GT4 Winter Series out again in Valencia this weekend
Having already competed at Estoril in mid-January and most recently from Portimao at the end of January, a GT4 grid of seventeen cars are expected across its available Pro, Pro-Am, Am, Club and Cayman Trophy classes.
The #39 Racing Spirit of Leman Vantage GT4 Evo entry of Baudouin Detout and Max Hewitt again take the lead role as far as we are concerned with the other entry being a Club class entry for the more venerable #700 Mucke Motorsport car of Thilo Goos.
Whilst the #700 car entertained itself as part of just a two-car entry over the three races last time out at Portimao, it was a more challenging situation for the #39 crew having suffered turbo related issues aboard their usual chassis that forced then to take refuge within their spare car with there being no Prodrive support at the event.
Whilst the #700 car entertained itself as part of just a two-car entry over the three races last time out at Portimao, it was a more challenging situation for the #39 crew having suffered turbo related issues aboard their usual chassis that forced then to take refuge within their spare car with there being no Prodrive support at the event.
Making the most of that situation as well as the challenges the Iberian weather again threw at the series, the best that the #39 crew could muster were a P6 and P4 position in class at the end of the earlier solo sprint races and P5 at the end of the latter pit stop endurance round.
With the young American Hewitt looking to join in the excitement within the GT America Series back home and the former Luxembourger moto-cross rider (presumably) looking to get back into the GT4 European Series again this season, the races offered by the GT4 Winter will be invaluable for them considering the short period between now and the start of these respective series.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 |
Read more...
First AMR powered crew confirmed within the GT4 European Series
First news out from the many Aston Martin Racing powered teams regarding crews regarding this season’s GT4 European Series endeavours.
Continuing his presence within the headline GT4 based series in Europe sees Dutch racer Ruben Del Sarte confirm another season within the French based Mirage Racing team within the series, this time alongside young Brazilian racer Roberto Faria.
No strangers either of them to the European Series as Del Sarte raced last year alongside Josh Miller in the #5 Mirage AMR Vantage GT4 – starting off the year with the outgoing 17A edition before swapping over to the new 2024 Evo halfway through the year once their new chassis was available.
Faria did likewise alongside Baudouin Detout within first the #39 GPA Racing AMR Vantage GT4 17A model before swapping over to the Racing Spirit of Leman team with their Evo edition.
Faria did likewise alongside Baudouin Detout within first the #39 GPA Racing AMR Vantage GT4 17A model before swapping over to the Racing Spirit of Leman team with their Evo edition.
Two fast drivers for sure as long as one can control their raw speed.
The first round of the season will be from Paul Ricard in France mid-April before extending through four more rounds before concluding (this time) in Barcelona again in mid-October.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 |
Read more...
Changes and additions to the Aston Martin ranks for Asian Le Mans finale in Abu Dhabi
Whilst we were expecting changes within the #19 Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 Evo entry between venues, we now have a familiar sounding second entry from the Earl Bamber Motorsport team for the final two four-hour races after their superb P3 in class at the end of Sunday’s race in Dubai.
Having made a massive impact with her ability and race craft in Dubai, Saudi racer Reema Juffali sadly steps away from the #19 Blackthorn car, but this is where Italian racer Giacomo Petrobelli finally steps into the AsLMS equation, joining both Jonny Adam and Charles Bateman within the #19 car.
The #89 EBM podium winning crew of Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day and Mattia Drudi remains the same for Abu Dhabi, but they will be joined this time by the same drivers that competed within the opening rounds in Sepang. That means that Anderson Tanoto, Brendon Leitch and Marco Sorensen return to the series aboard the teams second #98 chassis.
This (and other changes in entries between rounds) sees a forty-seven strong combined LMP2, LMP2 and GT3 grid with the GT’s making up thirty of those entries with (we think) all classes still up for grabs with those illusive invites to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for both the LMP2 and GT3 classes.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 |
Read more...
Code Racing Development AMR livery reveal
Officially confirmed by the series at the start of the month as the sole Aston Martin within a GT class of just eight cars this time around but within combined grid of a forty-four cars including the two LMP3 classes.
We had hoped that today’s reveal may have also included the confirmation of the #11 cars second driver alongside that of Bailey Voisin, but we will have to wait just a little but longer for that. Not so sure why it was revealed with the number 25 on it either!!
