A great IMSA day at the office for the Heart of Racing team from Sebring
The Heart of Racing team will be on something like cloud nine at the moment having not just secured another podium finish for their Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD last night but also secured the best performance and result so far for their all-new Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP.
Competing at the second round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, their two entries and that of the Van Der Steur AMR team helped showcase the best that endurance racing has to offer these days amongst a fifty-six muti-classed entry around one of the most challenging circuits in the world.
That euphoria was however, not continued across the trio of Aston Martin powered teams as the #19 Van Der Steur GTD entry of Rory Van Der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Andrew McIntosh sadly lost out with continuing their great IMSA GTD debut from Daytona with four hours still remaining.
That team lost ground from the start after stopping on track during one of the earlier Free Practice sessions saw them as the cause of the red flag which negated their fastest lap in Qualifying to see them start way down in P16 in class. With McIntosh taking the start for the opening few stints, the #19 AMR Vantage GTD was then apparently subject for a few energy management issues which saw Hasse-Clot later pinged for a Drive through Penalty as a result, eventually forcing the car behind the wall for further inspection.
Despite their best of efforts and with Van Der Steur taking the car back out again (albeit many laps down by now), the car was eventually retired.
On the plus side however, the #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GTD of Zacharie Robichon, Casper Stevenson and Tom Gamble has no such issues as they managed their run through both the pack from their P6 in class starting position, avoiding all the early FCY intervention for (usually) prototypes ending up in the wall/tyre barrier to remain within the top half dozen as day turned to night and the final dash to the flag.
It was the teams FIA World Endurance Championship Valkyrie Hypercar driver Tom Gamble who this time had the final stint, and on fresh rubber claimed that final step of the GTD podium to complement perfectly the results of the team at the opening round of the season at the Rolex 24 from Daytona.
If that wasn’t good enough, this even also saw the American debut of the Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP car after drivers Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas had already helped perform the cars global debut at the FIA WEC opener in Qatar just a few weeks earlier.
Still at the relative lower end of their learning curve with that car, earlier track sessions saw continued adjustments being made that took literal seconds off the minimum track time to be more than comparable to their more establish peers during Qualifying. That on track performance continued in race trim throughout the race as the Valkyrie was never the slowest GTP car on track, even within the opening laps, as Gunn took the charge for the first time in IMSA.
As with any race, you have to be in it to win it and by avoiding incidents and accidents around them, the trio of drivers were able to keep the #23 car on the lead lap for much of the race – typically cycling around the P10 position in class.
At the end of the twelve hours, the #23 Valkyrie had finished its hardest test to date nineth in class and just two laps off the leaders. Whilst some of that would have been race trim performance, part of it at least was down to a drive through penalty for the crew for exceeding its power delivery parameters but otherwise it was a job well done. This new additional data will now obviously back track into the teams two FIA WEC contenders ahead of their next round in Italy.
The next IMSA race for the Valkyrie GTP will be a whole new experience again as that will be around the streets of Long Beach, California in about four weeks’ time.
Photo credits – Team / series / social media
The next IMSA race for the Valkyrie GTP will be a whole new experience again as that will be around the streets of Long Beach, California in about four weeks’ time.
Photo credits – Team / series / social media
Sunday, March 16, 2025 |
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Podium again for the #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GTD at the 12Hours of Sebring
Third place in the GTD class for 2021 IMSA GTD title winner and 2023 European Le Mans Series GTE champion Zacharie Robichon, Aston Martin THOR team WEC Valkyrie driver Tom Gamble and FIA WEC LMGT3 podium finisher Casper Stevenson – marked the second podium finish in a row for the team. The trio also finished third in the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, sharing the car on that occasion with Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi.
Robichon, who qualified sixth in class, quickly put the car among the leaders and established THOR firmly in second place in the early hours of the race. A problem with a sensor meant Gamble was then forced to make an extra stop during his first stint, dropping the trio out of sequence with the field.
But THOR worked its way back into contention, running either in the lead of the class or 10th depending on which side of the fuel strategy they were on. A full-course yellow in the eighth hour brought the trio back on sequence and into contention, but then Stevenson had an unfortunate spin just before sundown at Turn 17. With no damage to the Vantage, the Englishman recovered well, handing the car over to Gamble in the lead of the class.
