Daytona Test Goes Well For The Heart Of Racing
Monday, January 06, 2020
The Heart of Racing team returned to Daytona International Speedway this weekend to compete at the ROAR Before the Rolex 24. This was the first outing for the program after a three-year hiatus, and for 2020 the team have chosen to make the change and compete with the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. This weekend the car was in white with green accents, but the team look forward to showcasing their new blue-checkered livery designed by Gray Newell.
For former The Heart of Racing drivers Ian James and Alex Riberas, as well as new full-season driver Roman De Angelis, this was the first time racing an Aston Martin. The team were joined by Aston Martin Works Driver Nicki Thiim and the crew were supported by Aston Martin Racing engineers
In the qualifying session on Saturday, designed to secure pit lane position, Roman De Angelis was in the hot seat and secured a lap time of 1:47.769. At this time, pit and garage positions are still to be confirmed. “All in all, I think it was a very good weekend”, said De Angelis. “We progressed as a team well bearing in mind, we had a brand-new platform to work on and not only for us, but for the North American market. It was great to finally be together with the team, my teammates did an awesome job all weekend helping me get used to the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Really looking forward to going into the 24-hour race strong and I think we have a good chance to at least fight. That’s what we came here to learn, and that’s what we’re coming out with so I’m looking forward to getting going later in the month.”
The team now return to their Florida base to regroup and get ready for the most grueling race on the calendar, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Wednesday 22, to Sunday 26, January 2020.
“We achieved everything we wanted to achieve this weekend,” said James. “We each got seat time and made the most of all test sessions. It’s a new car to us, one I’m very excited about, but that also comes with challenges. I am very confident in the team though and happy with what we have learnt about the car this weekend. Looking forward to the race.”
Source material - Heart of Racing