As well as competing with the Vantage at this year’s Le Mans, Aston Martin is returning to the circuit with its 1959 Le Mans winning DBR1, as a tribute to its drivers Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, who passed away in recent weeks.The world-famous DBR1 will travel to Le Mans this week where it will be on display outside Aston Martin’s hospitality suite at the Parc du Raccordement, near to the start of the pit straight.

There is a real Aston Martin theme to this year’s race. There will be an Aston Martin Festival of Le Mans, an exclusive single-marque support event that will see a total of 30 GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4 racers competing for 45 minutes in the largest display of Aston Martin-built racing cars ever seen. The race starts at 11.15 CET on Saturday, 16 June. The list of entrants includes pretty well every type of racing Aston Martin of the modern era: three DBR9s in the GT1 class, three Vantage GT2s, two V12 Vantage GT3s and four DBRS9s in the GT3 category, 17 Vantage GT4s and the Nürburgring 24 Hour podium-finishing V12 Zagato.Meanwhile the Aston Martin Vantage GTE has qualified second in its class, half a second behind the leading Ferrari 458 Italia. Aston Martin says its target is a podium finish in both the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am categories.

For an espresso-hit of nostalgia, watch this special Aston Martin film of the 1959 race.