Gamble then returned to the race for the final stints in seventh and began a stellar drive back to the front. Assisted by a late full course yellow in the last 30 minutes of the race, the Briton was embroiled in a massive eight-car scrap for the class victory. With less than 10 minutes remaining, two rivals in front ran into issues, allowing Gamble to take the chequered flag in third place.
“The guys in the #27 Vantage did an awesome job,” said THOR team principal Ian James, “The crew executed marvellously throughout the whole race. We had some challenges to overcome, but the sign of a good team is when you are down, you keep bouncing back and we did. We’ve secured our second podium in a row and we’re right there in the championship hunt.”
The result marked the third time THOR had recorded a podium finish at Sebring. James, De Angelis and Darren Turner finished second in GTD in 2020, while in 2021 James and De Angelis shared second place with Gunn.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship takes place at Long Beach on 11-12 April.
Source material – Aston Martin HoRT
Sunday, March 16, 2025 |
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Success in Bronze Cup but podium success evades two AMR powered teams at the head of Michelin Pilot Challenge
It was the second round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series last night from the Sebring International Raceway as five Aston Martin Racing powered crews did battle amongst twenty other GS classed entries (and TCR entries of course) for this two-hour battle.
As previously reported, those five AMR entries did include some changes amongst the names over the top of the doors as the event went through Free Practice and into Qualifying on Thursday, ahead of a Friday afternoon start to the race.
The #46 Team TGM AMR of Paul Holton and Matt Plumb did right their wrongs of the Daytona opener as Holton grabbed pole position from the #39 Carbahn BMW leaving his team top and tail of the GS class after Ted Giovanis brought up the rear of the class with his #64 Team TGM entry (alongside Hugh Plumb).
That left the revised 89X Motorsport AMR crew of team boss Mike Fitzpatrick and Sebastian Vassen next quickest in P14 within their older specification #17A Vantage GT4 whilst the #71 Rebel Rock Racing AMR of Frank DePew/Robin Liddell and the #15 Van Der Steur of Christine Sloss/MH Peters completed the quintet in P20 and P24 respectively.
Under clear blue skies and sunshine, the race got underway to a surprisingly clean start as Holton tried to gap the pack as best he could but was apparently struggling to preserve the longevity of his tyres even at this early stage. A few laps in, there were a few dramas on track as bronze rated drivers within either spun or got spun around but crucially were able to continue without the need for intervention. Two of those to faulter early on were however, the #15 Van der Steur car of Sloss and the #64 Team TGM car of Giovanis.
Amid the pack, Fitzpatrick was relishing his move up into the IMSA series holding P14 whilst DePew was already on the move up from his sluggish starting position to be up a couple of places after just ten minutes.
The first issue, however, came just twenty minutes in when the #8 89X Motorsport car was seen pulling off track with that later confirmed as being with low oil pressure within the car. An unfortunate event for them to have to retire so early on.
Being the usual two-hour race length, minimum driver time was also back to its forty-minute norm and whilst a few has gone off kilter and had already pitted for fuel and tyres, most of the lesser bronze rated drivers did what they needed before handing their machinery over to their more abled co-drivers.
By this time, the #46 car of Holton was now really struggling for pace up front and within his last few laps dropped from the lead to third. He later reported that their tyre pressures were wrong, and he had been struggling with the effects of that from the off. At the end of the expected pit stop cycle, the #46 of Plumb was down to P4, the #71 of Liddell was now up to a miraculous P11 with both the #64 and #15 cars battling at the foot of the GS class for the top three steps of the GS Bronze Cup sub-class – being the fastest guys at the circuit historically, Liddell was looking to continue that feat as he posted the fastest lap times going into the final quarter.
At the drop of the chequered flag however, the efforts of the AMR crews at the head of the class were not quite enough to pull off a podium winning result as the #46 eventually finished P6 overall with the #71 car close behind in P8. There was at least some course to celebrate as the Bronze Cup reigning champions within the #64 car took the top step of the cup P20 overall in GS with the #15 car of Sloss and a series debuting Peters P22 overall and P2 in Bronze Cup.
