Aston Martin Valkyrie Scores Record Sixth at Road America
The Aston Martin Valkyrie reinforced its stature in endurance racing by claiming sixth place in the Motul Sportscar Grand Prix at Road America, the latest round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The outing delivered a sixth straight top-ten result for the British hypercar, preserved its unbroken finishing record in its debut IMSA season, and set a new benchmark for cars built to Le Mans Hypercar regulations. Valkyrie also remains the only LMH contender to compete in both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship, having launched its racing career at February’s Qatar 1812 km.
Works drivers Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn guided the #23 Aston Martin THOR entry through a lively two-hour-forty-minute contest featuring four Full Course Yellow periods, always staying close enough to exploit rivals’ misfortune. Valkyrie signalled its pace early by recording the second-fastest time in free practice, and Gunn then qualified tenth, just 0.7 seconds off pole on the demanding 4.05-mile circuit. The team kept him on track during the opening caution to secure a valuable position, and De Angelis later rose to fifth as strategies diverged. In the final uninterrupted stint, the British prototype stretched clear of the chasing pack and crossed the line a comfortable sixth, only 16.5 seconds behind the winner.
Ross Gunn, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “This was a powerful weekend for the car and the team. I’m very proud of everybody who’s working hard to improve the performance. We managed to hold our own against some high-speed cars out there and even pass some of them. It was a fun afternoon. We’re still not where we want to be, but it’s now clear that we’re making progress. We’ve got quite a big break now until Indy, so for sure there is more time to keep uncovering more pace, but this was a breakout race for us.”
Roman De Angelis, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “It was a pretty good weekend for us. This was our best result so far with this Aston Martin Valkyrie. Everyone did a great job qualifying six tenths off the pole.. Although we were tenth on the grid, this is the longest track, and that was the closest gap to the front so far. The race was great, I enjoyed finally getting to race against some guys that have been at the front for years now in this class, and I can’t wait to build on this performance at Indianapolis.”
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “This was a good day all around for the Valkyrie programme. This was a landmark result for the car and the team, as they were in the mix and racing some of the other cars. There is still work to do, but that’s to be expected, and we now continue to focus on building performance with each race. I’m pleased with the crew and the drivers, who all executed amazingly, and it makes us excited to move on to the next event at Indianapolis.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “Following the promising performance at Watkins Glen, where the car also ran in fifth position, and the encouraging test we had at Road America before we came here to race, we’ve known the potential was in the car to produce a result like this. To have delivered a run of six consecutive top ten finishes since Valkyrie’s IMSA debut at Sebring in March is no small achievement, and now we are beginning to see the potential of the package. We’ve always said we’re up against the world’s best endurance racing manufacturers and this is why we are racing in IMSA (and the FIA World Endurance Championship); you only need to look at some of those programmes to understand how long it takes for a project to mature, and thus we are still at the beginning of that journey with Valkyrie.”
Valkyrie now prepares for the six-hour ‘Battle on the Bricks’ at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 19–21 September, aiming to convert its momentum into another milestone result.
