After a GTD only event last time out about a month ago from the picturesque Virginia International Raceway, it’s all back to happy IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship families next weekend as the full suite of classes visits Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Round ten of another eleven round season, we have all seen just how these championship battles have been heating up upon track recently where both the GTD Pro and GTD class battles have remained spirited by competitive, the battles within the headlining GTP class has almost become personal to a point of almost being dangerous.

 

That was reflected upon track the last time all the classes raced at Road America but there were still traces of some of that overzealous driver going on within the GTD ranks last time out at VIR where the then GTD class leading #27 Heart of Racing was penalised for contact which dropped them down both the race order and within the championship standing itself. Hopefully, Race Control has now made its mark, and the race next weekend from IMS will remain competitive but thoroughly respectful.

Forty-four cars are being listed across GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and the GTD classes with one Aston Martin/Aston Martin Racing powered crew being listed within each class other than the LMP2 class (obviously). The #23 Heart of Racing AM Valkyrie of both Roman de Angelis and Ross Gunn will be back after their very encouraging P5 finish at Road America at the start of August as well as the #68 Car Blanche entry within GTD Pro (for the remainder of the season) and the #27 HoRT car in GTD.

 

Valentin Hasse-Clot again pairs with fellow AMR factory driver Marco Sorensen as he did at VIR where the new combination finished fourth in class after their P5 start whilst the #27 is again being piloted by Eduardo Barrichello and Tom Gamble for this two hours forty-minute race on Sunday.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship’s visit to the Virginia International Raceway this weekend provided perhaps one of the best GTD only races so far although things certainly didn’t go the way of one of the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD entries as late contact on one came with a significant cost.

Racing as the nineth round of the season, this weekend’s programme was just for the GTD Pro and GTD classes but that still provided twenty-three cars onto Sunday’s grid for the two hours and forty-minute race.

 

Like the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series before it, some of the earlier practice sessions were affected by torrential rain and passing storms but the race was able to run under full sunshine and a dry track. Yesterday’s qualifying had seen the #68 Car Blanche AMR Vantage GTD Pro car of Valentin Hasse-Clot and Marco Sorensen secure a fifth place start whilst the #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage GTD of Eduardo Barrichello and Tom Gamble had seen their two best laps deleted for exceeding their permitted power output during that session (as measured instantaneously via the car’s torque sensors) to find themselves demoted to P12 in class as a consequence.

Having built up an early class lead during the longer opening rounds of the season, recent results for the Barrichello lead car had seen that lead gradually reduce after they got repeatedly outscored by those chasing, so a decent result at VIR was vital for their championship efforts. The Car Blanche team, meanwhile, were running within only their second Pro class race since their buyout from Van Der Steur Racing earlier in the year but their hopes were raised this time with this full factory driver line up.

 

Unfortunately, the race got underway to all familiar incidents and accidents that saw three cars effectively eliminated from the race halfway around the opening laps but that certainly appeared to be more out of circumstance than anything else as Race Control was expected to take a firm hand to anything else after incidents at recent races.

Getting back to green after the twenty-minute clean up, the race certainly settled within both classes as everyone was looking to ‘steady their ships’ around the tight and twisting 3.27-mile VIR circuit as that lap one incident had again proven, that the outfield grass was extremely wet and any retardation attempt once upon it, was slight to nil.

 

For the #68 car of Hasse-Clot, it was steady as she goes as the Frenchman held his P5 starting position into what would become a near two-hour stint. The #27 GTD of Barrichello was however make quick progress through the ranks from P12, through to P8 and incredibly up to third in class by the forty-five-minute mark of the race (minimum drive time).

Whilst Barrichello would pit for service and a driver change to Gamble just after that race milestone, the #68 would only pit for fuel and tyres before being sent upon their way again as at the halfway point of the race, both Aston Martins held a podium winning position within their classes as the racing action around the circuit began to pick up in intensity but thankfully remained clean.

 

At the top of the final hour, Hasse-Clot would eventually stop from third in class to allow Sorensen his first racing laps whilst Gamble would follow him in next time around for what would be his final service and the dash to the flag having just overtaken the then class leading Lamborghini after they ran wide.

As the race clock went down to the final thirty minutes, the #27 car would have a race upon their hands as the #57 Mercedes AMG car had now caught them in what would become very significant within the championship stakes as it was the #57 crew immediately behind Barrichello in class. A lead of just 0.621 seconds was never going to boke well at this level of motorsport!

 

As the time counted down, the racing intensified between the two cars as neither driver would give ground to the other until a mistake from Gamble with only six minutes remaining allowed the #57 passed only for the British driver to force his way through (and push the Mercedes off track) at the next corner. Fearing a penalty, the #27 would soon allow the #57 back past but that wasn’t enough for the new world Race Control after weeks of criticism going their way for driver standards.

