Reassuring news from Aston Martin, Button in the viewfinder?

The most alarming rumors have circulated in recent weeks about Aston Martin, with even talk of a stillborn “Hypercar” program. It must be said that since the project was made official on the sidelines of the last 24 Hours of Le Mans, the British firm has been strangely discreet.

Published on 15/11/2019 à 11:19

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Reassuring news from Aston Martin, Button in the viewfinder?

Between the possible Brexit and the bad financial situation the brand is going through, there are many reasons for concern. We talk abouta loss of £13,5 million (15,7 million euros) in the third quarter of 2019 compared to a profit of 3,1 million pounds (3,6 million euros) in the same period last year. As for turnover, it would have fallen by 11%.

On the sporting side, however, the latest news is intended to be reassuring. If the production Valkyrie would be very late compared to the initial schedule, this would not be the case for its racing version. Responsible for the design of the car and the track operation of the official models, Multimatic would be in the starting blocks and Adrian Newey (technical director of Red Bull Technology) would work on it, he who is in charge of the entire engineering part.

The only visual broadcast by Aston Martin regarding the Valkyrie Hypercar and its kit Le Mans. © AMR

The first names of pilots are even circulating, like Jenson Button. The world champion of F1 2009 – which did not disappoint last year during his brief stint in LM P1 with SMP Racing – would have already met. The Briton who, during the press conference organized in Motegi during which he discussed his departure from Super GT, did not seek to hide his intentions.

“I want to do Le Mans again, he blurted. I love the new regulations, I think the WEC will become a super championship. If I take part (at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020. Editor’s note), it will probably be in LM P2, as the pace of these cars is similar to that expected of future Hypercars.

And then, at least you have opponents. Unless you have a Toyota, you can't win (to the general. Editor’s note). Other than that, I don't have a plan. The goal is really to compete in the WEC in 2020-2021. » We can bet that Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda, will not be indifferent to the siren songs sung by the 2018 Super GT champion...