The Valkyrie, a first podium that gives wings

Hired by the Aston Martin THOR Team's No. 23 Valkyrie, driven by Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, and Alex Riberas, drove a solid race, consistently in the lead pack. Starting fifth, the trio combined pace and strategy to bring the only LMH car in the field into the top three with two hours to go. A final pit stop—refueling with 50 minutes to go—allowed De Angelis to push until the end and climb from seventh to second, just six seconds behind the winning Cadillac.

« I'm feeling a lot of emotions today, confided Roman De Angelis after crossing the finish line. Last year I was already on the podium in GTD with this team, Ross (Gunn) and Alex (Riberas), so to move on to a podium in GTP with the Valkyrie is fantastic and I'm very proud. It's been a tough first year with this car, with ups and downs, but to finish like this is a great way to end the season and put us in a good position to go into the winter and look ahead to 2026. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible. »

This result marks Aston Martin's first outright podium in IMSA and the first time a hypercar derived from a road-going model has reached the podium in GTP. For the British brand, it is also the Valkyrie's best result in any competition it has entered.

Directly derived from the road-going version developed by Aston Martin and THOR, the Valkyrie combines a carbon chassis with a naturally aspirated 6,5-liter V12 limited to 680 hp according to the regulations. In 2025, it will be the only road-going hypercar to compete in both IMSA and WEC.

« It's a very special moment, a reward for the whole team on both sides of the Atlantic. ", praised Alex Riberas, while Ross Gunn highlighted the continued progress of the project: " We were aiming for a top 5 finish at the end of the season, and we did even better. »

After eight races and seven top-10 finishes, Aston Martin ends its first GTP campaign on a hopeful note before aiming even higher in 2026. Constantly improving, after a first missed podium opportunity in WEC at the 6 Hours of Fuji, the Valkyrie already seems capable of competing for victories after just a short year of competition.

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