Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 clinched its second win in as many races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – North America’s most prestigious endurance series – with a remarkable GTD class victory at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) by partner team The Heart of Racing (THoR).
The 2022 IMSA GTD champion and former Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy graduate Roman De Angelis (Canada), along with Spencer Pumpelly (USA), delivered an exceptional performance in the #27 THoR Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at Mosport. This victory marked the second time in three years that De Angelis triumphed at his home event. Leading most of the race, the team maintained a significant advantage over their rivals and endured the pressure of a late-race Full Course Yellow, securing THoR’s and Aston Martin’s first GTD class win with the new Vantage GT3.
This success follows Ross Gunn (GBR) and Alex Riberas’s (ESP) maiden victory with the car in the GTD Pro class at the previous round three weeks ago at Watkins Glen. The Briton, partnered this time by Mario Farnbacher (DEU), finished fifth in the GTD Pro class at Mosport, bringing the Aston Martin works driver within 60 points of the class lead (350 points are awarded for a win), with four rounds remaining this season.
The win marked the 13th IMSA victory for the Aston Martin Vantage in the GT classes and was the eighth time THoR had won the GTD class since it first entered IMSA with the iconic Wings in 2020. Overall, THoR crews have raced Aston Martins to IMSA podium positions 26 times in four and a half years, while another partner team, Magnus Racing, has added a further three podium finishes from its exclusive Endurance Race programme.
“This was a great day for The Heart of Racing team and another fantastic win for Vantage,” said team principal Ian James, who was racing the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Vantage LMGT3 in Brazil. “Winning in IMSA at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was an awesome way to start the day and a well-deserved reward for all the hard work this year from everybody on the #27 crew. Then we finished second, equalling our best result, in WEC. It’s a great feeling to be on the podium again, and hopefully there will be many more moments like this to come!”
James and his WEC THoR co-drivers, Riberas and Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), nearly made it a glorious double for the brand and the team in the 6 Hours of São Paulo, after a fiercely competitive performance brought them closer than ever before to claiming a maiden win in the series.
Starting ninth in the LMGT3 class, James raced up to third by the end of his opening double-stint, handing over to Mancinelli, who fought past rivals on track to place the Aston Martin firmly in second place. When the leading Lamborghini retired, the race became a straight fight between the #92 Porsche and Riberas, now in the #27. However, a late-race Full Course Yellow meant the Spaniard ran out of time and was forced to settle for second place.
The D’station Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 also performed well, starting 14th in the LMGT3 class. The Japanese team charged through the pack to secure another points finish with ninth place, thanks to strong stints from its drivers Clément Mateu (FRA), Erwan Bastard (FRA), and triple FIA World Endurance GT champion Marco Sørensen (DEN).
Adam Carter, Head of Endurance Motorsport, commented: “The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is truly hitting its stride now, and seeing it win its class with The Heart of Racing for the second successive IMSA race is extremely satisfying. The team also came very close in WEC, once again demonstrating race-winning pace just as it had in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last month. If the competitive level can be maintained, a first WEC victory with Vantage is within our grasp in 2024.”
The next round of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship takes place at Road America (USA) on August 4, while WEC now takes a summer break before returning to the Circuit of the Americas (USA) for round six of the championship on September 1.
