The Heart of Racing’s No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP. (Photo: Aston Martin)
The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship’s most anticipated newcomer has finally taken all of the wraps off for their 2025 season plans with The Heart of Racing and Aston Martin showcasing the livery for the new Valkyrie GTP, which will debut at next month’s Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The livery sports a very similar blue and yellow look that has been a staple of The Heart of Racing’s championship winning GTD outfit. The team will carry the No. 23 branding over to their GTP team, moving the number away from its previous home adorning the door of their GTD Pro Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO as recently as the 2024 season.
As for who will have the task of leading the car through its IMSA competition debut at the unforgiving 17-turn Sebring International Raceway for the second round of the Michelin Endurance Cup, it will be 2022 GTD champion Roman De Angelis sharing the seat with teammate Ross Gunn. The pairing, alongside teammates Alex Riberas and Marco Sorensen, recently finished 14th in the GTD Pro class at the Rolex 24 in Daytona.
The driver joining them for the Michelin Endurance Cup Rounds at tracks such as the upcoming round in Sebring, the Sahlen’s Six-Hours of the Glen and the Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks in Indianapolis is currently unknown and is expected to be announced following the car’s global competition debut in Qatar for the World Endurance Championship opening event. There is certainly no shortage of options for the British manufacturer with all of The Heart of Racing’s drivers across both the World Endurance Championship and IMSA now being solidified as part of the Aston Martin factory driver lineup.
Both drivers will also gain the opportunity to partake in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Gunn competing in the No. 007 entry alongside Harry Tincknell and the full season co-pilot for that entry in Tom Gamble. Meanwhile, De Angelis will be at the helm of the sister No. 009 entry joining forces with Marco Sorensen and Alex Riberas for the 102nd running of the world’s most prestigious sportscar race. The full-time drivers will get their first cracks at the car in next month’s Qatar 1812 km at the Lusail International Circuit, which may give us eyes into how it will perform in Sebring, as both tracks feature a form of rough and unforgiving surface.
Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing’s Valkyrie hypercar for the World Endurance Championship. (Photo: Aston Martin)
The livery for the WEC wing of the team will share a very similar style to the IMSA counterpart, however instead of The Heart of Racing’s more prominent blue branding, it will see a familiar shade of Aston Martin green adorning the car, lining up brand synergy with efforts such as their Formula 1 squad.
The Valkyrie is the first car since the global hypercar convergence that has brought the world LMH regulations to not feature a hybrid system. While other manufacturers in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar championship such as Cadillac, BMW or Porsche run their hybrid power unit, Aston Martin is bringing a V-12 weapon to the table. This is a prospect that has been at the forefront of the minds of IMSA and sportscar fans all over since its North American testing debut at January’s IMSA sanctioned test at Daytona.
The Heart of Racing team principal Ian James has been very open with the media in regard to being entrusted with the dual IMSA and WEC program.
“For anybody that’s been involved in sports car racing, to be running the premier level with Aston Martin, and a car which is widely accepted as one of the most beautiful in the world – the only one that is genuine progeny of a road car – is a real honor,” James remarked to the media, while also referring to the program as “a career highlight”.