Not too long however, as the season gets away to an official start with its Prologue test day at Barcelona at the start of April for its first hour fifty-minute race just a few days later.
Photo credits – Team / social media
Not too long however, as the season gets away to an official start with its Prologue test day at Barcelona at the start of April for its first hour fifty-minute race just a few days later.
Photo credits – Team / social media
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 |
Read more...
Valkyrie on track this week in IMSAs official Sebring test
Despite this being an official test ahead of another endurance round following the opening 24hour round from Daytona at the end of January, we will only see some of the Aston Martin Racing powered participants there at the test.
Most importantly however, we will see the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie for the first time since the team confirmed its dual IMSA / World Endurance Championship driver line ups and colour schemes just last week. Whether the #23 will be in its official and more familiar blue and black Heart of Racing livery design or its testing camouflage design of old is yet to be seen but having missed the Rolex 24 its appearance at the Sebring is important for the programme if nothing else.
The #23's stated regular drivers Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis will be joined at the test by Alex Riberas (who will be at the helm of the team’s #009 WEC Valkyrie effort alongside that of Marco Sorensen) as well as the team’s #27 AMR Vantage GTD car with Tom Gamble (another WEC Valkyrie driver) and Casper Stevenson behind the wheel within a test bed of thirty-seven cars.
The #19 Van Der Steur AMR Vantage GTD will not be in attendance by design – nor will the #44 Magnus Racing AMR which unfortunately bowed out of the IMSA championship for the last time with a blown engine at Daytona.
Tuesday will see two three-hour GTD Pro/GTD only test sessions before two similar but all incumbent test sessions on Wednesday before rounding off with two GTP/LMP2 test sessions only on Thursday.
Photo credits – Team / AMR
Monday, February 10, 2025 |
Read more...
Astons lead the GTO way in World Racing League opener from Eagles Canyon
It was a decent weekends work for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered crews within the World Racing Leagues opening eight plus seven-hour event of the season from Eagles Canyon.
The #68 Team Speed Syndicate and #89 89X Motorsport crews again populated a somewhat modest thirty-nine mixed car entry for this weekend’s event with the #89 car crew return a lights to flag class win within their GTO class with the #68 car coming home third in class as well after Saturdays opener.
Sadly, that feat couldn’t be replicated after the #89 car suffered technical issues during the opening stint to fall some laps behind before battling up to again to third in class only to receive a post-race penalty, dropping them back down top fourth. The #68 car meanwhile, completed a double by finishing race two third in class.
Photo credits – Teams / social media
Photo credits – Teams / social media
Monday, February 10, 2025 |
Read more...
Fujii and Fagg back at D'Station Racing for their Super GT GT300 assault this season
Employing a trusted ‘if it isn’t broken – don’t fix it’ mentality, the team today confirmed that both Tomonobu Fujii and Charlie Fagg will again be driving the team’s GT300 class entry as they ended up doing together from early on last season.
This time facing an eight-round season including an overseas visit to Malaysia in late June, the team will this time be in a much better place to attack the series this time around with more familiarity with one another within their own ranks.
Whilst Fagg was absent from last week’s three-day private test, the #777 package showed great potential to succeed last season with one class victory and another class podium that eventually saw them finishing fourth in the class at the end of the year.
This time racing a slightly redesigned but still familiar green and black livery, official track action for these guys will begin in March with two official tests set at both Okayama and then Fuji ahead of a seasonal start from Okayama in mid-April.
Photo credits – Team / social media
Monday, February 10, 2025 |
Read more...
Podium for Earl Bamber Motorsport in Asian Le Mams second Dubai race
Having lost out with track position yesterday at the time of the hour-long red flag interruption to Saturday’s four-hour race, lessons learned from all concerned allowed the #89 Earl Bamber Motorsport Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo of Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day and Mattia Drudi to assault a late charge through the GT field to land themselves a P3 visit to the podium for their efforts.
It was that way from the start of course as the #19 Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 of Reema Juffali suddenly finding herself in the lead of the GT pack at the start to today’s race having qualified in third only to be forced back and hold a watching fourth in class for much of her two-hour stint.