That Drive through penalty for incident responsibility was quickly given to the #27 and that would have a disastrous consequence of dropping them down to P5 in the order with only minutes remaining. At the chequered flag, the #68 crew would cross the line a very worthy fourth in class and whilst the #27 would recover to finish P4, that effectively meant that the points lost to the #57 crew within the championship had now doubled as the series moves onto Indianapolis in a month’s time.

 

A few races ago, the move by Gamble would have been tolerated and they may have still won the class – just sadly not today!

Photo credits – Teams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another incredible round of the FIA World Endurance Championship came our way yesterday from Spa Francorchamps, Belgium as the four Heart of Racing Aston Martin powered crews went about their usual competitive game plan which this time earned one crew podium success but at the cost of broken hearts for another.

 

Unlike the preceding two days of track preparation, the early afternoon start to yesterday’s six-hour race came under glorious blue skies and warming sunshine as the thirty-five cars within the Hypercar and LMGT3 gathered on the grid in front of another sizeable crowd.

 

Qualifying the day before had seen both Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercars reach the Hyperpole session for the first time as good pace during Free Practice had put decent qualifying positions very much on the cards with the #009 car of Marco Sorenson/Alex Riberas just out doing the #007 car of Harry Tincknell/Tom Gamble in P6 and P7 respectively.

Within LMGT3, the experience within the #27 AMR Vantage car of Ian James/Zacharie Robichon/Mattia Drudi again proved pivotable as they secured a P2 start after their class Hyperpole session whilst Gray Newell still did well in his first WEC visit to the circuit to qualify P13 in a car that he shares with Jonny Adam and Eduardo Barrichello.

 

The race final got underway after two warm up laps behind the Safety Car with all the entries surviving the initial bumping around the opening laps as race pace was quickly determined by those cars at the front in class but whilst initially losing a small number of places each, all four cars were looking good.

An early Safety Car for a car off in the gravel reset the pack after just twenty minutes but once the race got back underway, the next biggest challenge for those on track was when the hypercar recaught and made their way through the LMGTs tail enders which saw a car from each class make through the gravel for an untidy show of driving skills from those concerned.

 

Whilst Newell had kept his copybook clean as far as track limits were concerned in Qualifying, he was unfortunately racking them in during his first two hours aboard the #23 car, something that would cost him and his team-mates two additional visit to the pit lane in penalties.

At the halfway point, all bronze and silver ranked drivers had now had at least one stint apiece within their respective GT car whilst all four hypercar drivers were still holding a mid-table position whilst not favouring still the medium tyre. Further Full Course Yellow calls for debris and later a collision between a leading hypercar and an LMGT3 at Les Combes – something which lead to something of another prolonged delay to the race.

 

Two hours still remained as there seemed to be a distinct downturn in ambient temperature at the top of the circuit, but the #27 Vantage crew had come back through the field to third in class, but the two green hypercars were still importantly where they both started in sixth and seventh.

Disaster would however strike down the #009 car of Riberas as, at another Safety Car restart and whilst attempting to overtake the Alpine onto the Kemmel Straight, that wheels left the track surface and for the Valkyrie to spin, crossing the track before hitting the outside wall with sufficient force to smash the front quarter of the car putting the #009 into immediate retirement.

 

Another Safety Car clean-up operation left just twenty-five minutes with Gamble getting the final stint to the flag aboard the #007. Drudi was still aboard his #27 car, and he was still pushing for an improved class podium position – then in third but a time penalty for then leader would move them up one at the end.

As the chequered flag fell, the race pace of the #007 had just fallen away towards the end despite being on the ‘better for them’ softs as they finished their season best in fourth with the #27 Vantage LMGT3 crew also getting their first podium of the year – second in class. The #23 Vantage LMGT3 would complete their first WEC race together as a driving trio in P13 as eyes now move to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

 

Two days of race preparation are now on the bag for the thirty-five FIA World Endurance Championship squads ahead of tomorrow’s six hours of Spa Francorchamps with the Aston Martin powered crews also showing some of their best performances to date.

Thursdays two Free Practice sessions were ran upon what was then a very green track after persistent rain through the early part of the week but whilst both the #23 and #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews did struggle for pace in the morning session, the season debuting crew of Gray Newell, Jonny Adam and Eduardo Barrichello surprised all by being quickest in class at the end of the day.

