform for its GT3 machinery. For IMSA, it provides an early piece of the 2027 grid. And for Car Blanche, the blank page is no longer blank. It now has a car, a class, a driver pairing and a rather conspicuous shade of white. The hard work begins when the garage doors open.