P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing team operating its WEC and IMSA programmes have put faith in their GT racing staples as the Valkyrie makes its racing debut. On paper, that looks lopsided compared to the competition in the Hypercar classes
Aston Martin has revealed the drivers for their Valkyrie Hypercars in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and World Endurance Championship in 2025. The choices might raise eyebrows, but they shouldn’t be disregarded. The 2025 WEC season starts soon in Qatar with two vacant slots in the Hypercar category now filled by Aston Martin THOR. The team will consist of six drivers, with duos for WEC and a third driver for Le Mans from IMSA. Team principal Ian James views this as a significant career moment due to the collaboration of Aston Martin Racing, The Heart of Racing, and Multimatic in this project. The Heart of Racing oversees the sporting aspect of the program, with drivers having ties to both Aston Martin and other program components. Financial support from The Heart of Racing, led by Ian James and funded by Gabe Newell, was crucial for the project’s realization. Among the selected drivers, all but Harry Tincknell have raced and triumphed for The Heart of Racing, making him a notable inclusion as a driver with experience in developing the Valkyrie and other GTP cars. Tincknell, a Le Mans class winner, will lead the British team in the WEC alongside Marco Sørensen, a seasoned Aston Martin driver with multiple WEC titles under his belt in various classes. Sørensen transitioned from single-seaters to GT racing with Aston Martin in 2015 and has since achieved great success with the brand.
