Aston Martin Valkyrie Storms Detroit IMSA Street Showdown
Aston Martin’s Valkyrie hypercar roars back into action on Detroit’s downtown streets this weekend as Round 5 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship unfolds on the demanding 1.7-mile circuit. The British-built Le Mans Hypercar, the only road-derived machine in IMSA’s premier GTP class, simultaneously contests the FIA World Endurance Championship, having launched its dual-series campaign at February’s Qatar 1812 km.
The Aston Martin THOR Team has already banked three consecutive points finishes, including two top-ten results, capped by eighth place in April’s Long Beach 100-minute street sprint. Drivers Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn drew confidence from that debut, keeping Valkyrie firmly in the GTP pack despite the car’s early development stage. Both racers also know the taste of victory on Detroit pavement, having claimed their maiden IMSA win together in 2021 on Belle Isle, just downstream from the current venue.
“There is still so much to learn for the programme, but we are taking giant steps forward internally with every race in terms of data, systems and procedures,” said team principal Ian James. “To have three points finishes in succession with a brand-new and unique car is an exceptional start to the season for us, and we hope to be able to continue this trend. With every race the car does, both in WEC and IMSA, we edge a little closer to the ultimate pace, and it feels like only a matter of time now before we go home from a race weekend having bagged a big chunk of points and a strong finish!”
Engineers crafted the competition Valkyrie by marrying a race-optimised carbon-fibre chassis to a re-worked 6.5-litre V12 that spins to 11,000 rpm and, in standard form, exceeds 1,000 bhp, yet conforms to the 500 kW (680 bhp) hypercar limit. The project returns Aston Martin to America’s top sports car tier for the first time since 2011, when the marque achieved five victories and seven podiums in the American Le Mans Series.
Ross Gunn reflected on the street-circuits ahead: “Detroit is always a special place to visit, and moving into the city centre changes the vibe of the event and makes it feel like more of a street race. Having already driven in Long Beach, we learnt some valuable lessons about how the car behaves on a street circuit, and we’ll use all that information this weekend. The Aston Martin THOR Team has worked hard to give us a faster and more drivable Valkyrie, and it’s been encouraging to see the progress over the past three months. Laguna Seca was a step in the right direction, and I’m confident we can make another here.”
Roman De Angelis added: “Detroit is always an event I’ve looked forward to in the past, though I haven’t raced there for a couple of years due to the IMSA schedule. It’s great to come back, and I’ve had some pretty good results there with Ross in the past, including our first IMSA victory together and finishing second the year after. I feel like we’ve been improving significantly
over the past few IMSA races, and the Valkyrie hypercar seems to be getting faster and faster. I’m looking forward to building on the past few events and taking what we’ve learned since Laguna Seca to push ourselves on.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s Head of Endurance Motorsport, concluded: “Valkyrie and the Aston Martin THOR Team have made constant improvements at every event since the car’s top-10 finish on its debut at Sebring in March, and we’re now onto its fourth race in IMSA. Temporary street circuits, of which this is the second and last race on one this season, offer unique challenges for the hypercar class, and therefore also deliver us a wider range of data to work with as we continue to understand the car’s potential in all competitive environments. Valkyrie’s best result in any competition so far came on the streets at Long Beach, and that bodes well for us to push hard as always for an even better result this weekend.”
