No. 27 Vantage GT3 wins, No. 23 finishes third

Vantage duo tops WEC qualifying as well

Valkyrie hypercar finishes fourth, its best result yet

The No. 27 Vantage GT3 fielded by Aston Martin's Heart of Racing Team crosses the finish line after winning the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. (Aston Martin)
The No. 27 Vantage GT3 fielded by Aston Martin's Heart of Racing Team crosses the finish line after winning the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. (Aston Martin)

The Aston Martin Vantage secured its first win of the season in a World Endurance Championship race in Austin, Texas. Partner outfit Heart of Racing Team claimed both first and third place. It marked the first time the team has put two cars on the podium since joining the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Aston Martin said Thursday that its No. 27 Vantage GT3 won the LMGT3 class at the Lone Star Le Mans, held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The No. 27 car was shared by Ian James, Zac Robichon and Mattia Drudi. Starting from second on the grid, Robichon passed the leading Porsche two hours into the race. Drudi, who took the wheel for the final stint, held onto the lead even after a safety car period.

The team's sister car, the No. 23 Vantage GT3, finished third. Driven by Gray Newall, Dudu Barrichello and Jonny Adam, the car notched its second podium finish in the last three races, following a third-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The Vantage's strong form carried over into qualifying as well. Two of the latest-generation Vantage GT3s swept the top two grid spots, the first time Aston Martin has locked out the front row since entering the WEC. The Vantage GT3 is built on the production Vantage sports car and powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, among other race-spec components.

"The Vantage was at its best, and this is a hugely significant result for our partner team, Heart of Racing," said Adam Carter, Aston Martin's head of endurance racing. "Having both THOR crews on the podium shows just how strong the Vantage's performance was this weekend."

The result lifted Heart of Racing's No. 23 car to fourth overall in the LMGT3 team standings with 49 points, while the No. 27 car sits sixth with 44 points. With three rounds left in the season, both cars remain in contention in the standings.

Aston Martin's Valkyrie hypercar also had a strong showing at the same event, finishing fourth. The No. 007 Valkyrie, driven by Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell, crossed the finish line within three seconds of third place, marking its best result since entering the WEC. The Valkyrie also extended its points-scoring streak to eight consecutive races in the WEC.

Success also came on British soil. Daniel Lavery and Darren Turner of Grange Racing by FSR, driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4, claimed a fifth straight class win at Donington Park. The result clinched the British GT GT4 Pro-Am class championship ahead of the season finale.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin also carried out a major midseason upgrade to its car in Formula One this year. The car showed improved performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but the team struggled again at the recent Italian Grand Prix with straight-line speed and reliability issues. Development work continues.


kwater@heraldcorp.com