The series now gets a few more weeks off again before returning for racing duty at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in May.
Photo credits – teams / series / social media / H Pittman
Saturday, March 15, 2025 |
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Beechdean finally reveal their 2025 British GT AMR Vantage GT3 package
Nearly lost within wealth of social media posts regarding the ongoing IMSA racing from Sebring, last night’s announcement from the Prodrive factory saw team boss Andrew Howard confirm his fifteenth season within British GT – this time alongside the young man who impressed him and the team so well at Brands Hatch last time out, Tom Wood.
As the astute businessman that he is, Howard is again using his #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 Evo to advertise his latest business enterprise with the family run Beechdean Group in the form of Sides Ice Cream.
Like Howard, Wood also comes with a long history of association with the AMR brand having raced the then new 17A version of the Vantage GT4 in both British GT and later GT4 European Series with the Academy team before moving onto more corporate driving duties of late with Aston Martin and their global Unleashed driving experiences programme.
Joining the ranks again of the GT3 Silver-Am classification, this news is yet only the third Aston Martin Racing powered confirmation ahead of the season start at Donington Park next month alongside that of the Blackthorn AMR Vantage GT3 pairing of Jonny Adam and Giacomo Petrobelli and the MKH Racing Vantage GT4 Endurance Cup pairing of Peter Montague and Stuart Hall.
Their new blues and white livery will also be a refreshing change to their norm.
Their new blues and white livery will also be a refreshing change to their norm.
Hopefully all three (and anymore still waiting in the wings) will be at Media Day from Silverstone next Friday (a ticket only event c/o Silverstone circuits website).
Photo credits – Team / social media / Jacob Ebrey
Saturday, March 15, 2025 |
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Final official test for D'Station Racing ahead of a Super GT start at Okayama
Having tested solo before with Tomonobu Fujii behind the wheel of their #777 AMR Vantage GT3 Evo, this weekend’s two-day test also sees co-driver Charlie Fagg behind the wheel for the first time this season as the young Brit looks forward to a full season within the topflight Japanese series having stepped in with great effect after the opening couple of rounds last season.
The team also showed off their revised anniversary livery to celebrate the 30th anniversary of team boss’s Satoshi Hoshino’s Nexus Group of companies although the familiar green is still there to be seen.
The team has already been busy pre-season testing ahead of a busy 2025 as they embark upon GT3 participation within Super GT, Super Taikyu and GT world Challenge Asia Series with varying driver line ups.
After the four available sessions this weekend, the opening round of the season will be from Okayama later in April.
Photo credits - Team
Friday, March 14, 2025 |
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Next stop the 12 Hours of Sebring after todays qualifying for the three Aston Martin entries
With that and the preceding Free Practice sessions came the eventual American debut of the much-anticipated Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP car from the Heart of Racing team along their other Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD entry and that another from the Van Der Steur Racing team.
Being another endurance round on the back of the Rolex 24 opener from Daytona at the end of January sees additional drivers taking part with each of the Heart of Racing entries whilst the Van Der Steur team are only due to compete within the endurance rounds, so their driver line up has remained the same.
The #23 Valkyrie did not participate within the Rolex 24 opener as the team sought additional time before homologating their new creation with its global racing debut then coming at the opening round of the World Endurance Championship. This weekend’s drivers (Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas) were all driving the new Valkyrie within the WEC opener and do so again within the IMSA Championship before both Gunn and De Angelis due to take the GTP entry on during the shorter races within the 2025 season.
Within the GDT class, the #27 Heart of Racing again has two drivers from their WEC LMGT3 commitments as Tom Gamble (Valkyrie) and Zacharie Robichon (LMGT3) partner up again with Casper Stevenson after their P3 podium finish together at Daytona. The #19 Van Der Steur GTD entry meanwhile again features the driving skills of the team’s namesake in Rory Van Der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Anthony McIntosh in a car that is sometimes overshadowed by the adventures of the HoRT team and their Valkyrie entry.
Three practice sessions and Qualifying done across the fifty-six-car total entry for this weekend’s event finally saw the #23 Valkyrie secure a P12 in class start ahead of tomorrow’s race whilst the #27 HoRT Vantage crew secured P6 in their class. The #19 Van Der Steur crew qualified P16 but that was after their fastest time was deleted by Race Control for causing a red flag within one of the earlier Free Practice sessions.
