The latest thrilling chapter in Aston Martin’s great sporting story continues this weekend, as the British ultra-luxury sports car brand’s Valkyrie hypercar makes its European race debut at the second round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the 6 Hours of Imola.
The first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin, Valkyrie is the only car in the WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar. Its global debut, masterminded by the works Aston Martin THOR team at the Qatar 1812km of Qatar in February, began a historic season for the British machine.
Valkyrie is the only LMH to compete in both the FIA WEC and in North America’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and scored a top-10 finish on its US debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring – renowned as North America’s most challenging endurance race – in March.
Developed by Aston Martin and THOR from the Valkyrie production model, the LMH version combines a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre, V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000 rpm and produces over 1,000 bhp in standard form, while adhering to a strict 500 kw (680 bhp) power limit.
Valkyrie positions Aston Martin – present in the FIA WEC every year since the series’ inception in 2012 and one of its most successful manufacturers with 11 championship titles – in contention to challenge for a first outright victory at the world’s most fantastic race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, since Carroll Shelby (USA) and Roy Salvadori (GBR) triumphed in the Aston Martin DBR1 in 1959.
As Imola’s race lasts six hours – the traditional length for an FIA WEC event, rather than the 10 hours of the Qatar event – both the 007 and 009 Valkyries will feature two-driver line-ups, rather than the trios that competed at the opener.
The 007 Valkyrie comprises an all-British lineup, as Harry Tincknell, the 2016 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) overall champion and 2020 Le Mans LMGT3 winner, is joined by rising star Tom Gamble, the 2020 ELMS LMP3 title winner. Tincknell’s first sports car victory came in the ELMS at Imola in 2014, while Gamble was a podium finisher there in the same series in 2022.
Marco Sørensen (DEN), three times an FIA WEC title-winner in GT classes, is joined in the sister #009 Valkyrie by long-time THOR racer Alex Riberas (ESP); part of the team’s FIA WEC LMGT3-winning line-up at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last year and of the crew that finished fourth in the class at last year’s Imola race.
Aston Martin will also battle for victory in the LMGT3 category as the latest version of the Vantage GT3 will be fielded by 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) race winner The Heart of Racing (THOR) and by Racing Spirit of Leman, which made its series debut at Lusail in February.
Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3, which triumphed at last year’s 24 Hours of Spa – the world’s most prestigious GT3-only event, is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
Having finished sixth at the season-opening 10-hour race in Qatar, the US-based THOR team is preparing to build on that encouraging start as a strong platform from which to challenge for victory in Italy.
Team Principal Ian James (GBR) is the only returning member of a driver line-up that finished fourth in LMGT3 in a rain-affected Imola race a year ago. The multiple US sports car champion, who also won the LMGT3 class at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) last year, will be partnered by 2021 IMSA GTD title winner and 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS GTE champion Zacharie Robichon (CDN) and by Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi (ITA), the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint champion and a member of last year’s 24 Hours of Spa-winning line-up.
For Drudi, who will be racing on home soil in a WEC event for the first time, Imola has special significance as it was the scene of his first car-racing win in 2014.
Joining THOR in running a Vantage GT3 is Racing Spirit of Leman, which recorded a points finish in Qatar after stepping up from the ELMS last year. The Aston Martin works driver, Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA), anchors the Swiss team’s lineup alongside Derek DeBoer (USA) and Brazilian Eduardo Barrichello. Hasse Clot and DeBoer have fond memories of Imola as the duo finished second in the LMGT3 class last year in the ELMS with Vantage.
The 6 Hours of Imola will begin at 1300 local time (+2 Hours GMT) on Sunday, 20 April 2025. The final practice, qualifying, and the race will be broadcast live on FIA WEC TV online, offering a choice of English or French-language commentary, as well as via selected national broadcasters.