The two Aston Martin The Heart Of Racing Team Valkyries set a searing pace throughout practice for the event, which marks Aston Martin’s 100th WEC start; the British performance brand is one of three manufacturers to have been present at all WEC’s preceding 99 races.
The #007 Valkyrie ended free practice fastest of all, in the hands of Harry Tincknell, raising hopes of a pole shot, after both cars shone throughout Friday’s two 90-minute training sessions. Then in qualifying, three-time FIA WEC GT champion Sørensen delivered a breathtaking lap to break into the Hyperpole session as the fastest qualifier. The Dane delivered two highly competitive laps in the Hyperpole session (a 10-minute shoot-out for the top ten qualifiers) which placed him third overall; his 1m28.705s lap was ultimately just 0.030s shy of a front position for Round 7 of the 2025 WEC season.
“The first objective was to get into Hyperpole,” said Sørensen. “Then when we did that I was like, ‘I really want pole’. So, when we ended up only third, I was a little bit disappointed! Now if we can get everything in the right place for the race, put together the right strategy, make the right tyre choices, we should be on for a good result.
“Everything has been getting progressively better for the last three races, and we’ve taken some good steps forward. Now we are find ourselves in the real fight and we’re not having to look for crazy amounts of time to get to the front. If you look at where we were in Qatar and compare it to where we are now, it’s amazing, and that’s down to how hard the team is working and how much the car is improving. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment.”
Aston Martin Head of Endurance, Adam Carter, added: “While we must remember this is only qualifying, and that we still have a six-hour race to complete tomorrow, this remains a stand-out moment for the programme. Valkyrie has made steady but significant progress through its debut season and qualifying third in Fuji demonstrates its growing potential in an ultra-competitive Hypercar Class. To be less than a tenth away from the front row, and show impressive pace through the weekend so far, is an achievement within itself when you consider how young the programme is. Now we most double-down and focus on maximising the opportunity we have in front of us in the race.”
Valkyrie’s sporting momentum has grown step-by-step since its encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans (in June) debut, where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue, finishing 12th and 14th, and the Aston Martin THOR Team registered the cars’, and Aston Martin’s first Manufacturer’s World Championship points in the Hypercar Class. The car also starred in the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas earlier in the month, where the unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered British hypercar, ran as high as fourth position long into the rain-affected race in Austin, TX.
Valkyrie is the first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin. Raced by the works Aston Martin THOR Team, Valkyrie 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.
Aston Martin Vantage will start its 100th FIA World Endurance Championship race from pole position after Racing Spirit of Léman clinched its second LMGT3 class top spot in three races with drivers Eduardo Barrichello and Anthony McIntosh. The achievement marked the tenth-class pole at the Japanese venue for Vantage, the British performance brand’s most successful racing car.
McIntosh makes his second WEC start in Fuji, having also taken pole position with Barrichello in São Paulo, Brazil, back in July before racing on to clinch the team’s first WEC podium with works driver Valentin Hasse Clot. The American qualified the car eighth in Fuji, safely getting through to Hyperpole on his debut appearance at a Japanese venue. Barrichello, also on his first visit to the circuit, then delivered two outstanding qualifying laps to ensure that the #10 Vantage GT3 took the third pole position for the latest iteration of the car.
“Tony did a mega job to put us through into Hyperpole, and I was happy to put in a strong lap as well,” said Barrichello. “We’ve been a little down on straight-line speed, so we had to be smart in the Hyperpole session. The #27 crew were kind enough to work with us and give us a tow, two laps for them and two laps for us. It works perfectly with two Aston Martins in the top four! Tomorrow, I think we have a strong car, Tony has been great, I’ve done my part and Val always delivers, so I’m confident we can fight for a strong result.”
The #27 Heart of Racing Vantage also made it through to Hyperpole after team principal Ian James qualified the blue Aston Martin fifth. Team-mate Zacharie Robichon then ensured that the crew which is completed by works driver Mattia Drudi will begin the 100th WEC race from fourth on the LMGT3 grid.
Through five iterations, spanning 12 and a half seasons, the glorious Vantage has claimed 53 GT class victories – the second highest of any manufacturer. It has won races in every WEC class it has contested (LMGTE Pro, LMGTE Am and LMGT3), and with every version of Vantage that Aston Martin has introduced. Responsible for 11 world championship titles, and five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins in the WEC era, Vantage has also claimed 69 class pole positions.
Vantage’s record at Fuji is no less impressive; with seven class victories derived from 16 podium appearances – two of which were double-class wins – as well as ten class pole positions. On only three occasions has the Fuji WEC podium not featured a Vantage driver crew.
Source material - Aston Martin