Aston Martin THOR reveals 2025 Valkyrie liveries, line-ups

Yahoo

05-02-2025

Aston Martin THOR Team has revealed the liveries and driver line-ups for its forthcoming 2025 FIA WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP campaigns with the brand new, non-hybrid, V12-powered Valkyrie AMR-LMH prototype.
Starting with its drivers, in the FIA WEC, Harry Tincknell, Aston Martin's most recent British 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, will be joined by fellow countryman Tom Gamble, who announced his departure from McLaren last week, in the No. 007 for the full season.
'Harry Tincknell was heavily involved in the development of the Valkyrie, so we wanted to incorporate him early on into the test program, he has other GTP experience (with Proton Competition). He very quickly identified himself as a good team player, and his track record speaks for itself,' team principal Ian James said.
'And I rate Tom (Gamble) very highly as a natural talent and he deserves a chance in the spotlight at the highest level of sports car racing.'
The sister No. 009 Valkyrie for the globe-trotting will see longtime Aston Martin factory driver Marco Sorensen and Heart of Racing regular Alex Riberas team up.
'Marco (Sorensen) is among the most experienced and successful drivers to ever race for Aston Martin and he's waited a long time for his chance at the top class,' added James. 'Having worked with him, having seen his ability and how cool he is under pressure, I think he's a perfect fit for this program.
'Alex Riberas has been proving himself in GTD Pro in IMSA the past couple of years, is an established race winner in IMSA and WEC, and excelled throughout the whole of WEC with us last year. He's definitely part of the fabric of The Heart of Racing and deserves his seat.'
Over in North America, for Aston Martin THOR's single-car effort in GTP run out of the team's new base in Phoenix Arizona, the driver pairing has been finalized, too.
28-year-old British racer Ross Gunn and 2022 GTD class champion Roman De Angelis will drive the No. 23 entry. The pair will make their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP debuts next month at Sebring.
There, the Valkyrie AMR-LMH will also become the first LMH-spec prototype to compete in the championship alongside LMDh entries from Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini and Porsche.
'Ross has been with us for the past four years and has become, without doubt, one of the best GT drivers in the world,' James expressed. 'He proved it last year in the GTD Pro title race, just narrowly missing out. He's a team player, is naturally gifted and has a feel for a race car that not many drivers have.
'As for Roman, I first drove with him in 2018 and he's gone from strength to strength. He's won the AMR Academy and the GTD championship, which is a unique achievement, and he's become an out-and-out performer. He's also a key ingredient in our sim program in Phoenix.'
For the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, both Gunn and De Angelis will join the FIA WEC team to complete the driver trios in both cars. Gunn will make it it an all-British line-up in the No. 007 while De Angelis will add to the No. 009's crew.
Third drivers will be utilized for some of the other longer races too. Speaking with reporters ahead of today's reveal, Aston Martin's endurance racing boss Adam Carter confirmed that Gunn and De Angelis will compete in the WEC opener in Qatar and Bahrain.
The IMSA team will also be bolstered by a member of the WEC line-up for some of the Endurance Cup rounds, though there is no confirmation yet of which driver has been given the nod.
The livery designs for the trio of Valkyrie AMR-LMHs that will compete around the world were also revealed. The WEC cars will compete in British Racing Green, while the IMSA Valkyrie will sport Heart of Racing's familiar navy blue and yellow color scheme.
Story originally appeared on Racer