 

There were also very encouraging performances from both Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar crews of Harry Tinknell/Tom Gamble aboard the #007 and Alex Riberas/Marco Sorenson aboard the #009 after the #009 finished P2 overall in the more challenging conditions of Thursday morning and then fifth quickest in the afternoon whilst the #007 was also within the top ten in both.

Fridays final Free Practice 3 session was ran in the best track conditions yet as warming air and clearer skies finally moved above the Spa circuit which this time allowed the #007 Valkyrie to show its pace with a third fastest time in class (#009 strangely at its lowest position this weekend in twelfth) whilst the two Vantage GT3 crews finished the session 6thand 15th in favour of the more experienced crew of Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon after a multiple Full Course Yellow interrupted session.

 

That left just Qualifying and possibly Hyperpole left for all to do and it was the LMGT3 class out again first for their fifteen minute session and whilst Newell would closely follow James around for the first couple of laps, the experience gap between them soon became evident as James secured the #27 car a position within the next Hyperpole session but Newell had to make do with (a still mightily impressive) P13.

A further twelve-minute session for (this time around) the #27 cars silver graded driver in Robichon saw the Canadian push to the end to split the two Lexus cars to grab a front row start in P2 for his efforts.

 

The Hypercar class cars were out next with both Tincknell and Sorenson continuing their cars fine run of form in Belgium to get both cars through to Hyperpole for the first time ever albeit from a last lap dash for the #009. Despite pushing the performance envelope in the final session were the #009 car was near the fastest car on track at the time, both crews were eventually pushed back down the order (mainly thanks to the compulsory use of the Michelin medium tyre in Hyperpole)to still claim a project best performance in the series in P6 and P7 for the #009 and #007 respectively.

Saturday’s six-hour race will still be another challenge altogether for all four Heart of Racing crews as it will of course be race pace which will ultimately dictate just where each car will be in class as the chequered flag falls at 20:00hrs local.

 

 

It’s back to the west coast of America for the latest sprint round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship as they embark upon two-hours-forty-minute sprint races of recent weeks – this time from the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Last time out from the improvised road circuit of Long Beach California we had not just the two full season Aston Martin GTP and Aston Martin Racing GTD entries from the Heart of Racing team but also a second GTD from the Van Der Steur AMR team as they took a look at what lies beyond the Endurance Cup rounds in the IMSA series.

 

Luckily for us, this weekend coming is no different as the #23 Valkyrie GTP and #27 AMR Vantage GTD entries from the HoRT are again bolstered by the presence of the #19 Van Der Steur AMR Vantage GTD, although there will be a differing driver line within that car this time around.

Having raced at Long Beach two weeks ago before darting back to for the opening round of the British GT Championship last weekend, Ross Gunn will be back upon another trans-Atlantic flight this week just so that he can again pair up with his #23 co-driver, Roman De Angelis for something more rewarding to them than Long Beach was.

 

Getting nerfed off track after a Safety Car intervention put them a lap down and for a quick sprint race, there is no recovery from that in terms of race position.

The #27 HoRT Vantage GTD of then Eduardo Barrichello and Spencer Pumpelly also suffered to the strict IMSA ruleset after a great opening stint from ‘super-sub’ Pumpelly dropped them right back into the pack after they were given a drive through penalty for a pitstop transgression. They did however secure enough points to retain a now reduced lead within their Championship standing at this still early stage in the season.

The #27 car also reverts back to a more definable partnership of Barrichello and Tom Gamble who was otherwise engaged with the team within the World Endurance Championship last time out.

 

The #19 Van Der Steur entry of Rory Van Der Steur and Valentin Hasse-Clot was the highest finishing Aston last time out at Long Beach after their ‘toe in the water’ exercise landing the GT3 street racing novices a P8 in class finish.

This time around, however, Hasse-Clot is otherwise previously engaged with his European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup Series duties back in Europe so his place will be taken by the Australian racer Scott Andrews amongst a thirty-four car entry list of GTP’s, GTD Pro’s and GTD entries.

Photo credit – Teams / social media

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday’s opening six-hour round to the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship from Imola in Italy could perhaps be explained as something of a character-building experience for one half of the Heart of Racing garage but a job well done (but still leaving room for improvement) for the other after another characteristically gruelling race.

Starting under the Italian sunshine, there was eagerness to continue along the impressive development and performance curve that the team has displayed with last years all new Aston Martin Valyrie Hypercar and with a well-rounded Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 package for what was now a two-car entry.

 

Qualifying on Saturday had not reflected the quicker pace of the Vantage LMGT3 and whilst the #007 Valkyrie had done well with their P9 starting position, the sister #009 car was still struggling for pace after having a new car built up after their Prologue Test accident earlier in the week.

