Aston Martin Valkyrie aiming to finish debut IMSA season on a high in Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

• Aston Martin Valkyrie's maiden IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship programme concludes with the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta
• Works FIA World Endurance Championship driver Alex Riberas returns to the #23 Valkyrie for blue riband 10-hour endurance classic
• After six top-10 finishes, #23 Valkyrie crew targets best result in final round of North America's top sportscar racing series
• Valkyrie is only road-derived hypercar to contest the world's two premier sportscar series, IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship, in 2025

8 October, 2025, Indianapolis, USA: Aston Martin's breathtaking new Valkyrie Hypercar will conclude its first racing championship campaign in North America this weekend, when it participates in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] finale – the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – on Saturday.

In an extraordinary first season of competition, the Aston Martin THOR Team-run Valkyrie – the pure racing expression of the world's ultimate roadgoing hypercar – has exceeded expectations in IMSA, completing 3,300 miles of hard racing around seven of the most iconic motorsport venues in North America.

Having made its debut in the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, Valkyrie's and Aston Martin's best IMSA result so far was a competitive sixth place overall at Road America, back in August. All told, Valkyrie has passed by the chequered flag inside the top ten six times from seven starts. It has even raced into podium contention during an exciting IMSA season that has witnessed late-race drama and last-minute Full Course Yellows several times.

Regular IMSA drivers Roman De Angelis (CAN) and Ross Gunn (GBR), will be joined again this weekend at Road Atlanta by works FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] Valkyrie driver Alex Riberas (ESP) – fresh from a brilliant fifth place alongside Marco Sørensen in the 6 Hours of Fuji with the #009 Valkyrie last month. The trio previously raced together during the car's Sebring debut, where they finished ninth place in the grueling 12-hour race.

The only entry derived from a road-going hypercar competing in either IMSA or the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Valkyrie is developed from its production version by Aston Martin and THOR. The competition example blends a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000rpm and produces over 1000bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kw (680bhp) power limit as per hypercar regulations.

Valkyrie positions Aston Martin in the top division of US sportscar racing for the first time since 2011; a season in which five outright victories and seven podiums were achieved in the American Le Mans Series.

Alex Riberas, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “It's an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be back in the IMSA championship with the US side of the Heart of Racing operation. I've been following the evolution of the team throughout the year and it has been very impressive to see from the outside how much the team has progressed. Now to be back with them at Petit Le Mans, for such a special race, it's a really good opportunity and I think as a team we can do a really good job. It's going to be a brutal 10 hour race, it always is in Petit. There is always an extra level of tension there, being the season finale, but I am looking forward to it and I'm looking forward to finishing the IMSA season on a high.”

Ross Gunn, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “Petit Le Mans is one of the stand-out races of the IMSA season. We have had some awesome races there in the past, winning there in 2021 as a team and taking the GTD Pro title fight down to the last few minutes last season. The progress in the last couple of races has been very noticeable and is testament to the hard work that everyone has been putting in throughout the entire year. Hopefully we can keep that upward trajectory going as we head into Atlanta so that we can end the season on a high.”

Roman De Angelis, driver #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I'm looking forward to the last race of the season, and returning to Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta is always the best way to do it. It's such an awesome event and having had success there in the past, I look forward to fighting for a strong result to end the first year with THOR's GTP programme.”

Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “As a team we can head into the last IMSA race of the season very proud of what we have achieved. To step up into the GTP class with the existing teams and manufacturers competing at such a high level, was already a challenging task. To do it with a brand-new car as different in concept as Valkyrie, and to have scored points in every race while sometimes challenging deep into the top ten, proves we belong in this class. Everyone in the team has stepped up and as a group we have delivered. Petit Le Mans offers us the opportunity to underline a promising first season with a strong result and we are fully focused on delivering that this weekend.”

Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “As we learn more about Valkyrie with each event we are able to bring more competitiveness to the car through improved preparation, set-up and engineering knowhow. The six top ten finishes it has achieved so far in IMSA, accurately underlines the positive performance curve that Valkyrie is on. Especially when you put it into context that it's a new car, unique in format and characteristics, and unproven when the season began. The circuits we race on in IMSA present some of the toughest environments on which to challenge Valkyrie, and it has stood up to this test without exception. The car has become steadily more competitive through the year, as we anticipated would be the case, and it has delivered encouraging performance particularly in the last few races. This season has been the first for Aston Martin in the GTP class, and we have been impressed by both the standard of the series' organisation and the level of the championship. As a competitor, we're very proud to play our part in IMSA, and we look forward to finishing the 2025 season on a positive note.”

• The Heart of Racing Team fighting for GT title again in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship finale at Road Atlanta
• Zacharie Robichon re-joins THOR Team regulars Tom Gamble and Casper Stevenson as trio bids to win IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title
• Rory van der Steur returns to action alongside Valentin Hasse Clot and Anthony McIntosh in VDSR Vantage after recovering from injury
• Magnus Racing back in action as US-based GT front-runner Jan Heylen makes Aston Martin debut alongside John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly

Aston Martin heads to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] finale, at the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta this weekend, in contention for another US-based title with its most successful racing car – the Vantage GT3.

Just as in 2024, when The Heart of Racing [THOR] Team began the 10-hour series decider fighting for the GTD Pro title with Ross Gunn (GBR), the team is again a title contender both for GTD class honours as well as the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

Casper Stevenson (GBR) goes into the finale in second position in the GTD class thanks to a victory at Watkins Glen and podiums in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the sprint race at Virginia International Raceway. The Briton is 224 points behind the championship leader, with a potential 385 available across the event.

It's a much tighter affair in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – a series comprising the five races of more than the standard two-hour, forty-minute duration that feature during the IMSA season. THOR trio Stevenson, Zacharie Robichon (CAN) and Tom Gamble (GBR) are just three points away from the lead, thanks in part to their outstanding victory in the Sahlen's 6 Hours of the Glen in July.

With drivers and teams eligible for a maximum of 15 IMEC points this weekend (with five available to the car that leads after four hours, another five after eight hours and five awarded to the race's class winners), the destination of the title is likely to hang in the balance until the chequered flag.

THOR remains the only team to have won an IMSA GTD title with Aston Martin, having claimed the Sprint Cup in 2021 with Gunn and Roman De Angelis (CAN), and then the overall GTD crown a year later with the Canadian.

Van der Steur Racing, which is contesting only the five IMEC races in 2025, returns for Petit Le Mans with its original driver line-up. Rory van der Steur (USA) has recovered from an injury sustained in a mountain-biking accident prior to the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis. He will race alongside team-mates Anthony McIntosh (USA) and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse Clot (FRA).

Returning for the third time this season is Aston Martin partner team Magnus Racing, with a refreshed driver line-up. Joining team owner John Potter (USA), and regular Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will be four-times GT class race winner Jan Heylen (BEL).

Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3, which triumphed at last year's 24 Hours of Spa – the world's most prestigious GT3-only event, is built around Aston Martin's proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.

How to follow

The Motul Petit Le Mans will begin at 1210 local time (-5 Hours BST) on Saturday, 12 October 2025. It will be broadcast live globally on IMSA TV and on the IMSA YouTube channel and via selected broadcasters at a national level.