Despite their pace, this weekend’s European Le Mans Series visit to the picturesque circuit of Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari at Imola, Italy proved itself to be another disappointing affair for the Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3 powered team.

After Clement Mateu had narrowly missed out upon a class podium starting position for today’s four-hour third round of the season for the #59 Aston Martin Racing Vantage powered car that he shares with Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse-Clot, all of that effort eventually counted for nothing as heavy contact at the midway point of the race left the car stricken at the side of the track.

Starting just after midday with air temperatures quickly rising into the early thirties, Mateu initially held his ground at the start as the pace setting Corvette scampered off during the opening laps. The race quickly descended into multiple periods of Virtual and full Safety Car periods which then gave teams options on strategy and by calling Mateu in early, that did drop him down to seventh overall in class as the race again tried to settle.

Those early efforts were quickly hampered by Race Control after Mateu was given a Drive Through Penalty for a start line infraction and that did drop them down to near the rear of the fourteen strong class for the bulk of Mateu’s double stint.

 

As the race was approaching its midway point and the end to Mateu’s time within the car, the Frenchman had elevated himself back up the order to seventh and was looking to improve that still further as he attempted a possible double overtake going into Variante Tamborello. Realising his error, Mateu attempted to cut the first section of the corner only to impact heavily into the side of the #63 Mercedes which left that stranded in the middle of the gravel and the Aston Martin sidelined just a little further along with each car paying no further part in the race.

 

The team and crew will now have to regroup and go again at the next round of the season from Spa Francorchamps in late August.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media

 

The Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing powered team are certainly looking feisty and up for a fight this weekend to hopefully see their European Le Mans Series season finally kickstarted into action this weekend.

This time competing at Imola, Italy in what is already the third round of a six-round season, the #59 AMR Vantage LMGT3 have been looking very quick all weekend so far – taking their earlier top end in class pace from the two collective test sessions into both Free Practice sessions, finishing no lower than third in class.

 

That was with co-drivers Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse-Clot helping the car along the way, but they had to leave Qualifying up to their bronze rated Clement Mateu again for that session.

Eventually having to settle for second best in class at the end of his nine-lap session having first secured the top slot before losing to to the TF Sport Corvette on more than one occasion, he at least will have a clear front row view of the lights as the race then descends into its usual four-hour format tomorrow.

Photo credits – ELMS / Team / Social media

 

 

The four cars of the Heart of Racing team will soon be making the relatively short hop over the English Channel before making their way down to Spa Francorchamps in time for this weekend’s second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

After the earlier postponement of the Qatar opener due to geo-political tensions and conflict within The Gulf, the opening round and proceeding Prologue test were hastily moved to Imola, Italy for a more conventional six-hour race.

 

It will be another six hour race this weekend that will again beckon the Hypercar and LMGT3 based classes this time around but will also be the team’s final racing opportunity to fine tune their racing package before the 24 Hours of Le Mans that will take place just a month later.

Imola saw a year of continuity within the Heart of Racing’s Hypercar package as Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble reunited within the green #007 car whilst Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen were again together within the sister #009 car.

 

It was a similar trait across the garage to the team’s #27 Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 as Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Matia Drudi also team up for a second season togther but their #23 Vantage LMGT3 was an all-new affair for 2026.

Last time in Italy saw Gray Newell make his FIA WEC debut alongside the more seasoned campaigner of Le Mans winner Jonny Adam. They were supposed to have been joined by Eduardo Barrichello, but he was on important IMSA duty for the team over in Long Beach, California so his seat was taken by AMR Drivers Academy winner Kobe Pauwels as he also debuted upon the world stage.

 

Despite the last-minute collation of driving talent, that young crew still managed to deliver a P9 in class finish at the end of that race as did the #007 Hypercar crew of Tincknell and Gamble.

An earlier in the race weekend off for the #009 car saw the team having to build another car from scratch utilising the spare tub but as a result, the #009 car was never quite on the pace from that point forward as they eventually came home P14. The #27 car would also suffer from technical issues later into the race that resulted in Drudi having to pit from P8 in class with ninety minutes still remaining.