Whilst both AMR Vantage GTD crews will always be competitive within class to some degree, the Valkyrie GTP (and WEC Hypercar) creation is still work in progress as the car is still two seconds off the pace – something similar to what was seen at the Qatar WEC opener but there, the car performed better than expected.
The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring kicks off at 10:10hrs local on Saturday.
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Friday, March 14, 2025 |
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Five Aston Martin Vantage GT4s queue up for the bumps of Sebring in Michelin Pilot Challenge
Like its bigger peers in the main event, this weekend’s visit to Sebring International is only their second round of the 2025 season having also raced at Daytona at the end of January for what was their annual extended four-hour affair.
Whilst we are back down to the more customary two-hour race format, we will still enjoy a five car Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered entry amongst the twenty-five strong GS class although not the same five who competed at Daytona earlier.
Team TGM are back with their new two car Vantage GT4 Evo entry for drivers Matt Plumb and Paul Holton aboard their #46 car whilst team owner Ted Giovanis again pairs with Hugh Plumb aboard their #64 Vantage GT4 Evo after their P3 finish within the Bronze Cup sub-class.
First round marvels within the #15 Van Der Steur Vantage Evo also return after their debut P2 in Bronze Cup finish however, the husband-and-wife crew is not there this time as Christine Sloss is this time listed as driving with Mark Hamilton Peters.
The #71 Rebel Rock Racing AMR is also a regular as Frank DePew looks to build upon his opportunist P3 Bronze Cup finish at the second round of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge from the Circuit of the Americas to weeks ago. He is again joined by Robin Liddell as they look to maintain their impressive historical performances at the Floridian circuit.
The #71 Rebel Rock Racing AMR is also a regular as Frank DePew looks to build upon his opportunist P3 Bronze Cup finish at the second round of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge from the Circuit of the Americas to weeks ago. He is again joined by Robin Liddell as they look to maintain their impressive historical performances at the Floridian circuit.
The only newcomer will be the #8 Vantage GT4 entry from the 89X Motorsport team who take the place of the #82 Van Der Steur var of Brady Behrmann who’s now off racing Porsches within the IMSA family of series. Team Fitzpatrick will also compete within the Bronze Cup with his older generation of Vantage GT4 (17A) and with a co-driver Sebastian Vasan. The team did of course compete within the opening two races of the VP Racing Sportscar Challenge Series at the Roar Before the 24-test weekend with another driver pairing.
Track action for these guys begins tomorrow before Qualifying Thursday and their two-hour race on Friday afternoon.
Photo credits – Teams / series / social media
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 |
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12Hours of Sebring beckons the new Aston Martin Valkyrie and AMR Vantage GTD crews this weekend
The first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ to be produced by Aston Martin, Valkyrie is the only car in IMSA’s premier GTP category derived from a road-legal hypercar. Its US debut, masterminded by the works Aston Martin The Heart of Racing team at Sebring, continues an historic season for the British contender, which will become the first LMH car of any kind to compete in IMSA, and is the only such racer contesting both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship, where it made its debut in Qatar last month.
Valkyrie positions Aston Martin in the top division of US sportscar racing for the first time since 2011; a season in which five outright victories and seven podiums were achieved in the American Le Mans Series.
The Aston Martin works driver roster for the single-car programme features a line-up brimming with international experience and success. Canadian Roman De Angelis, the 2022 IMSA GTD champion, and Ross Gunn, a regular race winner in the GTD and GTD Pro categories, will contest the rest of the IMSA season in the #23 Valkyrie. Both are past winners of the Aston Martin Race Academy.
They are joined at Sebring – and for the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – by THOR regular Alex Riberas, whose full-time campaign in 2025 is racing Valkyrie in the FIA WEC, but who has a wealth of experience in IMSA and has been a GTD Pro race winner in each of the past three seasons.