Having lost out on almost half of her driver time on Saturday (due to the red flag for barrier repairs), the Saudi racer again proved her worth within the #19 car although by the end of end Aston’s bronze driver minimum driver time – both Aston’s found them back within the midst of the class.
Silver ranked drivers were up next within both cars as Day quickly reflected his growing experience within the class as well as local track knowledge to take the #89 EBM into the top ten as various (sometimes length) full course yellow and safety car periods for track clearing of debris and stranded cars interrupted the flow of the race.
Over in the #19 car, Charles Bateman would be getting second taste of the action having debuted within the car only yesterday to complete just a one fifty-minute stint in the car before handing over to AMR factory driver Jonny Adam to the end.
With Day running a slightly longer stint in the middle to that of Bateman, the two factory drivers of Adam and Drudi were left with differing workloads with just over an hour of seat time for Adam but twenty minutes less for the for Italian – not that he needed all of that even as he calmly claimed sixth, fifth, fourth and into third within the final ten minutes of the race just nine second behind the class winning #99 Porsche.
That result is the best result so far in the Asian Le Mans Series for the new Vantage GT3, the first for Earl Bamber Motorsport under Aston Martin Racing power but the second trophy in little over the week for Jamie Day having secured a similar trophy for his efforts in class at last weekend’s 12Hour of Bathurst. The #19 Blackthorn AMR crew eventually finished P14 in a bizarre role reversal of the two cars starting positions!!
The teams now far a relatively short trip down the motorway and across the border into Abu Dhabi for the concluding two four-hour races of the season around Yas Marina. From the commentary in today’s race, we expect to hear of certainly one driver change within the #19 Blackthorn car as Juffali steps away. We still await confirmation of the entry list for these two races.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Sunday, February 09, 2025 |
Read more...
Positive vibes within the AMR camps after first Asian Le Mans Race in Dubai today
Having already raced rounds one and two in Malaysia, the series was back within the Middle East for what has become its familiar Dubai Autodrome – Yas Marina quartet of four-hour races for its mixed LMP2, LMP3 and GT classes for which both the Earl Bamber Motorsport and Blackthorn AMR teams were in attendance.
Unlike Sepang, both teams were fielding a completely different driver line up to those of the opening two races as Gabriel Rindone, Jamie Day, Mattia Drudi were now aboard the #89 EBM AMR Vantage GT3 Evo with Jonny Adam, Charles Bateman and Reema Juffali now populating the #19 Blackthorn equivalent.
For many for these six drivers, this was another racing weekend of firsts – either within the ACO rules series for the first time or indeed within the latest Vantage GT3 car in a competitive situation for the first time but despite that, the outcome of todays red flag affected opener left room for optimism ahead of tomorrow’s second race of the weekend.
For many for these six drivers, this was another racing weekend of firsts – either within the ACO rules series for the first time or indeed within the latest Vantage GT3 car in a competitive situation for the first time but despite that, the outcome of todays red flag affected opener left room for optimism ahead of tomorrow’s second race of the weekend.
Having qualified for race one in P6, Saudi lady racer Juffali was quickly muscled out of position during the opening laps of her first GT3 race that saw her race position drop to just below halfway down the class size of twenty-nine cars whilst Rindone had started P16 and was soon right behind the #19 car as the race eventually settled.
Making their way through their first pit stop cycle, an incident on track near the top of the first hour for another GT car saw that car strike the armco barrier heavily before coming to a stop on track – first bringing out the Safety car before the red flag was thrown to allow for immediate barrier repairs. With the race clock still running, much of the bronze driver’s seat time (as well as the cars silver ranked driver was sadly lost to the red flag whilst the cars sat along the start straight under parc ferme conditions.
Eventually getting back to green having lost over an hour’s worth of racing, the next step of the race was to complete full service and driver change for most (if not all) the GT grid leading to chaotic scenes within pit lane. Thankfully, neither Aston Martin fell foul of any pit stop incident as both Bateman and Day got their first laps in with the #19 car still heading the AMR powered duo in class.
With the Vantage GT3 platform receiving a 10kg weight break from their balance of Performance at Sepang, the car was slightly faster during the race but was still a distant relation to some of the platforms out front although each platforms ultimate racing lap was there or there abouts to each other – such is the complexity of present-day BoP calculations!!
