Thirty-eight cars are being listed as attending this test – not to be confused of course with the mandatory Roar before the 24 test in early January, with the Heart of Racing team keen to make an early mark upon the proceedings next season having elected to skip the Roar and Rolex 24 this season in order to forward their pre-season testing with their new Aston Martin Valkyrie.

Fresh from the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship only last weekend in Bahrain, IMSA regulars Ross Gunn and Roman de Angelis will again be testing aboard their #23 car whilst it will be the #44 Magnus Racing entry of John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly who will be representing the Aston Martin Racing marque as they are due to attend with their Vantage GTD entry.

That of course, may strongly suggest that the #44 car will be seen out again this season coming after racing at the Rolex 24 last season before taking something of a sabbatical before re-emerging for later, selective endurance rounds this year.

The #44 car will be one of eight GTD entries whilst the #23 car will be one of eleven GTP entries alongside those from the LMP2 and GTD Pro classes.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

The crews absence from the earlier Fuji 24hour round prevents the team from pushing for that illusive overall win with their fourth in class position not quite clear enough from the chasing #101 entry to be safe regardless of Sunday’s results.

Individual class qualifying will again be run over Saturday afternoon before the final four-hour race of the season is waved off at 13:15hrs (local) on Sunday.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

This weekend’s finale will again see the Stanley Yang driven #87 YIH-SVN Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 Evo amongst the expected twenty-five strong grid for their nine-lap tour around the incredibly tight street circuit early on Sunday morning.

By our reckoning, this will be the first time a new Vantage Evo has competed at Macau.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

He in turn was joined by the son of the team owner, Gray Newell who stepped up from the teams GT World Challenge America and his true Vantage GT3 variant of car and up to the Vantage LMGT3 as used by the team throughout the season just complete. Lead by Darren Turner back in the States, his progression into the LMGT3 variant was this time overseen by the car regular Zacharie Robichon.

Split over both morning and afternoons sessions, saw Drudi post the nineth fastest Hyperclass class time with a 1:50:985 before going slightly faster in session two to finish thirteenth overall whilst Newell started his LMGT3 account 2:04:805 in the morning before improving massively with a 2:03:554 in the afternoon.

The #10 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR Vantage LMGT3 also ran for a few laps in the afternoon with Jonny Adam behind the wheel before he returns to the international stage again within the forthcoming Asian Le Mans Series. Adam was there as part of the ongoing AMR Drivers Academy test.

Then at the end of season awards night, there was one last AMR powered success as Eduardo Barrichello cemented his mark on the championship by winning the Revelation of the Year Award for his efforts in what was his debut season in GT racing.

Photo credits – Teams / Championship / social media

A magnificent performance in Hypercar qualifying was the highlight of Saturday’s on-track action as the #007 entry of British trio Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn led the #009 in an all-Valkyrie one-two; ensuring that both Aston Martin THOR Team cars would progress to the Hyperpole session and challenge for pole position for the first time. Sixth and ninth positions on the grid marked the first time two Valkyries had qualified inside the top 10 in the WEC.

Aston Martin’s first ‘Le Mans Hypercar showed more potential during the eight-hour race as, following a mid-race safety car period that bunched the field, Riberas charged from fifth place into the lead – the first time Valkyrie has headed a WEC race. It was a fitting end to a trail-blazing debut season that featured the car’s maiden podium finish in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in October’s gruelling Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Raced by the works Aston Martin THOR Team, it is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February over a grueling season that has covered more than 22,000 racing miles, and eight rounds of WEC (including the 24 Hours of Le Mans) for the two stunning, green Aston Martins.

“The aim for Aston Martin in Hypercar in 2025 was to compete in endurance racing at the very highest level of competition, both globally in WEC and in North America in IMSA,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “Both are magnificent series with manufacturers, teams and drivers that have been at the pinnacle of the sport for, in some cases, decades. To have brought such a unique car as Valkyrie to the stage, to start where we did, and to consistently improve our performances to the point where we’ve come to the WEC finale in Bahrain and perform the way we have, shows the ability and desire of everybody that is a part of this programme. We have made satisfying progress in 2025 and will continue to build on this next season.”

