It was back to podium winning ways last night for the Heart of Racing team as their Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD powered crew came through to claim the second step of the podium at the end of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship round at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Skipping that little hic-cup in their 2026 season proceeding lasts time out at Long Beach California, it was another long-haul trip to the west of the country for the first of the more usual two hours and forty-minute races for the GTP and GTD only classes again.

 

The Heart of Racing of course also featured their #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP that drivers Ross Gunn and Roman de Angelis would power to their best qualifying position of the season so far in sixth whilst the #27 AMR Vantage GTD crew of Eduardo Barrichello and Tom Gamble would be back to together again (after Gamble was race tied to the FIA WEC for Long Beach) as the Brazilian secured a second row start in P3 for the race.

The Van Der Steur Racing team would also be in attendance with their #19 AMR Vantage GTD, but Rory Van Der Steur would this time be joined by Scott Andrews as regular co-driver Valentin Hasse-Clot was also race tied back in the European Le Mans Series. They would claim a third row start in P6 for the race.

 

The start to the race, however, didn’t go well for the #19 of Van Der Steur as heavy rear end contact damaged the defuser and popped the rear windshield forcing them to pit after receiving a mechanical black and orange flag soon after the contact. Whilst the car was able to be repaired as best they could and sent, they would soon be back along pit lane after they were adjudged to have had people over the wall before the car had stopped.

For the two HoRT cars, the race started well as Gunn soon found himself circulating in a credible fourth whilst Barrichello was chasing hard in third for much of his stint.

At the first rounds of stops though, the #23 Valkyrie lost ground to the GTP pack as the driver changed was hampered by concerns to the car over damage sustained in the opening laps. As those stops cycled through the pack, Gamble quickly found himself at the head of the pack as the leading Ferrari faltered on track, but De Angelis had dropped down to seventh. The #19 car was still chasing hard from the rear.

 

A FCY just before the start of the final hour obviously made teams push the fuel window with De Angelis back up to sixth and Gamble P1 in class but the Brits final stop would see them passed on track by the #45 Lamborghini for position and a long chase to the flag.

The Van Der Steur car with Andrews now behind the wheel briefly saw them rise up the ranks to hold P2 in class but that would sadly be adjusted as they were forced to pit for fuel just ten minutes before the chequered flag. At the end, the #27 HoRT GTD crtew secured another podium finish in second whilst their stablemate #23 car finished P8 in GTP with the #19 VDS GTD tenth.

 

For some of those involved, there is just the minor feat of another long haul flight from California to Europe for next weekend’s second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship for Spa Francorchamps.

Photo Credits - Team / AMR / social media

 

The long haul for most to the west side of the United States proved itself to be an unproductive one for the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered runners within the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series.

After the usual two opening rounds to their 2026 had kept them within Florida, a visit to the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca circuit beckoned the five AMR powered runners for the next two-hour race around the infamous corkscrew circuit in California.

 

This time around, we welcomed back the #10 Van Der Steur prepared AMR of husband and wide racer Ben and Christine Sloss as they became just one of two bronze cup entries against the reigning and now Ford Mustang Team TGM #64 crew.

It was also the first round with their new #4 AMR Vantage GT4 car for the Medusa Motorsport crew of Hunter Yeany and Athan Sterling alongside the now more regular line up of the #26 Heart of Racing AMR of Hannah’s Grisham and Greenemeir, the #66 Van Der Steur prepared entry of Trenton Estep and Allen Patten as well as the #14 Circle H Racing car of David Hampton and Thomas Merrill.

A lowly performance from probable BoP reasons from any of the five Astons and Friday saw the best placed (#66) starting from P6 with the rest somewhere between P13 and P27 out of a GS class size of thirty-one entries.

Saturaday’s race started up at best hazy skies although (being California) the warmth was at least still there so Mother Nature wouldn’t be making her mark upon things this time around. An early Full Course Yellow for an upturned GS car in the tyre wall soon mellowed the racing again after another usual ‘busy’ start.

 

 

Losing over twenty minutes to that clean-up operation (with that driver being seen to be otherwise OK), the race quickly became one of fuel conservation as the GS class quickly found themselves within the parameters of a one stop race.

However, incident and accident soon got the better of some as the #10 car became the meat into several racing sandwiches which saw the bashed about the circuit by the faster powered crews around as well as picking up (like most of the AMR powered crews did at one point or another) a drive through penalty for one infraction or another.

 

The race eventually ended with the best placed crews finishing P7 overall (the #26 Heart of Racing entry) and P12 (#66 Van Der Steur). The #14 Circle H Arcing would finish a very uncharacteristically low position in P23 with the #10 just ahead in P21 – picking up second within the bronze cup class as a perk. It looked like the #4 crews debut AMR powered race would finish with a DNF - ?? having run out of fuel in the final laps of the race like several other cars did as well.

These results leave the Heart of Racing the best placed AMR crew within the GS Drivers Championship table in eight as the series looks ahead to its next round from Mid-Ohio in early June.

Photo credits – Teams / social media

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Whilst the opening day of the season for the Heart of Racing team over in the FIA World Endurance Championship was something of a mixed affair success wise, the latest round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship was certainly something of a disappointment for team whilst the Van Der Steur team were there to learn.

 

 

Tennessee based Medusa Motorsport are apparently the latest addition to the Aston Martin Racing powered family having confirmed their transition to the British brand today.

News of their presence kind of slipped out anyway yesterday when the new 2026 intake into the AMR Drivers Academy was confirmed which included the names of two young Americans presently racing within the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series with the team in their also not recently acquired Ford Mustang.

