Three Aston Martins for IMSA first sprint race of the year around the streets of Long Beach California

 

 

 

Thirty-six hours of endurance racing so far and the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship takes to its first sprint race of the season as just the GTP and GTD classes travel to the street circuit layout of Long Beach, California.

At both the season opening Rolex 24 and then the 12Hrs of Sebring, the Heart of Racing team will be stretched resource wise as they field both their Valkyrie GTP and GTD class leading Vantage GTD in IMSA as well as four cars at the opening round to the FIA World Endurance Championship at Imola, Italy.

 

As consequence of that diary clash, there has been a driver reshuffle within the #27 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD as Brazilian racer Eduardo Barrichello sits out the FIA WEC opening race weekend to continue his so far fine form within the IMSA series alongside that of stand-in co-driver Spencer Pumpelly.

His co-drivers so far at both opening endurance rounds will also be competing in Italy as Tom Gamble races their #007 Valkyrie and Zacharie Robichon the #27 Vantage LMGT3 in Europe.

 

They will be joined by the teams full season #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP of Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis who have struggled with technical woes during the opening two rounds to have something of a faltered start to the season with a tight and twisting street circuit layout that didn’t suit the power delivery characteristics of the normally aspirated V12 powerplant over that of its hybridised competitors.

Despite that, last year saw the car and drivers finish eighth overall in what was only their second race of the season (having skipped the Daytona) whilst the then Casper Stevenson/Tom Gamble #23 car had to make do with a P9 class finish after earlier contact.

Joining these two Aston Martin’s will also be the #19 Van Der Steur Racing AMR Vantage GTD of both Rory Van Der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot as both drivers debut around the Californian street circuit within their #19 car.

The opening two rounds for this time have been ‘difficult’ with a P11 finish in class at Daytona being their best result to date after suffering from gearbox issues over the bumps of Sebring last time out in March so a good result this weekend will be a boost for all concerned.

 

Eleven GTP’s and seventeen GTD’s will take the start to Saturday’s one hour and forty-minute sprint where caution periods are all but guaranteed with which team can react the best and fastest to those situations usually the one who comes off best in class.

Saturday’s race starts at 16:05hrs local.

Photo credits – Team / Series / Aston Martin