Despite thirty-five Hypercar and LMGT3 cars taking to the start around the tighter and undulating historical circuit, all ran surprisingly smoothly with all four Heart of Racing cars running within their respective mid-field at the end of the opening hour.

 

Into the second hour and #27 Vantage LMGT3 of Ian James had already had five seconds added to his first pit stop time for his apparent starting procedure error whilst the #23 rookie Gray Newell was also learning things the hard way after getting firstly pinged for speeding within the pit lane before later getting a reprimand for not quite stopping within his designated pitstop box. Despite these, the young American was being otherwise impressive considering his short racing background.

By the end of the second hour of racing, both Valkyries had elevated themselves into the top ten in class whilst the two Vantages were still struggling for pace compared to most of the other OEM’s. Despite an earlier Safety Car intervention for a stranded car on track had not shortened the gap to their opponents up ahead.

 

Hour three into hour four and with the imminent threat of rain fast approaching, the status quo within both class sets was looking insecure for all as the #007 remained within the top 10 and the #27 Vantage was doing likewise in P8.

Unfortunately, with little over ninety minutes remaining, Mattia Drudi was forced to box the #27 car and for (presumably) technical reasons unknown, they would take no further part in the proceedings making for a second consecutive DNF at the circuit. The #009 Valkyrie would also drop off the chasing group to eventually finish P14 overall and one lap down to the winning Toyota.

 

 

Blink and you would have missed it as the FIA World Endurance Championship completed its mandatory Prologue test at Imola today having been forced to do so from global events.

Whilst we would have been pleased to say that all passed off without incident for the Heart of Racing team, that would sadly not be the case after Marco Sorensen suffered a heavy off in his #008 Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar during the wet morning session.

 

Without knowing too much about causation, the green V12 powered monster was seen spinning through the gravel before connecting heavily with the tyre protected circuit barrier causing significant damage to the car.

Whilst the Dane was able to extricate himself from the car and after mandatory medical assistance, was fortunately deemed fit to continue with the upcoming race weekend but the same couldn’t be said for the #009 car with the team now working hard to build up a new car utilising their spare monocoque in time for Fridays first Free Practice session.

 

Meanwhile, their sister #007 Hypercar of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble got in the laps and hence valuable data during the eight hours of track availability finishing the day just outside of the top ten within an extended class of seventeen cars.

It was better news however, across the team garage to where both Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3’s are prepared as Mattia Drudi powered the #27 car that he shares with Zacharie Robichon and Ian James to the top of the overall class leaderboard.

 

Their sister #23 car of Jonny Adam and a series debuting Kobe Pauwels and Gray Newell also fared well within the wet conditions finishing mid table in the results but with both debutant drivers getting in a decent number of laps between them.

That was of course just testing and the real business will begin on Friday ahead of Qualifying on Saturday and the start of this six-hour race opener at 13:00hrs local.

Photo credits – Teams / AMR / social media

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Racing team continued their fine start within the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship after a consecutive podium finish in class at the end of last night’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Coming off the back of a their class pole position and P3 finish at the end of the opening round to the season at the Rolex 24 at the beginning of February, the Zacharie Robichon, Eduardo Barrichello and Tom Gamble driven #27 GTD car went one better this time after converting the Brazilian pole position into a P2 finish to take an early lead in the GTD Drivers Championship.

 

 

There was also an improvement in racing fortunes (albeit just) compared to last season efforts for the #19 Van Der Steur Racing Vantage GTD entry for Rory Van Der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot and (this time) Sebastian Baud after they converted their P8 qualifying position into a P13 class finish. Their finishing position upon the timing and scoring board was however, despite the #19 coming to a halt upon track with apparent gearbox failure just before the ten hour mark with the #19 car being placed 79 laps down to the GTD class winner.

For the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP entry of Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas, however, there were further trackside issues for the V12 normally aspirated powerhouse that again (like Daytona) that took the car behind the wall for repairs.

 

Determination both on and off track eventually aw them again take the flag ninth in class but an overall twelve laps down to the eventual winners which co-incidentally equals their debut event into the series with the all-new platform last season.

 

 

The next round for the ISMA Series for the GTP and GTD’s at least will be around the streets of Long Beach California in just over three weeks’ time – a venue where both Heart of Racing entries have struggled before.

Photo credits – Teams / AMR / social media

 

 

The Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar concluded its debut season of global competition with a second-straight points finish, at the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, on Saturday, after leading a round of the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time.

The seventh-place result for Aston Martin THOR Team’s #009 entry, driven by three-time WEC GT champion Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis, added to the fifth-place finish the team had taken last-time out in Japan on a weekend of notable landmarks for the unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered British hypercar.