By the time the sun was setting over the circuit, it was the turn of each car’s Pro drivers to bring their steads home as factory drivers Adam and Drudi did just that to secure an eventual P14 class finish for the #19 Blackthorn AMR and P20 in class for the 389 EBM entry with all drivers per car completing almost the same lap count by the end of their respective stints.
The forty-four cars go again tomorrow with their second four-hour race at Dubai but with each Aston starting further up the order this time with the #19 from the second row in class (P3) and the #89 from P14.
Photo credits – teams / series / social media
Saturday, February 08, 2025 |
Read more...
Two Aston Martins within this weekends World Racing League opener
Racing another typical eight plus seven-hour race programme over the weekend sees the 89X Motorsport team pick up from where they left off last season despite their new season commitments within the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series.
They again race their #89 Vantage alongside the slightly newer Vantage GT4 from the Team Speed Syndicate team who placed their GTO class car at the head of today’s earlier testing session.
Like always, driver line up information is slightly harder to come by but both cars compete within a smaller than usual thirty-nine strong, multi-classed grid.
Photo credits – Team / social media
Friday, February 07, 2025 |
Read more...
The return of Jason Bell to SRO America but with some significant changes over the winter months
This time confirming a step up the ladder from the GT America and GT4 America Series of old and into the headline GT World Challenge America Series for the #2 AMR Vantage GT3 that Bell will share alongside that of Micheal Cooper within the seven round season that starts in Sonoma again in little over six weeks’ time.
Since reclaiming the GT America GT4 Drivers Championship back in 2023 with his Flying Lizard Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4, Bell stepped up to the GT3 class of that single driver series to learn his craft within the then brand-new Vantage GT3 Evo.
With that solo year of learning now under his belt, the property developer has again turned to periodic GT4 co-driver and mainstream driver coach in Cooper to partner his fresh challenge within the GT World Challenge Series but with also a new name above the team door.
With that solo year of learning now under his belt, the property developer has again turned to periodic GT4 co-driver and mainstream driver coach in Cooper to partner his fresh challenge within the GT World Challenge Series but with also a new name above the team door.
Whilst we said hello to Racers Edge Motorsport a few months ago as declaring themselves to be another new Aston Martin Racing powered team within the North America racing arena, we today welcome them into the #TeamAMR family complete as they will be supporting both Bell and Cooper within their #2 car over the two ninety-minute races per event.
The opening round of the season will be from Sonoma in California at the end of March and join the Heart Of Racing AMR Vantage GT3 Evo of Gray Newell and Darren Turner that is already confirmed.
Photo credits – Team / series / social media
Friday, February 07, 2025 |
Read more...
D'Station Racing out early in Super GT testing from Fuji
Scaling back significantly on racing commitment from previous seasons sees the team turn away from early competitive racing within the likes of the Asian Le Mans Series to hopefully put themselves in a better position for the second season of their return to their topflight domestic series which starts at Okayama in mid-April.
Making use of a multi-day preseason test at their local Fuji Speedway circuit has seen team manager Tomonobu Fujii alone get down to some early testing around what was a dry but cold circuit today.
So far not listing any specific driver pairing, the team will hopefully be in a position to confirm this ahead of the two official test days arranged by the series at both Okayama in mid-March and then Fuji Speedway again at the end of that month – two weeks before the start of the season.
After something of a disjointed start to last season in terms of driver availability and tyre partner familiarity, the #777 Fujii and Charlie Fagg driven Aston Martin eventually finished fourth within their GT300 class having scooped a class win at Suzuka as well as a third in class visit to the podium for the pairing at Sugo.
Photos supplied by the team form today have also confirmed that the team will remaining with Dunlop in their open tyre market series.
Photo credits – Team
Thursday, February 06, 2025 |
Read more...
Valkyrie ready to hit the tracks of both the WEC and IMSA within the next few weeks
Having already embarked upon and extended test and development programme around the world, both behind closed doors and more recently in public, the American based team has today confirmed its driver crews that will race in their three Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar/GTP cars in both the World Endurance Championship with two cars and the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship of the third before the crews converged into a collective between the two WEC cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans for that ultimate test of endurance in June.
After weeks of speculation and utilising events even as late as the Rolex 24 as their test bed, Heart of Racing has confirmed that their two car WEC driver line up will be that of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble aboard the #007 car whilst Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen share the #009 car. Then in IMSA, Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis will be the mainstay drivers in America before Gunn joins the #007 at Le Mans with De Angelis becoming the third driver within the #009.