 

Today’s social media announcement from the team doesn’t go into specific detail other than their happiness with this new venture and their keenness to move forward.

Yesterday’s announcement from AMR confirmed that both young racers Athan Sterling and Hunter Yeany have now been enrolled within their driver development programme as Medusa Motorsport will continue to compete within the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series with Medusa Motorsport.

Being at Spa Francorchamps at the weekend proved itself an inconvenient place to be as there was also triple Aston Martin Racing powered crew success at the third round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.

 

Just four Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4s are expected for next weekend’s third round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series from the aptly named Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca circuit in California.

After the usual two opening rounds from both Daytona and Sebring, the style of racetrack for this second two-hour race of the season changes from that of just speed to one where a little more balance would be required.

 

Continuing the long list of firsts for the all-new Aston Martin Valkyrie saw the Heart of Racing team embark upon the cars first run around an improvised street circuit course as the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship visited Long Beach California.

The second round of the IMSA championship for the GTP classed Valkyrie (having skipped the season opener from Daytona) saw the HoRT set about their first sprint race of the season with their parallel GTP and GTD programmes as the #27 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTD looked to continue its podium winning string of success enjoyed over the opening two rounds.

Being just a one-hundred-minute race on Saturday, both #23 Valkyrie and #27 GTD cars ran with just a pair of drivers as Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis took charge again of the GTP whilst Tom Gamble and Casper Stevenson again piloted the #27.

It was the second round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series last night from the Sebring International Raceway as five Aston Martin Racing powered crews did battle amongst twenty other GS classed entries (and TCR entries of course) for this two-hour battle.

As previously reported, those five AMR entries did include some changes amongst the names over the top of the doors as the event went through Free Practice and into Qualifying on Thursday, ahead of a Friday afternoon start to the race.

 

The Heart of Racing leaves WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with two sixth place finishes in both GTD PRO and GTD in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Ross Gunn and Mario Farnbacher teamed up for their first sprint race of the season in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the GTD PRO category. Farnbacher qualified for the pair during a late afternoon session on Saturday, securing a third row starting position.

Farnbacher was first up behind the wheel on Sunday driving the first stint. The German driver pitted just 30 minutes into the race to go off strategy hoping a lucky yellow would move the team farther up the field as the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is not at the same level as its GTD PRO competitors. This stop put Gunn behind the wheel for the remainder of the two hour and 40-minute race. 

 

The fifth time around for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship but only the third round of their Sprint Cup Championship sees a thirty-four-car grid head to Mid-Ohio for their latest round of motor racing this weekend.

Despite featuring prototype entries from the DPi, LMP2 and LMP3 classes there is this time only room for the GTD cars as it becomes the turn of the topflight GTD Pro class to take a sabbatical from the proceedings.

The Stoner Car Care Racing fielded by Automatic Racing team heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Mid-Ohio 120, race four of the 2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge season.

Rob Ecklin, Jr. (Lancaster, Pa.) and Ramin Abdolvahabi (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) are back behind the wheel of the No. 09 Stoner Car Care Aston Martin Vantage GT4. The pair looks to rebound from a difficult weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca two weeks ago.

It has been an intense schedule of events for the team through the last three weekends, with races in California, Wisconsin, and now Ohio. Abdolvahabi joined Automatic Racing’s World Racing League team last weekend to capture a win in the eight-hour race at Road America.

Both drivers hope to secure their first Bronze Cup victory this weekend. The series added the Bronze Cup this season in the Grand Sport class, recognizing the top FIA Bronze-rated drivers in the series. Neither driver has been to Mid-Ohio since the 2019 season, and both recognize the particular challenges that the tricky track presents.

“Weather is often an issue at Mid-Ohio and when it rains, it’s a completely different racetrack,” said Ecklin. “I have been re-familiarizing myself with the layout on iRacing (note: iRacing recently added both Stoner Car Care liveries to their GT4 lineup – the No. 09 Stoner colors and the iconic No. 99 Invisible Glass version). I know the corners I need to work on, I remember that much from 2019 – and now that I can run the No. 09 Stoner Car Care car on iRacing, that’s the next best thing to being there.”

Ecklin was not able to race with the team in the World Racing League event at Road America last weekend but acknowledges that while two events in three weekends can be difficult from a business perspective, it can be very helpful to a race car driver.

“It’s great to have events this close together,” said Ecklin. “It keeps you in rhythm. For me, the more I can be in a car, the better. I don’t have time outside of race weekends to do anything but sim racing, and even that is time challenged. So getting into this kind of rhythm is very helpful, to be able to just hit the ground running at a track as tricky as Mid-Ohio. When you’re at work, you’re at work, but when you hit the front gates at the racetrack, you’re back in racer mode. It’s all about focus and compartmentalization.”

For Automatic Racing team manager David Russell, the past four weeks have been quite the logistical challenge.

“We brought a small trailer to Road America straight from Florida, with the regular transporter going straight there from WeatherTech Raceway – it’s basically on the way,” said Russell. “We had the wheel issue but no other problems so prep for the 09 Aston Martin has been pretty straightforward. We’re hoping for good weather next weekend, though I feel that you can always bank on a storm at some point during a race weekend at Mid-Ohio. I love Mid-Ohio - the track has great flow and we’ve had some good runs there. We’re into a good run of natural road courses here, tracks that suit the Aston Martin, so we’re looking for a good result.”

Source material – Stoner Car Care