Two seemingly very productive test sessions yesterday and three hundred and forty-nine laps between them around the Circuit de La Sarthe saw both the Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 and Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar powered crews circulate at the top of the timing screens in class, with one being the fastest overall at the end of the day.

Two three-hour sessions either side of lunch was what was on offer for the sixty-two entries with it being just another attendance at the FIA World Endurance Championship showcase event most but also a new experience for others including Gary Newell within the #27 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage LMGT3.

 

He apparently sailed through his minimum lap requirement during the morning session to allow the team to concentrate upon other matters within the car with Newell and co-drivers Jonny Adam and Eduardo Barrichello eventually finishing the day ninth fastest overall in class.

The #59 Racing Spirit of Leman AMR Vantage LMGT3 entry of Clement Mateau, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Marius Fossard gave indication of early intent with the all-French crew finishing the morning session second fastest overall but despite being faster in the afternoon session, finished the day twelfth fastest overall in class.

 

The #23 Heart of Racing AMR Vantage LMGT3 crew of Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi played something of a ‘dark horse’ game within both sessions, never really threatening the leadership in class but just getting the job done ahead of the track sessions that will really count next week. They finished the day fifteenth fastest in class.

The two Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar classed entries certainly made their intentions known as first the #009 of Alex Riberas, Marco Sorenson and Roman De Angelis hunted down the top spot within the morning session before ultimately finishing fourth fastest in the morning whilst the #007 of Harry Tincknell, Ross Gunn and Tom Gamble went some better at the end of the day.

 

A best lap time of 3:26:293 saw Gunn grab the fastest lap time of the day to secure the top place at the Official test despite the crew losing out on five minutes of the afternoon session (stop plus hold penalty) after Gamble was adjoined to have flouted track limits on a repeated basis.

Whilst it is certainly not quite time to count any chickens before the 24 Hours of Le Mans main event has even begun, but the feat in itself is still a very worthy achievement for a race car programme only just entering its second year.

 

Whilst the drivers will now get a couple of days off from driving, the crews will now be busy stripping down their cars before rebuilding them in time for the pit stop challenge on Tuesday and Free Practice one on Wednesday.

Photo credits – AMR / DPPI Images / social media

 

 

Track action has already begun in today’s single official test day before next weekend’s 24 Hour of Le Mans but yesterday also saw some cars on the roads of downtown Le Mans for the recently established car procession.

Gray Newell and Harry Tincknell both got the ‘nod’ this time around to take out their Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar and Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 respectively this time around to represent the Heart of Racing team.

 

Not to be confused with the annual drivers parade that will take place later on Friday, this was the chance for fans to see a selection of cars being raced within this event and the FIA World Endurance Championship to run freely upon what are usually public roads within the city centre.

 

With that bit of fun now over, all the crews now have what’s left of this morning’s three-hour session and another after lunch to get their ship in order ahead of the more formally timed sessions later next week.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media

 

 

The first day opening ceremony ahead of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans is now safely in the bag as just over half the expected sixty-two car entry passed through the Le Pesage process within the Place de La Republique in downtown Le Mans earlier today.

 

With the remainder of the field to have their time in front of both the scrutineers and expectant crowd in the square over the course of tomorrow, all five Aston Martin and Aston Martin Racing powered crews from both the Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman teams faced that opportunity earlier today.

 

Whilst the cars were in the town, there were also checks being made within each of the teams garages with their refuelling rigs before one Aston Martin Valkyrie and one Heart of Racing AMR Vantage LMGT3 then get a thrash around the old town of Le Mans and Saturday afternoons town centre procession.

 

That noise and motion will then lead into the two three-hour track sessions of the official test within which the teams will cycle through their respective test and build up programme as well as getting the likes of LM24 debutant Gray Newell in getting in his minimum laps ahead of the more formally timed and sanctioned track sessions next week.

 

With BoP now a closely guarded secret from the public arena within the FIA World Endurance Championship and that of the twenty-four hour being solely different from the mainstream WEC season anyway, it probably will not be until Qualifying and Hyperpole where we will find out just where either Aston Martin platform sits within their respective classes.

Photo credits – Teams / DPPI Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trucks have already rolled, and the teams are now on site preparing themselves for what will be an elongated stay at the Circuit de La Sarthe in time for this weekend’s official test day ahead of next week’s FIA World Endurance Championship round and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In this somewhat disjointed season after the postponement of the scripted opening round to the year in Qatar back in late March, next weekend’s event will be the third round to the 2026 season having opened at Imola in mid-April before moving onto to Spa Francorchamps last month for its second six-hour race of the year.

 

 

As has become something of a norm, all the attending teams and indeed crews (if new to the 24-hour event) must attend the official test day at the circuit during which all ‘novice’ drivers must complete a minimum number of laps (as well as a simulator session in Paris) before they will be allowed to race.

