Volante Rosso Motorsport’s Declan Fraser has been selected to take part in the prestigious Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy in 2025.
One of 23 drivers to be selected for the Academy, Fraser will be in the running for financial support from AMR towards a 2026 campaign, as well as tailored assistance and mentorship from factory personnel.
The globally recognised program is designed to fast-track emerging talent through Aston Martin’s international racing ranks, with the 2025 intake marking the ninth edition of the AMR Driver Academy.
Evaluation in the program will be based on both on-track performance and off-track conduct, including technical understanding and professionalism, while the judging panel - which features Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner, Le Mans class winner Jonny Adam, academy graduate Hasse Clot, and an AMR leadership team of Rachel Adam, Gus Beteli, and Huw Tasker - will assess drivers using feedback from partner teams, works drivers, and AMR engineers.
Since its inauguration, the AMR Driver Academy has produced a strong list of alumni including British racer Jamie Day – who made an impressive showing at the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour with Volante Rosso Motorsport.
The selection is a major boost for the talented driver, who is currently partaking in his second season in GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, having raced with Triple Eight Race Engineering in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 last year before switching to Volante Rosso Motorsport and its Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 in 2024.
“It’s a privilege to be selected as part of AMR's junior academy. In what is only my second year of GT racing, it is very, very humbling,” Fraser said.
“For me, the benefits will be from learning from the experiences they have. Josh (Hunt) and Chris (Papadopoulos) have put me in contact with a lot of people over in Europe. AMR’s factory drivers are very open when it comes to help learning the cars and even just being involved with the team to develop the dynamic.
“GT racing is still new to me and I’m just learning as much as possible in that aspect as well.
“I want to keep my bum in a seat as much as possible and I’m hoping something can come of this. The biggest thing for me is to just keep the race mileage up and to be part of the program, it can only lead to bigger and better things. I’m hoping that’s what happens and I can be in a race car full-time.
“At Phillip Island in the first round, we rolled out really well. Our Aston Martin was pretty good straight out of the box. It set the precedent of what we wanted to achieve for the year, which is the championship.
“Rolling into Sydney, we had pretty good confidence leading into it, but unfortunately we had a few things not go our way. Liam and I tried to develop the car alongside Josh and Chris to get it into a good window. We struggled that weekend, but since then we found some things.
“Overall, it’s been positive and we’re going into the next round at Queensland Raceway super positive with where we're at. Obviously, to now be a part of the AMR Driver Academy uplifts the team into something positive, plus we receive a bit more help and direction from the squad in the UK as well.
“I think it’s not only good for me, but also Volante Rosso moving forward as well. Together, we’re going to come out swinging at Queensland Raceway and show them exactly what we can do.”
The Victorian isn’t the first GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS driver to receive recognition from an international marque in 2025, with Jayden Ojeda having been announced as a Mercedes Junior Driver earlier this year.
Fraser resumes his GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS campaign alongside teammate Liam Talbot at the EVENTelec GT Festival Queensland at Queensland Raceway later this year, from May 30 – June 1.