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Aston Martin enters WEC and Le Mans in 2025 with Valkyrie hypercar

5 October 2023 at 11:07

Last update 5 October 2023 at 13:59

GPblog.com

Since Lawrence Stroll became the boss at Aston Martin, the British marque has gained momentum. Fernando Alonso was brought into the Formula 1 team, and that has led to many more points than last year, although performance has slumped slightly in recent races. Possibly even more important for Aston Martin is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the brand has had great success in the past. From 2025, the team will compete with the Valkyrie hypercar in IMSA and WEC, and thus also in the iconic long-distance race.

Aston Martin's last overall win at Le Mans was in 1959. After that, there were wins in the lower classes but an overall win was no longer in the cards. Aston Martin has entered the hypercar class of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship(WEC), of which Le Mans is one of the races. Aston Martin has simultaneously entered the US IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

The weapon in the battle for Le Mans and podium finishes in the WEC and IMSA is the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Development of the Valkyrie began in 2016 as a joint project between Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin, when Aston was still the main sponsor of the Red Bull F1 team. The Valkyrie was designed by none other than Adrian Newey. Production of the street car began in 2021. In the same year, Aston Martin also came out with the Valkyrie AMR Pro, a special track version. This car is only meant for the track and is not allowed on public roads. The car with which Aston will compete in WEC and IMSA is based on the Valkyrie AMR Pro. It runs with a Cosworth-built 6.5-litre V12 engine with more than 1,000 hp that revs up to 11,000 rpm.

Heart of Racing

Aston Martin will not drive the WEC and IMSA teams themselves but has outsourced that to US racing team Heart of Racing (HoR). Aston Martin and HoR have already been working together in various lower-level racing classes since 2020, including the Aston Martin Vantage GTE and the Vantage GT4. The debut of the new Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar is scheduled for the Daytona 24 Hours race in 2025.