Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at 24 Hours of Daytona

THOR Vantage GT3 007
THOR Vantage GT3 #007

Aston Martin are hoping for victory at this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona when the 2025 edition of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship gets underway at the world-famous Daytona International Speedway.

The 2024 Spa 24 Hour-winning Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be leading the charge in the GTD Pro and GTD categories at this weekend’s race in what will hopefully be a landmark year for the British sportscar company in global endurance motorsport.

Seattle-based partner team The Heart of Racing [THOR] will be represented in both classes by an experienced line-up of drivers, hoping to add to the team’s 2022 title-winning success and its 2023 Rolex 24 victory. They will be joined by multiple IMSA championship-winning team Magnus Racing and IMSA GTD class debutant van der Steur Racing.

All three teams will be competing in the Vantage GT3, which won in its most recent major international 24-hour race, the 24 Hours of Spa, as well as achieving class wins in all the main global endurance series in its debut season last year.

THOR Vantage GT3 number 27
THOR Vantage GT3 #27

The Vantage GT3 racing car shares the same mechanical architecture of the Vantage road car and is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis. It is powered by its powerful twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.

Having achieved IMSA GTD title success with Vantage in 2022, THOR returns this season with one car in GTD Pro and one in GTD looking for victory in two different classes. The 2022 IMSA GTD Drivers’ champion, Canadian, Roman De Angelis and three-time FIA World Endurance champion, Dane Marco Sørensen, were part of the team’s 2023 Daytona GTD-winning driver line-up. This year they will be behind the wheel of the GTD Pro class #007 Vantage, joined by IMSA race-winning team regulars Brit, Ross Gunn and Spanish driver Alex Riberas.

Canadian Zacharie Robichon will be driving THOR’s #27 GTD entry, a winner in both IMSA and the European Le Mans Series, along with British duo Tom Gamble and Casper Stevenson and AMR works driver Mattia Drudi from Italy, who was the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint title winner.

Aston Martin partner Magnus Racing will be competing once again in the Rolex 24 GTD class following their second-place finish with Vantage at Daytona in 2023 along with a podium finish at the Six Hours of the Glen last year. The team’s regular drivers are Americans John Potter, Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly, who will be joined by AMR works driver and double FIA WEC GT world champion Nicki Thiim from Denmark.

Magnus Racing Vantage
Magnus Racing Vantage #44

The fourth Vantage to compete in this year’s Rolex 24 will be run by van der Steur Racing. They will also race in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup (encompassing the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds taking place at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis and Road America). The #19 Vantage will be driven by Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot, the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 champion and fellow Frenchman Maxime Robin, along with reigning Lamborghini Super Trofeo Pro-Am world champion, Canadian Andrew McIntosh and American driver Rory van der Steur.

In addition, THOR and Aston Martin are preparing the all-new works Valkyrie hypercar for its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring on 15th March following the car’s global race debut at the FIA World Endurance Championship Qatar 1812km opening round at Lusail three weeks earlier.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, commented:

“The Rolex 24 at Daytona is the most famous endurance race in North America and one of the most prestigious in the world so it’s extremely fitting that Vantage, a front-runner in leading series globally, is in fantastic shape to once again fight for victory in multiple categories this weekend. The strength of our line-ups – including many championship-winning AMR works drivers – coupled with the depth of the engineering support we provide to our partner teams in North America is a source of immense pride and sends a clear message as to how important adding more successes on this continent is to Aston Martin. Daytona is set to produce a thrilling event, and we intend to finish it with something to celebrate as we look forward to the advent of the Valkyrie’s IMSA debut at Sebring in March.”

The 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona gets underway at 13:40 EST this coming Saturday 25th January 2025.

Author Bio:

Simon Burrell is a UK-based motoring and travel journalist and editor, a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and former saloon car racing driver.

Photographs courtesy or Aston Martin

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