Aston Martin crews looking to end this IMSA season on a something of a high at Petit Le Mans
Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Just as in 2024, when The Heart of Racing [THOR] Team began the 10-hour series decider fighting for the GTD Pro title with Ross Gunn (GBR), the team is again a title contender both for GTD class honours as well as the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
Casper Stevenson (GBR) goes into the finale in second position in the GTD class thanks to a victory at Watkins Glen and podiums in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the sprint race at Virginia International Raceway. The Briton is 224 points behind the championship leader, with a potential 385 available across the event.
It’s a much tighter affair in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – a series comprising the five races of more than the standard two-hour, forty-minute duration that feature during the IMSA season. THOR trio Stevenson, Zacharie Robichon (CAN) and Tom Gamble (GBR) are just three points away from the lead, thanks in part to their outstanding victory in the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen in July.
With drivers and teams eligible for a maximum of 15 IMEC points this weekend (with five available to the car that leads after four hours, another five after eight hours and five awarded to the race’s class winners), the destination of the title is likely to hang in the balance until the chequered flag.
THOR remains the only team to have won an IMSA GTD title with Aston Martin, having claimed the Sprint Cup in 2021 with Gunn and Roman De Angelis (CAN), and then the overall GTD crown a year later with the Canadian.
Van der Steur Racing, which is contesting only the five IMEC races in 2025, returns for Petit Le Mans with its original driver line-up. Rory van der Steur (USA) has recovered from an injury sustained in a mountain-biking accident prior to the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis. He will race alongside team-mates Anthony McIntosh (USA) and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA).
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Returning for the third time this season is Aston Martin partner team Magnus Racing, with a refreshed driver line-up. Joining team owner John Potter (USA), and regular Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will be four-times GT class race winner Jan Heylen (BEL).