Aston Martin’s most successful sportscar of all time, the Vantage meanwhile finished the FIA World Endurance Championship season with a podium finish in the LMGT3 class in Bahrain.

The Heart of Racing Team drivers Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi finished third in an action-packed race to claim the team’s first top-three finish of the season for the ultimate racing version of Aston Martin’s most focused sportscar.

The trio ran inside the top six throughout the race with Aston Martin works driver Drudi closing down a 30-second gap to the leaders with two hours to go to put himself in the hunt for victory in the closing stages.

THOR’s result was the second WEC podium finish of the season for Vantage, after Racing Spirit of Léman finished third in Brazil during the summer. It was also a 14th WEC rostrum finish for Vantage in Bahrain; those results scored across the LMGT3 class and its predecessors, LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am. RSL’s Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot finished 14th in LMGT3 aboard their #10 Vantage.

“The ultra-close nature of the competition in WEC means that to fight at the front, you must have first-rate machinery and partner teams capable of delivering when it counts,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “In The Heart of Racing Team and Racing Spirit of Léman we have two outstanding partners, who have both scored pole positions and podium finishes this year. This is a testament to the strength of both organisations, to the accessibility and robustness of Vantage to drivers of all levels of experience, and to a set of regulations that keeps the competing machines close. We are already looking ahead to a 2026 season.” 

Source material – Aston Martin

Early sustained damage unfortunately delayed the #249 car but despite that, they still claimed third in class overall for their efforts at the end. As always – success in measured in many way!

Photo credits – USAC / social media

Running of course parallel race programs with their IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship sister car, recent results have seen at least one of these Valkyries first break into Hyperpole qualifying within the WEC before securing their first ever podium finish at the season finale of the IMSA Championship.

Having had many of the team and crew get in some last minute R&R on the Galapagos Islands before this week’s finale, that investment have proved worthwhile for the team as the #007 Valkyrie of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn topped the qualifying timing screen for the first time, narrowly beating the sister #009 car of Marco Sorenson, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis for a well-deserved 1-2 in class.

Moving into the later Hyperpole session, the fairytale season ending wasn’t quite there unfortunately as the #009 eventually finished sixth fastest with the #007 nineth ahead of tomorrow’s eight-hour race. Compare and contrast that to the distant P18 and P16 positions at the opening round in Qatar!!

It was harder work for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews however, as both the #27 Heart of Racing AMR of Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon and the #10 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR of Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello and Valentin Hasse-Clot struggled within the mid table of their class during the three earlier Free Practice sessions after another swathe of Balance of Performance adjustments across the class.

As always, one hot lap is never enough for any endurance race as (like all), both crews will have another eight hours to improve upon their P4 and P15 qualifying positions (for the #27 and #10 cars respectively) after their own Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions.

The final race of the FIA WEC season will be waved off at 14:00hrs local before finishing under the veil of darkness (although the circuit is mostly floodlit) where all four crews could seriously improve upon their final championship positions in class with thirty eight points being again on offer to each class winner.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

That came in the form of the #77 Racar Motorsport GT4 Pro entry of what should have been Mathieu Martins and Roberto Faria where in fact Martins was this time joined by the younger Henrique Olivera for these two races. Why? – we’re not sure!

A pole position and two P3 podium finishes were enough for the #77 car of Martins to claim both the Overall and GT4 Pro Championship classes with just the two final races of the endurance series from Estoril still to come. This surely makes up for him being runner up in class last season.

