Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH makes its mark at Daytona

The prototype from the Gaydon brand is inevitably the attraction of these three days of tests across the Atlantic, since this is its first official outing four months after its debugging at Silverstone.

If it is so eagerly awaited, it is notably for its non-hybrid atmospheric V12, an anomaly in the world of sports-prototypes at the time of LMDh and hybrid Hypercars. It is also the very first LMH entered in the North American championship ofEndurance.

Also expected in the World Endurance Championship, the Valkyrie LMH is a modified version of the AMR Pro. The cars will be raced by The Heart of Racing Team.

Founded by American businessman Gabe Newell (worth around $9,5 billion), known for being the co-founder and chairman of Valve and Steam, two major companies in the video game industry, The Heart of Racing is a charity that raises funds for Seattle Children's Cardiology Research, among other important causes. The US-based THOR team was founded in 2020 and has partnered with Aston Martin competing mainly with the Vantage GT3 in both GTD classes of theIMSA.

After bringing Aston Martin its first IMSA GTD championship title in 2022, Canadian Roman De Angelis, who graduated from the AMR Academy the same year, took the marque’s first victory in the same class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2023 alongside team boss Ian James (GB), Darren Turner (GB) and two-time champion WEC GT Marco Sørensen (Denmark).

Roman De Angelis is one of three drivers present at Daytona to conduct the tests. He is partnered with two other team regulars: Alex Riberas, who has already tested the car in Bahrain during Michelin's 2026 tire range tests, and Ross Gunn, with whom De Angelis finished runner-up in the IMSA GTD Pro category this season, behind Laurin Heinrich (AO Racing).

"CIt is a very proud moment for everyone at Heart of Racing and Aston Martin to see the car here for the first time in an official IMSA session, said Ian James, Heart of Racing team principal and also a gentleman driver. Just seeing it go to the top of the banking at Daytona made me smile. It took a lot of work, I won’t deny that, but it’s a dream come true. Thanks to Gabe Newell’s vision, we’re here today. We couldn’t be more excited to head into 2025, not only continuing to be a part of IMSA, but also in the top class. »

Despite its presence at Daytona, the date of the Valkyrie's racing debut is not known. It could be present in the race at the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 25 and 26 or at the 1812 km of Qatar on February 28 for the opening of the WEC season.

« We have performed reliability and development testing, added James about Friday's day. We are now also trying to integrate all the specific requirements of IMSA in terms of systems. We will start looking for a little more speed over the course of these two days and as the season progresses. »

The Aston Martin Valkyrie completed 96 laps during the day, including 65 in the afternoon session. The car's lap times generally improved by a tenth or two on each lap during the afternoon, finishing with a cumulative gain of 1,1 seconds over the morning session. Ross Gunn set the car's best time of 1:37.715. That time put the Valkyrie just under two seconds (1.810) off the day's benchmark lap set by Tom Blomqvist in the Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 (1:35.905). That's not the end of the story.

« It's important to be here with everyone and have traffic for the first time, explains Ian James. The GTs will be running with us on Saturday (today), this will allow us to learn more about what we need to work on. »

Although the Gunn-De Angelis-Riberas trio has not been officially confirmed for next season, it is highly likely that these drivers will be regulars in IMSA's GTP class in 2025. Harry Tincknell and Mario Farnbacher, who have already tested the car, are also expected to drive the car in competition. It is also worth noting that this is not the same car that ran in Bahrain during the Michelin tests, but a new chassis.

VIDEO - Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH on track at Daytona