The Aston Martin Hypercar-class racer is set to enter Le Mans, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2025
Aston Martin is poised to fight for an overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025 with a prototype racing version of the Valkyrie. With support and backing from the championship-winning Heart of Racing team, the new racer is set to take on iconic endurance races Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring in the 2025 season.
The brand enjoys a proud endurance racing history, having made its Le Mans debut in 1928 and racked up 19 class wins in the years that followed. Famous wins include an overall trophy for Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby in the Aston Martin DBR1.
The new car will be based on the Valkyrie AMR Pro, a model originally intended to meet LMH Hypercar regulations. The new racing prototype is being developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies ‘for racing within a pre-defined aerodynamic and power performance window that gives it parity with its direct competition in WEC,’ according to Aston Martin. Homologation for WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP racing.
Power comes from a modified version of the Cosworth 6.5-litre V12 as found in the Valkyrie road car, albeit with modification to meet Balance of Performance requirements for homologation. The racing car does without the standard Valkyrie’s hybrid system, however.
“It’s a privilege to be able to bring Aston Martin back to the top of endurance racing with the Heart of Racing,” said Ian James, team principle of Heart of Racing. “This HoR team has big ambitions in endurance racing and this is absolutely the right time for us to step into the top classes of WEC and IMSA and challenge for overall honours.”
Aston Martin CEO Lawrence Stroll is also enthused about the project: “We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days, and through those glorious endeavours we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years,” he stated. “Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built.”
The news of the Valkyrie’s racing debut came alongside the launch of new GT3 and GT4 racers based on the Vantage platform. These cars conform to new 2024 GT rulesets, including the GTE class replacement LMGT3. These GT racers will be available ‘for existing Aston Martin Racing partners and prospective customers’ in time for the start of the 2024 season.