Then, a pair of class wins for the #777 Gianfranco Motorsport Am classed AMR Vantage GT4 entry of Ruben Vaquinhas and Pedro Bastos Rezende was also enough for the pairing to claim top honours within that class

The #79 Racar Motorsport AMR Bronze class entry of Vasco Oliveira and Francisco Carvalho finished just short of a similar milestone – ultimately finishing third in class overall for their troubles.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

“Aston Martin entered Hypercar in 2025 to compete on the world stage in endurance racing and at the highest level of competition,’ said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “In WEC, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America, we have found that level of competition to be extremely high, full of great talent with some well-established and deservedly respected programmes to race against.

“This is a worthy testament to the sanctioning bodies, the ACO, FIA and IMSA, who jointly created a set of regulations to allow cars of different architectures to compete against each other on the world stage. They took on a noble challenge and it is one they should be complimented on achieving.”

Valkyrie’s sporting momentum continues to grow after a highly promising September in which it fought for a podium position in the 6 Hours of Fuji (JPN) before recording its best WEC finish with fifth position overall. This, after the unique 6.5 litre V12-powered British hypercar ran as high as fourth position in the rain-affected race in Austin, earlier in the same month. Then in the IMSA finale – the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – in mid-October, Valkyrie clinched its first podium in global competition, coming home within five seconds of a famous maiden victory.

This all follows an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans (in June) where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue to finish 12th and 14th, and the Aston Martin THOR Team registered the cars’ – and Aston Martin’s – first Manufacturers’ World Championship points in the Hypercar class.

The three works drivers responsible for the podium in Atlanta, Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas, all return to action in Bahrain as the eight-hour race length requires that each car is shared by three racers.

Gunn will re-join his British compatriots Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble in the #007 Valkyrie, having shared the car with them in Qatar and again at Le Mans. The same goes for De Angelis, who will drive the #009 entry alongside Riberas and three-time WEC GT champion Marco Sørensen.

After the event, the 2024 Spa 24 Hours winner and Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi will get his first chance to sample WEC-specification Hypercar class machinery when he drives the Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie in the official Rookie Test in Bahrain on Sunday 9 November – the day after the 2025 season concludes.

Drudi, who shares the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with The Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James and Zacharie Robichon, has been given the opportunity after consistently delivering world-class performances in LMGT3; notably his breathtaking class pole position for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Of course, I’m super excited to drive a car that is already iconic in the Hypercar Class, even though it is only its first season racing in WEC,” said Drudi. “I’ve been closely following the progress of Valkyrie throughout the championship and it was fantastic to see it record a strong result at Fuji.

“It will be interesting for me to drive straight after a race weekend so I can compare my data with what’s been collected during the event. It will also be a challenge to get used to a car that will be completely new for me. I must thank The Heart of Racing team for giving me the chance to drive the Valkyrie in the Rookie Test. It will be the perfect way to end my first WEC season with Aston Martin.”

James added: “Mattia thoroughly deserves this opportunity. Having raced alongside him all season, I’ve been able to witness his exceptional talent and I’m really interested to see what he makes of Valkyrie.”

Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s most successful sportscar of all time, Vantage, also heads into the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship – the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain – hunting for a victorious conclusion to an exciting season within its LMGT3 class.

Through five iterations spanning 13 seasons Vantage has claimed 53 GT class victories – the second highest of any manufacturer. Responsible for 11 world championship titles, and five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins in the WEC era, Vantage has also claimed 68 class pole positions. The most successful GTE Am (2012-2022) car of all-time, Vantage recorded 33 wins and 29 pole positions before the class was retired to make way for the current LMGT3 category, which embarks on its 16th race this weekend.

Vantage’s record at Bahrain is also exceptional with seven class victories derived from 13 podium appearances as well as nine class pole positions.

Again, Aston Martin partner team The Heart of Racing heads into the Bahrain finale fighting for a place in the top three of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers’ and Teams’ standings; building on fifth place in its first full WEC season in 2024. Currently fifth in the championship again this season, THOR has amassed 63 points - 18 behind third place with 38 points available for victory and another one for pole position. Team principal Ian James will race the #27 Vantage alongside Zach Robichon and AMR works driver Mattia Drudi.

