Not often does a young driver get the opportunity to race GT3 machinery, but Valentino Astuti continues to impress driving the KMB Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.
Although the lone GT Trophy entry so far in the opening two rounds of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, the near-decade old Aston Martin has been a regular top 10 contender among the newer Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, Audi and Lamborghini models.
Astuti’s highlight was when he qualified inside the top 10 at The Bend in what was an impressive performance.
“When I got back in the team was excited and happy I ragged the Aston up to ninth,” said Astuti.
“It was a result I didn’t think was on the table, but learning more about the Aston and how everything operates I’m able to push more out of it leading to the strong qualifying placing at The Bend.”
The Aston is owned by regular competitor Mike Bailey, who joined Astuti at Round 1, while Darren Currie filled the co-driver’s seat at The Bend.
Entered under Bailey’s KMB Motorsport banner, but prepared by Milldun Motorsport during the season, the chance to drive the Aston Martin was one Astuti was not going to pass up.
“It was through just knowing and talking to each other, with an opportunity arising to do something regarding the GT3,” said Astuti.
“We took a step forward and have done it seriously to make it happen in the end. We all thought it was a good step in my career and we decided to pursue it.
So far, impressions are good as Astuti aims to build his experience in the hope of progressing to a current specification model in the future.
“It’s a very nice car to drive,” Astuti described.
“It handles well and gives a lot of feedback in regard to what you do with it when driving. Personally, I really like it and it’s a really good car, but we’ve been working hard with Liam Dunn from Mildun Racing to really engineer the Aston to ensure it’s on rails, which has been a success so far.
Although he is a young driver, Astuti acts as somewhat of mentor to Bailey and Currie, a position he’s thriving in.
“Honestly it’s something I’ve been able to adapt to quite quickly because I’m a driver coach outside of my racing,” he explained.
“Don’t get me wrong, they have taught me plenty of things with their experience in those types of cars as I’m very new to it in my own right as well. It’s a really good group of people all working towards a goal and having fun with it.”
Racing in the GT Trophy Class is unique and provides the perfect introduction to Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia as demonstrated by the likes of Brad Schumacher, Mark Rosser, Sergio Pires and Marcel Zalloua, who all started there.
“Pathways have been pretty varied for me as I went from Formula Ford to Super3 to now GT3,” Astuti reflected.
“I think Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia is a competitive category with the newer class cars and it appears to be picking up here.
“It’s a good environment for me to grow my skills.”