D’station Racing has selected Liam Talbot to replace Satoshi Hoshino at the World Endurance Championship 2023 season finale which will be the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The Australian FIA bronze-rated driver will take over from Team Owner Hoshino to compete in the eight-hour Bahrain race.

In his WEC debut, Talbot will join Casper Stevenson and Tomonobu Fujii in the #777 Aston Martin Vantage GTE for the final race, both in the 2023 season and for the GTE category.

In an official statement, the team described the reason as “unavoidable schedule conflicts” for Hoshino, which has led them to select Talbot.

His sportscar campaigns this year have been in the Asian Le Mans Series, 24 Hours of Spa, and the GT World Challenge Australia, all of which were competed in Mercedes-AMG GT3 machinery. He currently leads the latter series’ championship, and took a Pro-Am win at the 12 Hours of Bathurst in February.

D’station Racing sit at the bottom in the standings with just four points, having endured a demanding WEC campaign this year.

The seventh and final race of the 2023 FIA WEC season will take place on 4 November in just over two weeks time.

2021 GT4 European Series champion Charlie Fagg has been confirmed as the third and final driver in D’Station Racing’s FIA World Endurance Championship line-up.

The 22-year-old will team with Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii aboard the #777 Aston Martin Vantage AMR, which is operated by TF Sport.

Fagg graduates from GT4 racing, having won the GT4 European Series in a United Autosports-run McLaren 570S GT4 last year.

“I’m delighted to announce that I will be racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with D’station Racing,” said Fagg. “To be able to compete at this level is something I have always dreamt of doing and to do it with such a fantastic team is more than I could have hoped for!”

“Whilst it’s a big step up, I am honoured to be able to learn from my fantastic teammates, Hoshino-san and Fujii-san and being able to make my 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with them, is the icing on the cake.”

“I cannot thank everyone at D’station Racing, TF Sport and EDGE Management enough for this unbelievable opportunity. I am so excited to get started next month at Sebring!”

The Silver-rated Briton is the team’s replacement for Andrew Watson. Watson was no longer eligible to race with the squad after he was upgraded from Silver to Gold ahead of the 2022 season.

“We are really pleased to have Charlie on board with us for the season,” said TF Sport boss Tom Ferrier. “The D’station Racing entry showed their pace in 2021 and I have no doubt that Charlie will take this step up to GTE in his stride. 

“Being able to support young, talented drivers up through the GT racing ladder is something extremely important to me and I’m glad we’ve been able to support Charlie in such a significant step in his career.”

After a debut season that included at podium finish at Monza, Japanese squad D’Station Racing will return to the FIA World Endurance Championship for a second consecutive year.

The team will once again enter the #777 Aston Martin Vantage AMR, with operational support again coming from the British TF Sport outfit.

Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii, who formed the core of the team’s line-up throughout the 2021 campaign, will again team up this coming season.

“Once again, I am very excited to announce our entry for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said Fujii, who is also the team’s managing director.

“D’station Racing will aim even higher in its performance going into its second season of the WEC. I want to thank everyone for their continued support.”

D’Station Racing’s maiden WEC campaign, which saw Hoshino and Fujii team with Andrew Watson, peaked with a third-placed finish at the Six Hours of Monza.

Watson will not return to the team this season, as he has been upgraded from Silver to Gold on the FIA’s driver categorization list for the 2022 season. The team says it will reveal its new Silver driver ‘in the near future’.

“Following their success last season, it’s great to continue the partnership with D’station Racing in the WEC,” said TF Sport director Tom Ferrier.

“I have no doubt that we will be able to continue and better their progress in 2022 and will certainly be looking for multiple podium finishes.”

Andrew Watson will complete the line-up for D’Station Racing’s debut season in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The 26-year-old from Northern Ireland will join Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii aboard the TF Sport-operated #777 Aston Martin Vantage AMR for the entire, six-round campaign, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It will mark the first time Watson has raced Aston Martin machinery in the WEC, as he spent his maiden season racing Gulf Racing’s Porsche 911 RSR, with which he also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Outside of the WEC, the Belfast native has raced the GT3 Vantage in the GT World Challenge Europe and Intercontinental GT Challenge.

“It’s really exciting to have the chance to join D’station Racing and TF Sport! When you combine their professionalism, expertise and ambition, it’s a perfect fit,” Watson said. “It’s great to be back on the WEC grid for a second season, to continue building my experience and helping to deliver a successful debut campaign for D’station Racing.

“I’m also looking forward to continuing to work with AMR. I’d like to thank everyone at D’station Racing and TF Sport for this incredible opportunity, which I’m very grateful for.

“I will be working hard to deliver strong results for the team and to build this relationship further into the future.”

D’Station Racing is making its debut in the WEC, and team owner Fujii believes the addition of Watson is a big asset to the upstart squad.

“We are looking forward to working with Andrew for our 2021 World Endurance Championship program,” he said. “He has valuable experience of previously competing in the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He will be a big asset to our team. We would like to thank world-renowned F1 driver, Mark Blundell for recommending Andrew.”