Ross Gunn, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “Sebring this year is a very important event for us, even more than normal, and it will be the first IMSA race for Valkyrie, which is incredibly exciting. Of course we are on a very steep learning trajectory right now, but everyone is working super-hard to bring as much performance as possible to the car. I’m really looking forward to getting out there. I think it’s going to be a huge challenge both physically and mentally because Sebring is always one of the toughest events, but it’s what we have trained hard for. It’s very exciting to have the V12 engine going around Sebring. It’s going to be an incredible weekend.”
Roman De Angelis, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I’m looking forward to heading to Sebring for the first IMSA race for the Valkyrie programme and the first race for my full-season campaign with Ross. I think we learned a lot as drivers and as a team from our FIA WEC debut in Qatar a few weeks ago and that will all help us to keep progressing. Sebring is such an iconic and unique event that I look forward to every year and to get to do it in the top class for the first time is something I could only have dreamed of a couple of years ago, so it’s definitely going to be a special weekend.”
Alex Riberas, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “The 12 Hours of Sebring may be the highlight of the year for the Aston Martin Team THOR IMSA programme, marking the debut of the Aston Martin Valkyrie in North America. It’s also the first LMH car to race under IMSA’s regulations, which is a huge milestone for everyone involved in the project. One thing everyone knows about Sebring is that it’s very challenging. We know we are stepping into a big, big weekend for everybody. I’m really looking forward to being on an amazing track with such an amazing car.”
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “IMSA is where The Heart of Racing team has grown up and flourished into a championship winning organisation so to be joining the top class is a very special moment for all involved. To be bringing this incredible hypercar to the American race fans is a precious moment for us all. It’s a dream come true to be racing in the top class with a manufacturer programme with everyone involved. We obviously learned a lot in the race conditions on our debut in Qatar two weeks ago, and we always knew that would be an educational experience for us, but it is one that we drew a lot of confidence from, and of course every time we run now we’re taking on learnings and applying them to the next event. This only builds momentum, and I expect that to carry on through the season.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “With Aston Martin returning to top-flight endurance competition in the US with such a breathtaking hypercar, the first of its kind to race in IMSA and the only one developed from a road car, this is clearly a landmark step for the Valkyrie programme. We all know the challenges Sebring offers, both as a venue and as a race, but these are important tests for Valkyrie and every mile builds data and understanding as we build on the car’s debut in Qatar. The car cuts a striking silhouette in its blue livery, and with its unique sound from the V12 6.5-litre engine, I am certain this car will win the hearts and minds of the American racing fans.”
While Valkyrie contests the GTP division, Aston Martin will also battle for victory in the GTD category as the latest version of the Vantage GT3 is fielded by former series champions The Heart of Racing and by Van der Steur Racing.
Sebring was the scene of one of Aston Martin’s greatest successes in GT racing in North America as the DBR9 model claimed a stunning GT1 victory on the car’s race debut in 2005 driven by Darren Turner, David Brabham and Stephane Ortelli. Eight further podium finishes since then in the race’s various GT classes – including four for Vantage since 2015.
Fresh from a GTD-class podium finish at January’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, IMSA’s opening round and its longest race, The Heart of Racing is tackling the GTD class with a distinguished line-up in its #27 Vantage.
The 2021 IMSA GTD title winner and 2023 European Le Mans Series GTE champion Zacharie Robichon, is joined by Aston Martin THOR team WEC Valkyrie driver Tom Gamble who returns to an event he contested with THOR in 2022. The roster is completed by FIA WEC LMGT3 podium finisher Casper Stevenson who, like Robichon and Gamble, formed part of THOR’s Daytona podium-finishing line-up in January.
After finishing a competitive sixth in GTD on its series debut at Daytona, Van der Steur Racing continues its first season with the Vantage GT3 at Sebring. Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot, the third winner of the Aston Martin Racing Academy to race an Aston Martin at Sebring, and the 2023 Le Mans Cup GT3 champion, joins Anthony McIntosh and Rory van der Steur in the #19 car.
Source material – Aston Martin Racing
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 |
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Valkyries IMSA debut and two Vantage GTD crews chasing further class reward around Sebring
Whilst the opening round of the season at the Rolex 24 did not include the international debut of the new Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP car, we have of course now seen that creation in its World Endurance Championship guise after the opening round of that championship in Qatar at the start of the month. That will be corrected this weekend as the #23 Heart of Racing Valkyrie GTP will be racing in its blue IMSA livery for the first time with a driver crew of Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas behind the wheel.
