Aston Martin achieves its best result before the 24 Hours of Le Mans: "We are getting closer to the podium"

In 2025, Aston Martin had not managed to complete any Top 10 finishes at the end of his first season in the Hypercar category WECThis result is far from being a failure for a brand-new team that opted for a fully naturally aspirated engine. In 2026, however, the duo of Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell managed to secure a top-nine finish at Imola before breaking into the top four at Spa. A more than encouraging progression.

"It was a great finish in the end, especially after a pretty crazy second half of the race," Tom Gamble commented to our microphoneWe seemed to be on track for a decent day, to pick up some points, and then the safety car came out. Once the green flag waved, I was pretty much on my own because I found myself stuck behind some GT cars at the restart. It was impossible to overtake them until the finish line; I was pretty much in my own race. Then, at turn five, it sounded like there was an explosion, and I thought, "Oh my God, what's going on?" At that point, another safety car appeared. I was watching the 009, our sister car. They had really impressive pace, and it's a shame they didn't get the result they deserved. It would have been great to have two Valkyries in the top five or six.

Aston Martin is preparing its return to Le Mans

Now focused on the 24H of Le MansThe Aston Martin drivers are aware that expectations are no longer the same at this stage of their development. “Last year, we didn’t have the best pace, but we knew we weren’t expecting it. We just wanted to finish the race with both cars, without any problems. A year later, we’re fighting for the podium. I’m approaching the final chicane on the last lap and I see the winner just seconds behind us at the finish. It’s very motivating.”

In this respect, the talk of a podium, still very nebulous in 2025, becomes a reality for the British. “The team is working tirelessly behind the scenes to constantly improve the car. I think everyone can already see that with each race, we're getting closer and closer to the podium. We're constantly progressing, which is fantastic, and I'm very proud of them. We're continuing to work hard, and I think the podium is within reach. A similar result at Le Mans would be incredible, getting on the podium would be phenomenal, but there, it's always a different story. Just because we performed well here doesn't mean it will be the same there.”

June 13th and 14th are now marked by everyone as the event not to be missed in the next month.

ALSO READ > The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans guide is featured on the cover of AUTOhebdo issue #2562.