Aston Martin preparing for ‘pinch me’ moment as Valkyrie debut dawns

Following an absence of more than three and-a-half decades, the legendary British brand is returning to the international pinnacle of the discipline in 2025, as it prepares to do battle against Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s top-tier.

The marque will enter the fray with a pair of eagerly-awaited, road car-bred V12 Valkyries, which collectively completed just shy of 550 laps of Lusail International Circuit during the two-day ‘Prologue’ group test last week. While early expectations are modest, the longer-term objectives – as Aston Martin targets a first outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1959 and further titles to add to the 11 FIA WEC class crowns it has already conquered – are anything but...

“To be running at world championship level with a manufacturer like Aston Martin, with the only Hypercar that has gone from road to track, is a ‘pinch me’ moment,” mused Team Principal, Ian James. “It’s year one, and we have to be realistic about what we can achieve so our goal initially is just to go out there and get better every time, but if I didn’t think we could reach the summit of the mountain, we wouldn’t be doing it. I’m confident in the abilities of all involved and our ambitions are incredibly high.”

Harry Tincknell – a class-winner at Le Mans with Aston Martin in 2020, as well as a former European Le Mans Series champion and 12 Hours of Sebring winner – was the fastest of the Valkyrie drivers during the Prologue, at just over two seconds shy of Robin Frijns’ benchmark for BMW. The Brit will share the #007 entry with compatriot Tom Gamble and – for the longer races, including Qatar – Ross Gunn.

“I’m massively looking forward to racing the new Valkyrie Hypercar for the first time,” Tincknell enthused. “The world is waiting with anticipation to see the car ‘in the flesh’, and it’s amazing to be part of a programme that has generated such interest. We know we’re starting two or three years behind our competition so the learning curve is going to be steep, but everyone has worked so hard and we’re all ready for what is such a big moment for Aston Martin.”

In the sister #009 car, Alex Riberas makes the step up from the LMGT3 category. The Spaniard will share the cockpit with Marco Sørensen – the manufacturer’s most successful active racing driver and three times a class champion in FIA WEC – and, on occasion, Roman De Angelis. He is excited for the challenge that lies ahead.

“Making my Hypercar debut with Aston Martin THOR Team in Qatar is a huge milestone for me and for everybody involved in this project,” enthused Riberas. “It’s been an incredible journey of many months and a lot of long days developing this race car. Now, we finally get to see it race on the world stage for the first time. It’s a privilege to be involved and I know Qatar will leave me with memories that I’ll cherish for a very long time.”

“The Valkyrie Hypercar is a moment in time in automotive history,” added Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “It has a very strong association to the DNA of the Valkyrie road car, featuring at its heart the same V12 power unit and the iconic Aston Martin design presence.

“The competition in FIA WEC is of such a high level and we have a lot of respect for that, but it’s why we want to be here. Of course we want the Valkyrie to win, but winning is only worth it when you beat strong competition. With the roles that THOR, Aston Martin Performance Technologies and partners have played in developing the car, we can be confident we have all the right ingredients in place.”