Complimenting a top-class reappearance of an Aston Martin brand within the IMSA Championship will also be the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD entries from the Heart of Racing and Van Der Steur teams as they both go about improving upon their Rolex 24 finishing positions at Daytona earlier.
Both Vantage GTD crews will compete with three of their four drivers that they competed with at the season opener with Casper Stevenson and Tom Gamble again being joined by Zacharie Robichon within the #27 Heart of Racing car whilst the #19 Van Der Steur car will again be driven by Rory Van Der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Anthony McIntosh.
Both Vantage GTD crews will compete with three of their four drivers that they competed with at the season opener with Casper Stevenson and Tom Gamble again being joined by Zacharie Robichon within the #27 Heart of Racing car whilst the #19 Van Der Steur car will again be driven by Rory Van Der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Anthony McIntosh.
Both crews enjoyed a successful opener with the #27 car stealing third place in class at the end whilst the #19 crew celebrated their own successes with a P6 finish in class in their first ever GTD (GT3) based race together.
The first official track action for the combined fifty-six car entry will be on Thursday morning before Qualifying later on Friday, with the start of the twelve-hour race early on Saturday morning local time.
If the opening rounds of both the IMSA and WEC Championships were anything to go by, this round will surely be equally as impressive!
Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Monday, March 10, 2025 |
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New faces and stepping up places for some within AMR this season
Krognes, 34, whose pedigree includes the overall Nordschleife-based Nürburgring Langstrecken Series (NLS) title in 2012, is the official GT3 lap record holder on the fearsome circuit’s NLS layout since 2022. A long-serving driver for Walkenhorst Motorsport, he will also participate in the team’s SP9 Pro class assault on the Nürburgring 24 Hours in June.
“Christian’s performances over the years at the Nürburgring have ensured he has long been someone we’ve kept an eye on, and when the opportunity arose for us to bring him into the AMR family officially, it seemed like an obvious decision to make,” said Aston Martin Racing Director of Performance Gus Beteli. “He is super-fast, gives precise and consistent feedback, works well in a team environment and is a safe pair of hands behind the wheel; all key attributes when competing in the highest levels of endurance racing.”
Krognes, who since switching from karts to car racing has built his career mainly around Nürburgring-based endurance events, described becoming part of the AMR works driver line-up as the “realisation of dream”.
“Joining Aston Martin was always a childhood dream for me,” said Krognes. “Now I’m looking forward to taking on the challenges ahead with my great teammates at Walkenhorst Motorsport behind the wheel of the spectacular Aston Martin Vantage GT3. I’ve always admired the brand’s heritage and I’m very proud to represent such an iconic manufacturer. I also want to take this opportunity to thank AMR for putting its faith in me as well as all the people who have supported me so far on this journey. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
Krognes joins arguably the strongest ever AMR works line-up, one full to the brim with stellar talent. Former FIA World Endurance Championship GT champions Marco Sørensen and Thiim both return with multiple programmes, while Spa 24 Hours winner Mattia Drudi will compete in WEC, GTWC Europe and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Aston Martin Formula One® Team Driver Ambassador Jessica Hawkins will step back into an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for a second consecutive season as she joins Comtoyou Racing in the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup. Her team-mates in the #11 car will be confirmed at a later date.
Hawkins, who recorded two Silver-Am class podium finishes at Donington Park in her maiden British GT Championship season, said: “I’m thrilled to make my debut in GT World Challenge Europe with Comtoyou Racing this year. Having previous experience with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from my time in British GT and working with an established team like Comtoyou, I hope will help heading into the season.
“I’d like to thank Arm and Valvoline for their support in helping me to progress to GTWC Europe, it’s an excellent next step in my racing career and will ultimately give me the opportunity to work towards my ultimate dream of competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I’m looking forward to getting started and racing at some new and familiar circuits.”
The Briton will be surrounded by a wealth of talent in the Belgian partner team – a GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Pro class title contender in 2024 thanks in no small part to Spa 24 Hour winners Drudi, Sørensen and Thiim, who return for another season in the #007 for another crack at championship glory.