For the two Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercars – that will not be an issue to them as all six drivers have raced that car at the circuit last year as have many of the three Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews from both the Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman crews.

 

The four Heart of Racing entries remain the only four full season entrants from the British brand with the #59 RSLM crew only there by invitation from their European Le Mans Series endeavours this season as it appears that the second reserve from the Ecurie Ecosse by Blackthorn AMR team has been unsuccessful in their quest this season.

A total of sixty two Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 crews should be in attendance this weekend for the test day on Sunday where there will be two three-hour sessions available to then within which all teams must do whatever is necessary to prepare them and their crews for next week’s opening sessions for the 24hour.

Photo credits - Teams / social media

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was another tough and sometimes physical day at the IMSA office for the sole running Heart of Racing entry at last night’s fifth round of the Weathertech Sportscar Championship around the improvised street circuit of downtown Detroit.

Again in support of the IndyCar Series, this weekend’s episode was just for the headlining GTP and GTD classes putting out a grid size of twenty-one cars that still made the 1.7mile circuit appear extremely tight.

 

Ross Gunn again got things underway in Qualifying with a P9 position for the #23 Aston Martin Valkyie that he shares with Roman De Angelis within the IMSA series with their being little expectation upon the car and crew already knowing that the power characteristics and available BoP of the car never favoured the V12 normally aspirated engine.

Gunn also took the start of the one-hundred-minute race where it took little over four minutes for the first Full Course Yellow to be thrown for debris after an opening lap bash between two prototypes. That used up the five-minute restriction placed upon all crews in GTP before driver changes could be made but the #23 car elected to stay out for a further fifteen minutes or so.

 

Mistakenly, the crew were then penalised at that stop for having too many crew members over the wall at the refuel and driver change sequence meaning that any remaining hope of a decent finish evaporate with an untimely Drive Through Penalty next time around for De Angelis.

With another GTP crew also falling foul to a DTP of their own, the #23 car quickly became the target for the #11 car but that drivers method in their manner of passing and then forcing the #23 into a sideways glance with the wall earned himself another stop +60 seconds penalty for their efforts. Thankfully, the #23 was able to continue.

 

Two more successive caution periods later within the final fifteen minutes, the Valkyrie was running as high as P8 in class, but the Vanthoor brothers were soon as able to relegate the #23 car back down to tenth at the end as the team’s and driver’s attentions quickly turn to the Le Mans 24 Test Day next weekend in France.

Photo credits – Team / AMR / social media

 

As far as we could make out, today was just another atypical 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day for the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 crews at the Circuit de La Sarthe today as the available six hours of pre-event testing allowed all sixty-two entries to finally stretch their legs around the 8.4-mile circuit in north-west France.

Having already taken to the streets of Le Mans old town yesterday evening for the now traditional car parade, today saw the two new Valkyrie Hypercars from the Heart of Racing team tick off another first to finally realise that initial hope and desire of racing a true road to racetrack hypercar at the hallowed circuit.

 

With all the pomp and ceremony otherwise expected within the opening gambits to the 24 Hours of Le Mans saw the two Aston Martin powered Valkyrie Hypercars and the two Aston Martin Racing powered Vantage LMGT3 cars and their respective Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Leman crew pass out yesterday afternoon.

Now within the picturesque backdrop of the older sections of Le Mans within the Place de La Republique saw the four cars pass through the more visible technical inspections upon the cars prior to tomorrows test day as well as the collective interviews for the drivers on the stage in front of the (again) large crowd.

 

The #23 Heart of Racing Valkyrie GTP entry continued its points scoring form within the latest round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship last night with a season best finish around the toughest of racetracks.

Competing as the fifth round of the season, this reduced grid of just GTP and GTD Pro class runners had to face the complexities of a true American city street circuit layout with multiple ninety-degree corners with short bursts of straight road in-between.

 

It appeared from the outside to be a another successful Le Mans 24 Hour official test day for the two Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 powered crews from both the Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing teams.

Having already passed through the technical inspection of Le Pesage within the town of Le Mans on Friday as well as being part of the parade through the town later on Saturday, Sunday saw the sixty-two strong Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 class grids take to the infamous Circuit de La Sarthe for the first of three timed sessions on Sunday morning.

 

Powering into another busy weekend of motorsport today sees the start of the Le Mans 24Hr having kicked off already from the Place de La Republique in Le Mans town as both Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3’s of the Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing teams faced both the scrutineers and the crowd of this opening ritual.

Having their allotted slots 15:30 and 15:40hrs respectively, the #23 Heart of Racing AMR of Ian James, Alex Riberas and Daniel Mancinelli together with the #777 D’Station Racing AMR of Marco Sorensen, Erwan Bastard and (for LM24 only) Satoshi Hoshino passed through the technical scrutineering awnings of the ACO whilst the drivers kept the attending crowds informed during interviews.