Lance Stroll Debuts in GT World Challenge Europe

Lance Stroll, the Aston Martin Formula 1 driver, is set to make his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe this weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, racing an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo for the Belgian team Comtoyou Racing. The Canadian will share the No. 18 entry in the series' six-hour season-opening endurance race on Saturday, April 11, which starts at 6 p.m. and runs mostly under lights until midnight.

Stroll's participation comes during an unplanned five-week break in the F1 calendar, created by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to ongoing military conflict in the Middle East. He will team up with former Marussia F1 driver Roberto Merhi and Aston Martin Academy prospect Mari Boya in the Pro class division, which features 18 cars on a 59-entry grid. The trio tested the car during Wednesday's Prologue session at Paul Ricard, where it finished 26th in the afternoon practice.

The idea for the outing emerged during the recent Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka, Stroll said. Over dinner with friends, including Merhi, the group discussed ways to fill the gap. "We were talking about what we could do during this break, about a month...