The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is not only a round of the regular IMSA season, but also counts towards the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. This five-event miniseries comprises all IMSA races of six hours’ duration or longer, and Valkyrie has finished in the top 10 in the leading GTP class in both the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in January and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March held so far.
Valkyrie’s US campaign, masterminded by the works Aston Martin THOR team, has shown significant performance gains compared to its debut season in 2025. The British ultra-luxury high performance brand’s Valkyrie has achieved top-10 results in each of the five races, including an eighth-place finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (CA) last month and a sixth-place qualifying result at the same track.
Drivers Roman De Angelis (CAN) and Ross Gunn (GBR), both have enviable records at Watkins Glen. Gunn has two GTD Pro class wins at the track plus two further podiums in six starts while De Angelis was victorious in his GTD title-winning season in 2022 and has finished on the podium on a further two occasions.
The first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin, Valkyrie is the only car in IMSA’s premier GTP category derived from a road-legal hypercar. The British contender is also the first LMH car of any kind to compete in IMSA, and the only one contesting both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) simultaneously.
Developed from the Valkyrie production car by Aston Martin and THOR, the competition version blends a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000rpm and produces over 1000bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kw (680bhp) power limit as per hypercar regulations.
Ross Gunn, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “Watkins Glen is a happy hunting ground for not only me, but also the Heart of Racing Team. We’ve enjoyed a lot of success there over the past five years. I am really looking forward to kickstarting the second half of the season. We’ve improved the car vastly from last year, in terms of pace, and we’re now looking to convert that into some cool results. Off the back of what was a decent Le Mans, I think we can really build on our recent progress and Watkins Glen is definitely a track that suits the strengths of the Valkyrie. It’s very fast, smooth, and with probably close to 60 cars out on track it’s going to be a fun race with the traffic management. I can’t wait to get out there.”
Roman De Angelis, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I’m really looking forward to Watkins Glen, this weekend. Not since Sebring (in March) have we had an IMSA endurance race, and I feel like based on the performance and general feel of the car we had at Watkins Glen last year, we stand a good chance of a strong result. Then hopefully we can build on this as we move into the second half of the season.
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “The Aston Martin Valkyrie has gained performance at every circuit on the IMSA calendar compared to its debut season in 2025 and as a team our execution in the GTP class continues to improve with every passing event. The demands of Watkins Glen International, with lots of fast, sweeping corners, should be better suited to Valkyrie than any other track we’ve raced on in North America this year and kick starts a run of traditional road courses that we’re looking forward to getting our teeth into.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “With five races complete for the GTP class, Watkins Glen International represents the halfway point of the IMSA season. Comparing the first portion of the season with Valkyrie’s maiden campaign in 2025 is encouraging, even though the results don’t necessarily indicate this. Last season was one for learning and 2026 has been about pushing on and extracting ever-greater performance from the car and the team. Aston Martin THOR Team has certainly done that with results gained on pace rather than attrition. We’re aiming for further improvement across the second half of the season with a run of traditional North American road courses that should play to Valkyrie’s strengths, so we look forward to seeing what we can achieve this weekend and beyond.”
Championship-leading Vantage in hunt for success at Sahlen’s
Six Hours of the Glen
Aston Martin is set to battle for victory in the GTD category as the latest iteration of the ultra-luxury performance brand’s most successful racing car – the Vantage GT3 – is fielded by The Heart of Racing (THOR), Magnus Racing and new team Car Blanche which makes its competitive debut this weekend.
Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3, which leads IMSA’s GTD category with four of 10 races completed – is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
Watkins Glen International is a happy hunting ground for Vantage and the THOR team in past years. It was at the circuit in upstate New York where the team enjoyed one of its finest achievements; a magnificent double win in the GTD Pro and GTD classes in 2022; the latter kick-starting a run of four podium finishes in the final six races that would yield both a famous Teams’ Championship success as well as the Drivers’ title for Roman De Angelis (CAN). These were Aston Martin’s first IMSA titles.
Not only that, but the latest iteration of the Vantage GT3 triumphed in the GTD class again last year with The Heart of Racing’s Casper Stevenson (GBR) and Zacharie Robichon (CAN) joined by Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble (GBR).Having scored the best FIA World Endurance Championship finish for Aston Martin’s Valkyrie Hypercar with fourth place at the 6 Hours of Spa in May, Gamble will be back aboard THOR’s Vantage GT3 in the GTD class at Watkins Glen. He partners Drivers’ Championship leader Dudu Barrichello, the Brazilian who is currently riding high off the back of a podium finish in the LMGT3 class with THOR and Vantage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this month, and Robichon, for what will be the third event of 2026 that also counts towards the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
An exciting new team will carry the Aston Martin ‘Wings’ at Watkins Glen after Van der Steur Racing was acquired by YRB Racing earlier this week. Entered as Car Blanche, the #068 Aston Vantage GT3 features a new-look GTD class line-up for this weekend’s race. Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA) leads the line-up, and the former Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy winner will be partnered by two young drivers aiming to make their mark.
IMSA debutant Marius Fossard (FRA), enrolled in the 2026 AMR Driver Academy, partnered Hasse Clot in both the opening rounds of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this month. Trenton Estep (USA) has raced in IMSA at Watkins Glen previously. For the former IMSA GT3 Cup champion, this weekend’s six-hour race will be his first time racing the Vantage GT3.
Aston Martin partner, Magnus Racing, returns to action after a self-imposed hiatus following a second-place finish in GTD in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. Team owner John Potter (USA) will be joined on the driving strength by regular team-mate Spencer Pumpelly (USA), and two-time IMSA GTD champion Mario Farnbacher (GER), who climbs back behind the wheel of the Vantage GT3 for the first time since a six-race campaign with THOR in 2024.
“Vantage continues to shine in IMSA, as is reflected by the Heart of Racing Team’s position at the top of the GTD standings,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance. “The team’s performance has been of a consistently excellent standard through the season so far, and we look forward to seeing what it can achieve on a track that has served it well in the past. Aston Martin would also like to welcome YRB Racing to the Aston Martin Racing fold and we’re excited to see what its Car Blanche entry can achieve on its debut this weekend. Finally, Aston Martin welcomes back Magnus Racing, a team that we know is more than capable of competing at the front in these long distance IMSA races.”
How to follow
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen will begin at 1210 local time (+5 Hours BST) on Sunday, 28 June, 2025. It will be broadcast live globally on IMSA TV and on the IMSA YouTube channel and and via selected broadcasters at a national level.