First mentioned by Aston Martin in 2019 as a primary participant within the WEC’s then planned Hypercar class for the new season, those plans were later dashed mainly because of the state of finances for the parent organisation who were originally funding the project. Only after the intervention of the Gabe Newell financed Heart of Racing team did the project get its deserved resurgence of investment and development required to take the normally aspirated V12 street legal monster into the full homologated state of a modern endurance race car that we have come to recognise more recently.
Originally destined to compete upon the world stage at the recently completed Rolex 24 opener to the IMSA Series, a relatively late call was made by all involved to utilise the subsequent few weeks available from the Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona and the opening round of the WEC at Qatar at the end of February to iron out those little imperfections before that all important homologation process. That means that Qatar will now be the Valkyrie’s global launch event before its IMSA debut at the 12Hours of Sebring in just over a month’s time.
Livery wise – the IMSA based car retains the familiar blue shades of its Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD that will also compete in that series (although sadly not in that multiple blocked camouflaged test livery) whilst the two WEC based entries will carry the more historically significant green from the Aston Martin stable of old.
With all other Hypercar/GTP entries already competing with at least part of one season already under their belts, the Valkyrie will need to hit both series running but with racing events for both championships fast approaching, it will not be too long before we start hearing the V12 wail of that engine around the world.
Photo credits – AMR / social media
Wednesday, February 05, 2025 |
Read more...
Aston Martin and Heart of Racings turn the page into the new hypercar racing era
The only competitor that is derived from a road-legal hypercar, the Valkyrie is the first racing car built to the FIA’s ‘hypercar’ regulations that will contest both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. It will make its world competition debut when the Heart of Racing AMR Partner Team enters two Valkyries in the opening round of the 2025 WEC, at Qatar later this month.
Harry Tincknell, Aston Martin’s most recent British 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, will be joined by countryman and rising endurance star Tom Gamble within the #007 Valkyrie for the full WEC season, while the sister #009 car will be driven by triple FIA GT World Champion Marco Sorensen with Alex Riberas stepping up alongside from the team’s LMGT3 entry of last season.
In IMSA, 2024 IMSA GTD Pro championship contender Ross Gunn and 2022 GTD class champion Roman De Angelis will both drive the single Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team #23 entry within that series topflight GTP class. Both Gunn and De Angelis will also join the WEC contenders to complete the three-driver line-ups at Le Mans. Gunn will drive the #007 Valkyrie with Tincknell and Gamble to complete an all-British partnership for the 24-hour race in mid-June.
The Valkyrie racing campaign is masterminded in both WEC and IMSA by The Heart of Racing, which has previously run the Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3 in both series. “For anybody that’s been involved in sportscar racing, to be running a car at the premier level with Aston Martin, and a car which is widely accepted as one of the most beautiful in the world – the only one that is the genuine progeny of a road car – is a real honour,” says team principal Ian James. “To be entrusted with this programme is most definitely a career highlight.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s Head of Endurance Motorsport said: “The Aston Martin Valkyrie is not just a Hypercar; it is a revolution in automotive engineering history representing the pinnacle of performance, design and innovation. With an extraordinary fusion of F1® technology and road car mastery, Valkyrie is truly built for racing and its participation in the highest level of world endurance racing will only further cement its technological achievement.
The Valkyrie racing campaign is masterminded in both WEC and IMSA by The Heart of Racing, which has previously run the Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3 in both series. “For anybody that’s been involved in sportscar racing, to be running a car at the premier level with Aston Martin, and a car which is widely accepted as one of the most beautiful in the world – the only one that is the genuine progeny of a road car – is a real honour,” says team principal Ian James. “To be entrusted with this programme is most definitely a career highlight.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s Head of Endurance Motorsport said: “The Aston Martin Valkyrie is not just a Hypercar; it is a revolution in automotive engineering history representing the pinnacle of performance, design and innovation. With an extraordinary fusion of F1® technology and road car mastery, Valkyrie is truly built for racing and its participation in the highest level of world endurance racing will only further cement its technological achievement.