 

Since then, all four cars would have had a full strip down and rebuild in time for this weekend’s coming round with the AMR Vantage LMGT3’s being seen stretching their legs prior to transiting down to Spa over the weekend. The two Valkyrie’s enjoyed similar at Silverstone earlier in the week.

Thursday will see the FIA WEC expected grid of thirty-five cars for the first time with Free Practice 1 and 2 before Free Practice 3 and class Qualifying on Friday with the start to this race being waved off at 14:00hrs local on Saturday.

Photo credits – Team / DPPI Media / social media

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Sunday’s second round to the European Le Mans Series proved itself to be another frustrating day in the race seat for the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing powered team at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France.

After a disappointing round first time out in Barcelona just a few weeks ago, the #59 crew of Clement Mateu, Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse-Clot had prepared themselves well for Sunday’s four-hour race as they hit the top four in class throughout the collective test, bronze driver test and both Free Practice sessions over the course of Friday and Saturday.

That apparent performance on track was despite a decrease within the Vantage LMGT3’s performance parameters as part of the series ongoing Balance of Performance assessments going into this round after Spain but in Qualifying, the best Mateu could offer was a P5 starting position in class.

 

However, once the race starting earlier today, it soon became apparent that the race pace within the predominantly silver liveried car simply wasn’t there to be had for any of their drivers.

The race had started under hazy skies, but the track and air temperatures were still good enough for the weather not to be a real issue although some rain was being predicted for some point during the race. Mateu again started his car for the team as the race began relatively cleanly until a multi-car incident with a car in the barrier lead to the first Virtual Safety Car period at the thirty-minute marker.

Getting back to green, the #59 steadily lost track position to drop down to P10 in class at the end of the opening hour after which some rain did arrive at parts of the circuit but never in the volume to necessitate and change in strategy.

 

P10 seemed to be where abouts the performance of the #59 Aston Martin appeared to be at as after Mateu’s stint and a bit, the likes of Fossard and Hasse-Clot appeared unable to better that position in class even with the steadily flow of further periods of Safety Car interaction. The Team Manager was summoned to Race Control to explain an apparent breach of minimum drive time against Hasse-Clot being just a few seconds below his minimum as well as with one of their later stops being adjudged to have been unsafe – that did earn them an additional five seconds at their next stop for the latter and they did lose their championship points for the former. That would then be in addition to a thirty five second penalty for them not slowing down enough into a waved yellow zone.

At the end of the four hours, the status quo would remain for the #59 crew as they crossed the line in that tenth position in class and the last of the LMGT3 runners, one lap off the class winners pace, although they did move up the order one after a Ferrari was later disqualified from the results.

For the Racing Spirit of Leman team as far as the ELMS series is concerned, next stop will be Imola in early July, but the team do have a date at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to look forward to in the meantime.

Photo credits – Team / Series / 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.

 

 

Qualifying was unfortunately not kind to any of the four Heart of Racing Hypercar and LMGT3 entries at today’s first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship from Imola in Italy with none of them reaching the lofty heights of Hyperpole.

That came off the back of decent and consistent mid-table laps times during the preceding three Free Practice sessions with #23 Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 and then the #27 sister car leading the class at the end of FP2 and FP3 respectively.

 

For the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar powered crews across the garage, their hard work to rebuild the #009 car after its Prologue test accident earlier in the week was rewarded with the car making the first officially timed session yesterday but still somewhat amiss compared to their sister #007 car after they managed to circulate just a few tenths quicker than the #009 car through all three sessions.

Whilst the #007, #009 and #27 Heart of Racing entries of this season feature the same driver base as last, the #23 Vantage LMGT3 features an all new for 2026 crew as ACO rules stalwart and Le Mans 24 class winner Jonny Adam passes on his knowledge to both rookie teammates Kobe Pauwels and Gray Newell.

 

Despite that lack to racing knowledge at this level, the #23 car still qualified for tomorrows six-hour opener just 0.2 of a second behind the more established #27 to earn themselves a P15 in class start tomorrow against a P12 start for the #27 car.

Up front again, both Valkyries also missed out on their class Hyperpole as the #007 car continued with. Its faster pace (compared to the #009) with their P12 start and a P14 slot for the #009.

 

We all know that one single lap pace in qualifying is one thing but six hours of single lap pace around Imola is something completely different as thirty five cars will be thundering through the first sequence of corners at the historical Italian circuit for the first time tomorrow afternoon.

