The new Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar enters the second half of its trailblazing maiden season in the FIA World Endurance Championship when it races on South American soil for the first time at Interlagos, for the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo, this weekend.
Following an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans last month where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue, finishing 12th and 14th, the works Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team registered the cars’, and Aston Martin’s first Manufacturer’s World Championship points in the Hypercar Class. The British brand now seeks to build on this positive momentum with a breakthrough top ten finish on WEC’s return to the six-hour race format, as the championship moves into the ‘flyaway’ event phase of the calendar that shapes the second half of the season.
Following an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans last month where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue, finishing 12th and 14th, the works Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team registered the cars’, and Aston Martin’s first Manufacturer’s World Championship points in the Hypercar Class. The British brand now seeks to build on this positive momentum with a breakthrough top ten finish on WEC’s return to the six-hour race format, as the championship moves into the ‘flyaway’ event phase of the calendar that shapes the second half of the season.
The first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ to be produced by Aston Martin, and raced by the Aston Martin THOR Team, Valkyrie is the only car in the WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar. Valkyrie is also the only LMH to compete in both the FIA WEC and in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and has scored top-10 finishes in every race it has contested in the USA.
Valkyrie made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February. The British machine has subsequently demonstrated outstanding reliability, having finished 11 times from 12 starts in all competitions and has solid progression in terms of competitiveness. It has been a consistent points-scorer in all five IMSA races.
The Aston Martin THOR Team will return to its two regular WEC Valkyrie line-ups for the 6 Hours of São Paulo, with the #007 driven by Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell and the #009 of Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen.
Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3 returns to the frontline of the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT class action this weekend with race victory very much in the crosshairs.
The FIA World Endurance Championship visits Interlagos for only the fifth time in its history, having been reintroduced to the calendar last year. In that period, Vantage has recorded three class wins and four runner-up finishes – including in 2024. The Heart of Racing team and the Racing Spirit of Léman squad aims to add to that tally with the latest iteration – the Vantage GT3 – in the LMGT3 class of the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo on 13 July.
Regular class frontrunners, THOR team principal Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi are looking to at least repeat the performance of the #27 Vantage from last year when it finished second in class. Indeed, so far in 2025, the team has recorded a sixth, a fifth and a fourth from four races and based on its pace, a podium is overdue.
THOR will be joined by Racing Spirit of Léman, which introduces a new driver, Anthony McIntosh to its regular line-up of Eduardo Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot in the #10 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. McIntosh comes fresh off the back of a Pro-Am Class podium in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with Beechdean AMR, while he also races a Vantage with van der Steur Racing in selected IMSA races in the GTD class. McIntosh steps in for his compatriot Derek De Boer, who is otherwise engaged with external commitments, but will return to the car for the next round – the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas on 5-7 September.
THOR is also in action in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship with the latest version of the Vantage GT3 in the all-GT round of the series at Mosport, in Canada. Fresh off a brilliant, last-gasp win at Watkins Glen last month, the team’s fulltime #27 driver Casper Stevenson is currently second in the standings, just 60 points off the GTD class championship lead. His regular teammate Gamble is otherwise engaged with Valkyrie at Interlagos, so THOR has drafted in IMSA Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP driver and 2022 IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis; a two-time GTD class winner of the event.
“The Vantage GT3 continues to go from strength to strength,” said Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter. “It proved to be an outstanding choice for our partner teams in the recent 24 Hours of Spa, where it achieved two class win and another class podium. In IMSA it was victorious in the previous round at Watkins Glen. In WEC, the pace has been there, if not the results. Aston Martin has a strong record at Interlagos, and there is every reason for us to head to São Paulo in an optimistic frame of mind, with a podium finish a very clear target for both of our partner teams.”
Source material - AMR