Racing Spirit of Léman once again calls upon Anthony McIntosh, who starred on his WEC debut at July’s 6 Hours of Sao Paulo. With the American driving alongside Eduardo Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot in the #10 Vantage GT3, the trio achieved the team’s first WEC podium finish in LMGT3.

The Heart of Racing’s GT World Challenge America podium finisher Gray Newell will be given the chance to experience WEC’s LMGT3 class for the first time when he makes his series debut in the Rookie Test, on Sunday, following the season finale in Bahrain.

The 28-year-old American has earned the opportunity after an impressive debut season in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, where he finished on the GT World Challenge America Pro-Am podium three times alongside works driver Darren Turner in 2025.

“After a successful first year with the Vantage GT3 it’s a massive honour for me to be selected for the Rookie Test in Bahrain,” said Newell. “The Heart of Racing has done an incredible job of creating a vertical pipeline for its drivers, moving everyone forward and upwards as a team. I look forward to getting a feel for the Vantage GT3 in WEC trim as well as my first time on track with hypercar traffic. I could not ask for a more exciting way to end the 2025 season.”

Team Principal Ian James added: “Gray’s performances in 2025 have been outstanding. Since he joined THOR in 2021, he’s improved every season and is now blossoming into a driver that can look to achieve a great deal in endurance racing in the future. Giving him the chance to drive in the WEC team, in an LMGT3-spec Vantage, will be a hugely valuable experience for his continued development and is a just reward for a very strong season.”

Source material and photo credits – Aston Martin

Those differences quickly became apparent in qualifying after the #777 crew of Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg ended up seventh out of a class size of twenty-eight cars – albeit two point three seconds off the leading GT300 pace.

Contact from a Ferrari coming up the inside from a long way backdropped the Aston Martin right back to the rear of the pack as the season closing 300km race got underway before the remaining time was a long, hard claw back up the order to eventually finish P12 overall.

Despite claiming the two class wins at the two solo driven rounds from Fuji Speedway earlier in the year which saw them come very close to the overall class lead, the second half to their season has been far from kind ending with the team coming up short of their ultimate ambition of the class championship.

The team already appear to be planning for their 2026 campaign.

Photo credits - Team

Race two on Sunday was a little more exciting as other crews had serious championship aspirations firmly set in their minds as early contact between two cars brought out the Safety Car after the first lap.

With Hunt holding station after the restart and until the pit stop, Talbot was soon on the move up the order from tenth and up to sixth as the other crews competing their change overs before another Safety Car was required at three quarter race distance for a car stopped in the gravel.

On another incredible lap with the pack closely packed, Talbot was able to pick off a number of cars to claim a P4 finish at the end for his efforts.

These two results leaves Talbot with a fifth-place finish overall within the Drivers’ Championship but with the team finishing fourth within that Championship.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

As we understand things, this entry was rather a skills maintaining effort from the team rather than any full season entry with Letlaka also being listed on the timing results under a Dragon Racing entry – presumably with one of their Ferrari’s.

This was the first time in two years that their Vantage GT3 had been raced so maybe we will get to see it again if any further rounds are entered into in advance of an early start to 2026 with the Dubai 24 and 6H Creventic races in early January.

Photo credits – Team / social media

After that, we were aware of the car running in unrestricted format, the team then progressed back to the Lamborghini or Ferrari GT3 package in other series.

This weekend’s format will see the #120 car compete in two twenty-five-minute sprint races on Saturday with Letlaka already showing his pace being fastest in Friday practice.

Photo credits – Team / social media

Not the first time at the circuit of course as that is where their season started before they then ventured off around both Thailand and Malaysia over the course of the year.

Two more-hour long races to come with alternate starts for each driver as usual – just hoping that they can end their year upon something of a high!

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media