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Claude Bovet Interview

Simon Hawkins | Published on 11/29/2024

Nestled in the picturesque Cotswold Hills close to Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire you will find Blackthorn. Formed in 2022, Blackthorn is owned by the charismatic and energetic Claude Bovet. Claude and founding team member Dan Jeal have dedicated the last 2 years to forming a highly competitive racing outfit competing in both the British GT Championship and the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series in 2024. The team have scored numerous podium victories including a class win in Le Mans in the 2024 "Road to Le Mans" support race at La Sarthe. As a customer racing team, Blackthorn can run its 3 Aston Martin GT3 Evo cars in championships across Europe, the UK, Asia/Middle East and the USA. Blackthorn have a particular emphasis on the ACO championships with an ultimate personal target for Claude of racing the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Car #97 on the way to winning The Road to Le Mans support race at La Sarthe 2023

Claude kindly invited David Thornton and myself to a visit Blackthorn in October this year to meet the team and to understand more about Claude’s key motivators and passion behind the growth of this official AMR partner team and its close association with AML.

Claude is the team owner, managing director & an amateur bronze driver. Claude began his journey into racing in the summer of 2021 following the purchase of a Ferrari racing car, fulfilling a lifelong dream. As the owner of the hedge fund firm, Lionscrest, Claude was keen to channel his entrepreneurial success into building a world class race team. He centered his energy and investment around a team of highly-experienced and talented individuals, spearheaded by Dan Jeal, with the objective of becoming a recognized force in the paddock.

Claude with one of their Aston GT3 Evos undergoing post-race maintenance

Once we arrived Claude quickly introduced us to Dan.

Dan Jeal (team principal, director and founding team member) has worked within the motorsport industry for over 25 years, having been involved in major motorsport championships.

In addition, Blackthorn assembled an impressive team of drivers since formation which included James Swift, Le Mans winners Jonny Adam and Darren Turner, Josh Rowledge, Matt Topham and Italian Giacomo Petrobelli. We look forward to reporting on the line up for 2025 when announced.

Although Blackthorn was only established at the start of 2022, it made an instant impact in the British Endurance Championship where Claude clinched the GTC class title in a Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo at his first attempt. He also won the three-hour 2023 BEC curtain raiser at Silverstone in the same year.

Claude quickly set his sights on the British GT Championship and switched mid-season to the new Aston GT3. Speaking at the time Claude said:

“I only began racing last season but things went very well in BEC so when the time came to look at other options British GT was top of the list. We considered lodging a full-season entry but decided that a toe-in-the-water exercise would be a better route to ultimately being competitive against the country’s best Am drivers. This is just the start for us. I’m also excited to be racing the Aston Martin. It’s not so different to the Mercedes-AMG – front engine, V8. We felt this was a great opportunity to begin a close relationship with a British manufacturer, as well as one that’s based just 30 minutes from our workshop.".

Speaking with Claude you quickly become aware of his friendly and approachable persona. It was not long into our conversation before his enthusiasm for Aston Martin was evident. Claude is Swiss but his passion for British culture and life is strong.

"Aston Martin is a brand that I am highly passionate about. The beauty of the designs shine through. Aston Martin symbolises what is great about British culture combining style, glamour and elegance. It is also a brand that has a strong resonance with the British public, and I really covet that connection. We looked at going racing with a number of other brands including Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren. For me it was the immediate connection with Aston that won through. Aston Martin Racing (AMR) responded constructively to my ideas and were positive towards my objectives and how I wanted to develop the team in the medium term. We were not looking to just buy cars and go racing we wanted to develop a suite of services and ideas around the brand that could have wider benefits to our customers. The other manufacturers were very closed and protective about this and would have made for a much less exciting journey for me".

Motorsport at GT level is an expensive business and relies heavily on owner investment and sponsorship. "GT racing is my passion and the thrill and excitement from every race is just amazing and I really enjoy being a part of this. However, I am also keen to develop profitable business opportunities that will underpin our ambitious plans for the future.” Blackthorn already have a number of different track day race cars prepared that can be hired or purchased.

Claude surviving first corner mayhem at Spa in 2024

Claude clearly wants to take Blackthorn to the highest level of the sport and to ultimately compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans. Blackthorn’s relationship with the ACO is constantly developing with the objective of entering a car into the European Le Mans Series and 2 cars in the Le Mans Cup.

I would have gladly entered three cars if they allowed me but competition for a limited number of entries is quite strong.

As a precursor to this Claude has confirmed one Vantage GT3 Evo #19 entry into the GT Category of the 2024-2025 Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) and a second Vantage GT3 for the 4 ALMS races at Abu Dhabi and Dubai in February.

The 2024–25 ALMS will be the thirteenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series (since merged with the Rolex Sports Car Series to form the United SportsCar Championship), the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The six-event season will be staged at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang on 6 December 2024, Dubai 7-9 February 2025 and will conclude at the Yas Marina on February 14-16 2025. Each round will consist of double header races. So far the ALMS have confirmed an impressive 45 car grid to start the season.

The Blackthorn car livery is truly a work of art and a real stand out amongst the paddock giving the team a striking visual identity.

The Blackthorn livery projecting a striking visual identify in the pitlane

Claude took the innovative decision to engage Frank Stephenson Design to create a bespoke livery with a design brief that sought to fuse the elegance and coolness of Aston Martin and James Bond. The result is a striking and unforgettable design revelation. Claude said; “Frank is widely regarded as one of the most influential automotive designers of our time, and has designed some of the uttermost iconic supercars including the McLaren P1, the Maserati MC12 and the Ferrari FXX. Plus he is a super guy. He was absolutely the right choice for us.”

Originally the colour scheme was silver and black and then migrated to green and black aligning more strongly with the Aston racing colours. Claude is also involved with the exclusive “unleashed programme” and had the pleasure of being driven around Paul Ricard Circuit in the Valkyrie AMR Pro by Darren Turner. “It was off the scale and very much like experiencing the wildness of a roller coaster ride”. As part of the package of Unleashed events Blackthorn provided opportunity for delegates to take a ride in one of its Vantage GT3 Evo. Claude said that “this was something everyone really enjoyed with passengers getting a real sense of the DNA connection between the race and the road cars”. Claude is keen to develop a close synergy with AML and the future development of race technology and products into the future.

Stunning new ALMS Livery for the 2024-2025 season

The Blackthorn headquarters in Oxfordshire is based in old railway station and although not listed it has heritage merit and interesting features. Claude is keen to further develop the building and the site. “I really want to work with the heritage pallet of the building as we expand our operations here.” With planning permission well advanced for a new building Claude has numerous ideas for the future.

“I am in the process of developing a project centred around the acquisition, running and racing of some of the best and iconic GT cars from around the world and we can use the Blackthorn HQ to safely house them. We will create a lifestyle club centred around a passion for GT racing with Aston Martin at its core.”

AMOC wish Claude and Dan all the best as they enter into the Asian Le Mans Series in December and on into the 2025 season and will cover their development and race successes as they evolve. Claude is an active member of AMOC and we look forward to sharing his journey over the coming years.

Inside the Blackthorn Garage where a Vantage GT4 is ready and waiting for a new owner to purchase

Exciting Dunlop Bridge – Le Mans Cup 2024

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