Photo credits – Team / AMR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Last week we saw the ACO rules European Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup Series conduct their pre-season Prologue test before their respective opening races of their 2026 seasons from Barcelona, and this week sees the FIA World Endurance Championship undertake the same from Imola, Italy.

This venue should of course have been the second round to the season but (continuing) political and military instability around the area of Qatar saw that venue postponed until later in the year (if possible) with the double duty of both the Prologue and thus opening round to the season moving onto Italy.

 

For many teams, their cars and equipment arrived back from the Middle East just over a week ago, giving them little time to repack and dispatch in time for tomorrow’s Prologue test.

Running both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes, 2026 will again see two Aston Martin Valkyrie’s from the Heart of Racing team as well as both Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 entries permitted per manufacturer.

 

The #007 and #009 Valkyrie driver line ups remain unchanged from last year as Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble pair up again in the former with Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen within the latter.

It is the same for the #27 HoRT AR Vantage GT3 as Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi team up for a second season togther of their own but diary clashes between the FIA WEC and IMSA has seen the HoRT make driver changes between the two series as Eduardo Barrichello runs within the IMSA series at Long Beach this weekend. That gives the young Kobe Pauwels his FIA WEC debut alongside the debuting Gary Newell with a more experienced individual in Le Mans winner Jonny Adam.

 

Tomorrows Prologue will see up to eight hours of running across two sessions before the timetable takes the teams and crews into the opening gambits of round one with the first Free Practice session on Friday.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

Last year’s Aston Martin Racing Drivers Academy winner Kobe Pauwels gets another chance of a lifetime next weekend as he steps up to the World Endurance Championship for the opening round with the Heart of Racing team.

With the American based team this year fielding both AMR Vantage LMGT3 entries within the FIA WEC series in parallel to its IMSA programme, occasionally diary clashes come about forcing the team to make choices which in turn give others opportunities.

Next weeks (revised) start to the FIA WEC season from Imola, Italy as well as its preceding Prologue Test still clashes with the third round to the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship which will be running this time from Long Beach, California and that has forced the Heart of Racing’s hand into its driver allocation per event.

 

A bumper crop of forty-seven entries were confirmed by the European Le Mans Series earlier today ahead of their six round 2026 season that will start again in Barcelona in early April before concluding at their usual autumnal destination of Portimao some six months later.

This largest ever entry will see the grids comprising of some twenty-three LMP2 cars, ten LMP3 cars and fourteen GT3 cars within which the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 will again compete as the sole representative of the brand.

 

It’s the second half of an ACO rules double header this weekend for the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing team after they got back to usual series duties last weekend with the next round to the European Le Mans Series before looking forward to the same this weekend within the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Being the sole AMR powered team within the ELMS of course, the #59 Vantage LMGT3 of Clement Mateu, Erwan Bastard and Valentin Hasse-Clot had been looking to be well on the GT pace in the preliminary sessions of last weekends visit to Imola in Italy with possibly only the red flag interruption during Qualifying losing Mateu a better chance at class pole position again.

 

For the first time since the 24 hours of Le Mans back in early June, ACO rules racing gets back down to normal business this weekend as the European Le Mans Series travels to Imola for its third round of the season.

With many teams and drivers having figured within the Le Mans racing programme, we get to see the return of the #59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 of Clement Mateu, Erwan Bastard and Valentin Hasse-Clot for the first time together since the previous ELMS round togther at Le Castellet (France) at the beginning of May where their first pole position within class sadly dropped to a P6 finish in class by the end of that four hour race.

 

If the racing action from the opening two rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship hasn’t been impressive enough, everything is about to start ramping up another notch or two as the Hypercar and LMGT3 circus has the circuit of Spa Francorchamps this weekend for its customary Le Mans 24Hr dress rehearsal.

After ten hours in the desert of Qatar and a further six hours around a wholly different circuit that was Imola just over three weeks ago, the two Aston Martin powered Valkyrie Hypercars from the Heart of Racing team as well as the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 from (again) the Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman team now look ahead to another six hour round that will quickly lead them all the Circuit De La Sarthe and the twenty four hours of Le Mans in just over a month’s time.