The newest AMR Driver Academy winner Jamie Day also steps up to the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup with Comtoyou Racing in 2025 in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The 2024 British GT GT4 Silver class champion will run in the GTWC Silver division alongside Belgian duo Kobe Pauwels and Matisse Lismont.
Walkenhorst Motorsport’s Pro line-up of Chaves, Krognes and Pittard will be joined by an equally impressive Silver class crew in the #35 Vantage GT3 that features yet another AMR Academy winner – Romain Leroux, alongside Mateo Villagomez and Oliver Söderström.
The AMR partner team will dovetail its Endurance Cup assault with a Pro class campaign in the Sprint Cup for Chaves and Villagomez.
Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter added: “The strength in depth brought to bear by our partners in the GTWC Europe is a testament to the competitive level and driveability of the Vantage GT3 platform. The car came close to winning the Pro class title in 2024, and I’m confident that the driver line-ups in place across all the divisions are capable of fighting for championship glory in 2025. I would like to extend a warm welcome to Christian, who is an excellent addition to the works roster and we are excited to see what he can achieve with Vantage, and also to congratulate Jessica on her graduation to European GT competition. It’s going to be a fascinating GT season, and at Aston Martin we look forward to this with eager anticipation.”
The GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Official Prologue takes place 10-11 March at Paul Ricard in France, with the opening round of the series taking place at the same venue on 11-13 April.
Source material – AMR
Photo credits – GTWCE (Jacob Ebrey) / social media
Monday, March 10, 2025 |
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Walkenhorst and Comtoyou confirm their GT World Challenge Sprint and Endurance driver crews today
Having had the series confirm car numbers between the two series and teams just a week or so ago, today’s news confirms all bar one of those crews as many embarked upon the first day of Prologue testing with their competitors to be at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France today.
Noting some welcome returnees and well as some new and upcoming faces within the GT3 family of AMR teams, today saw the following crews formally announced.
Within the GTWCE Sprint Cup Series, there will be three AMR Vantage GT3 Evo crews running for the five-round season – two from the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team and one from the German based Walkenhorst team.
Within the GTWCE Sprint Cup Series, there will be three AMR Vantage GT3 Evo crews running for the five-round season – two from the Belgian based Comtoyou Racing team and one from the German based Walkenhorst team.
After a couple of rounds of pre-season racing within the GT Winter Series of late, Kobe Pauwels and Matisse Lismont have been confirmed alongside Brazilian newcomers Ricardo Baptista and Raphael Suzuki whilst the Walkenhorst team will run with Henrique Chaves guiding the GT4 convertee and reigning FFSA GT4 Silver champion Matteo Villagomez.
Then within the five endurance rounds, we will see another five entries from these two teams plus of course the Verstappen.com entry from the 2 Seas Motorsport team for drivers Thierry Vermeulen, Chris Lulham and Harry King.
Comtoyou Racing again line up the Spa 24 winners of last season with Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim again joining forces behind the #007 with Lismont and Pauwels joining up with reigning British GT GT4 Silver Cup Champion Jamie Day for the endurance rounds with Jessica Hawkins plus two driver yet to be advised as a third car effort for the season.
The two Walkenhorst AMR crews also have a degree of stability about them as Henrique Chaves and David Pittard again pair up but with Ross Gunn’s position of old now taken by AMR’s latest Professional driver acquisition in Christian Krognes now alongside. Their teams second will be a silver graded crew where Romain Leroux will be alongside to help both Villagomez (who is also doing a Sprint and Endurance double) and Oliver Soderstrom.
The two Walkenhorst AMR crews also have a degree of stability about them as Henrique Chaves and David Pittard again pair up but with Ross Gunn’s position of old now taken by AMR’s latest Professional driver acquisition in Christian Krognes now alongside. Their teams second will be a silver graded crew where Romain Leroux will be alongside to help both Villagomez (who is also doing a Sprint and Endurance double) and Oliver Soderstrom.
The attending teams at today’s opening sessions of the Prologue test where met with changeable weather conditions which saw the #33 Verstappen.com crew post the fastest times of the three AMR crews than ran over the two sessions held today.
Photo credits – Teams / Series (Jacob Ebrey)
Monday, March 10, 2025 |
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