Following a strong showing in the 6 Hours of São Paulo in Brazil earlier this month, where both Valkyries finished in the FIA World Endurance Championship points for the first time, the Aston Martin THOR Team sets its sights on a strong IMSA race finish to underline the potential it’s shown in North America’s premier sportscar championship all season long.
The Motul Sportscar Endurance Grand Prix, Round 8 of IMSA’s 11-race series has a new format this year. For the first time in modern IMSA history, the race near Elkhart Lake will run to six hours; as it did historically in the 1950s when based on public roads. This means that it is not only a round of the regular IMSA season but also counts as the penultimate event in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup [IMEC], which culminates in the season finale at the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on 3 October.
IMEC is comprised of the five long distance events that run for six hours or longer during the regular IMSA season.
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 five of the six races run so far (GTP cars do not contest two races on the calendar), including an eighth-place finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (CA) and a sixth-place qualifying result at the same track. This means that since making its competition debut at Sebring in 2025, Valkyrie has finished in the top ten 12 times from 15 starts.
Drivers Roman De Angelis (CAN) and Ross Gunn (GBR), took Valkyrie to one of its most competitive showings when it made its Road America debut in 2025, finishing a strong sixth. Both men have extensive experience of the circuit. Gunn is a former winner there in the GTD Pro class with Aston Martin’s Vantage, while De Angelis has won events at Road America in other GT series with Vantage.
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: “Going back to Road America always brings a smile to your face, and especially this year with it being part of the endurance rounds. Last year Road America represented the first big performance gain for the Valkyrie stateside, and we are hungry to replicate that transition. After a small break, I can’t wait for the feeling of sitting back inside the car and going to work with the team.”
Roman De Angelis, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “Really looking forward to returning to Road America for its first iteration as an endurance round of the IMSA series. It’s a track I absolutely love. I feel we had a strong car last year in Road America, so I’m really looking forward to pushing for a good result.”
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “There are lots of reasons to be positive about our return to Road America. The team is naturally more gelled together as a unit than when we visited last year, and we know so much more about the car and how to extract performance from it as a group. Last year Valkyrie was faster here than at some other venues and we know we have taken a step forward in performance since then. Finally with the race being six hours-long, it opens more strategic opportunities to take advantage of. That all said, we can only do this if we execute on our objectives, eliminate unnecessary errors and act calmly and decisively when those opportunities present themselves through the weekend. As ever that will be our focus.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “Our understanding of Valkyrie, and how it produces performance, continues to grow race-by-race. Because of the unique nature of racing in IMSA, it places a focus on different elements of that performance. So that means we are still relatively new to the party in comparison to our rivals, in terms of data, race experience and car set-up and development. That said we are a lot further down that path than we were this time last year and Road America proved to be a circuit that suited Valkyrie. There is a ferocious desire to succeed within this organisation, and we are certain that we can achieve a stronger result with Valkyrie than has been the case so far this season. With all that in mind, I’m interested to see what is possible at Road America this weekend.”
Championship-leading Vantage heads to Road America targeting victory as title challenge ramps up
The Heart of Racing Team resumes IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship GTD title fight at Motul Sportscar Endurance Grand Prix
THOR racer Dudu Barrichello heads Drivers’ title race in GTD class
Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble and Zacharie Robichon complete THOR line-up
Car Blanche returns to GTD class for first time since debut podium at Watkins Glen, this weekend
Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot leads Car Blanche lineup with team-mates Trenton Estep and Marius Fossard
Aston Martin is set to battle for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] victory in the GTD category at the iconic Road America as the latest iteration of the ultra-luxury performance brand’s most successful racing car – the Vantage GT3 – fights for supremacy at the top of the GTD Class championship standings.
With just four rounds of the 2026 IMSA schedule to run, Aston Martin leads the GTD Manufacturers’ points standings, while partners Heart of Racing Team [THOR] top the team standings. THOR driver, Dudu Barrichello (BRA), has stood at the top of the Driver’s points table since the second race of the season.
Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3 – which has started from the IMSA GTD Class pole no less than four times in six races – is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
Barrichello, who was responsible for two of those four pole positions, is rejoined by Zacharie Robichon (CAN) and Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble (GBR) – the trio who finished third in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona and second in the 12 Hours of Sebring. These performances mean they, along with THOR and Aston Martin, all sit second in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup [IMEC] GTD points standings. IMEC accounts for all IMSA’s long distance races that run over six hours or more.
New team YRB Racing returns to the GTD class for its third IMSA start, having finished sixth on its GTD Pro Class debut last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Entered as Car Blanche, the #068 Aston Vantage GT3, will run the same driver lineup that finished third on their debut at Watkins Glen; works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA), Marius Fossard (FRA), who is enrolled in the 2026 AMR Driver Academy, and Trenton Estep (USA).
“The Heart of Racing Team has proved consistently competitive throughout the 2026 IMSA season and its performances should have earned a visit to the top step of the podium at least once already this season,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance. “Perhaps Road America can provide that opportunity, for there is no reason to expect THOR to be any less competitive at a circuit it has won at previously. Car Blanche has made an impressive start to its IMSA campaign, and we congratulate the team for this while we look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the GTD Class at Road America this weekend.”