“By adhering to the Hypercar rules, the race car shares many strands of DNA with the road car, with the same V12 power unit at its heart.” On aerodynamics, the evolution of the Valkyrie hypercar was developed to meet the regulation homologation criteria and was enabled by the solid baseline rooted in the road car, created by its architects Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and Adrian Newey – who in March 2025 joins Aston Martin as managing technical partner of Formula 1® team. “It would be almost unimaginable for Adrian, one of the greatest racing car designers in history, to design a car and not think about it going racing at some point,” says Carter.
Since the Valkyrie hypercar’s first test runs in July 2024, The Heart of Racing has embarked on an extensive evaluation programme, which has topped 15,000km. Testing began in the UK at Donington Park and Silverstone, then moved on to Vallelunga and Jerez, before continuing in Bahrain, Qatar, Road Atlanta, Sebring and Daytona to ensure a cross-section of tracks appropriate to the dual race programme.
Two Valkyries have been entered for the WEC season, emblazoned in a stunning green livery synonymous with many of the great British motorsport glories at Le Mans, run from The Heart of Racing’s British base in Brackley. On the driver line-up, James says: “Harry Tincknell was heavily involved in the development of the Valkyrie, so we wanted to incorporate him early on into the test programme, plus he has other GTP experience.”
Tincknell is the last British driver to win his class at Le Mans with Aston Martin, in 2020, but is also the most experienced Hypercar driver in the group having raced for Proton Porsche through the 2024 WEC season. “He very quickly identified himself as a good team player, and his track record speaks for itself,” adds James.
Tom Gamble is a former winner of the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award who has both LMP2 and GT experience, including with The Heart of Racing, having driven for the team in IMSA’s endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta in 2022. “I rate him very highly as a natural talent and he deserves a chance in the spotlight at the highest level of sports car racing,” says James.
Marco Sørensen is Aston Martin’s most successful active racing driver, as a three-time WEC GT class champion and a class winner at Le Mans in 2022. “He's among the most experienced and successful drivers to ever race for Aston Martin and he’s waited a long time for his chance at the top class,” says James. “Having worked with him, having seen his ability and how cool he is under pressure; I think he's a perfect fit for this programme.
“Alex Riberas has been proving himself in GTD Pro in IMSA the past couple of years, is an established race winner in IMSA and WEC, and excelled throughout the whole of WEC with us last year. He's definitely part of the fabric of The Heart of Racing and deserves his seat.”
A single Valkyrie will compete in IMSA, running in a special version of the distinctive THOR blue livery, starting from the Sebring 12 Hours on 12-15 March and will be run from the team’s US base in Phoenix, Arizona. Multiple IMSA GTD Pro class race winner Gunn and 2022 IMSA GTD champion De Angelis are both previous AMR Driver Academy winners.
“Ross has been with us for the past four years and has become, without doubt, one of the best GT drivers in the world,” says James. “He proved it last year in the GTD Pro title race, just narrowly missing out. He’s a team player, is naturally gifted and has a feel for a race car that not many drivers have. As for Roman, I first drove with him in 2018, and he's gone from strength to strength. He’s won the AMR Academy and the GTD championship, which is a unique achievement, and he's become an out-and-out performer. He's also a key ingredient in our sim programme in Phoenix.”
Expectations for the dual Valkyrie race programme match high ambition with the reality of competing against seasoned rivals. “Of course, we only do it because we want to win,” says Carter. “However, we respect the challenge of the events and the competition. They are at a high level, and that’s why we want to compete against them. Fundamentally, it is only worth winning if it’s against strong competition. We acknowledge that we will be joining them when they are already established. “It's a great time to be joining the pinnacle of sports car racing. The ACO, IMSA and the FIA have collectively created championships of growing popularity through working collaboratively. We are fully supportive of this process. They have done a great job of establishing the format and promoting the series to make this a golden era of sports car racing. It’s an opportunity compete on the global stage in a fair and competitive environment.”
The WEC season is made up of eight rounds. Following the season opener in Qatar, the championship includes European races at Imola and Spa-Francorchamps, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, then Interlagos in Brazil, COTA in Austin, Texas, Fuji in Japan and the finale in Bahrain in early November.
The IMSA schedule is made up of 11 rounds, including the Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, plus other major US venues such as Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Source material / photo credits - AMR
Wednesday, February 05, 2025 |
Read more...