Aston Martin Performance Technologies and Heart of Racing’s development work on the Valkyrie LMH programme is progressing apace, with early systems testing with a mule car running on Michelin non-confidential transport tyres underway and full track testing set to begin soon.
Ian James, Heart of Racing’s team principal, has revealed more detail on the test programme and its targets, telling DSC that a “further developed” mule car will be ready soon for AMPT and HoR to utilise as the testing phase for the car ramps up.
“We’ve had a mule car out running already, which is basically an AMR Pro car with some Hypercar calibrations. And in about six weeks we will have a further developed car with more of the suspension and control units from the Hypercar in it.”
This comes after the Heart of Racing team – which is based in Seattle – recently leased some space for a base in Brackley, England next to Multimatic Motorsports Europe as part of the build-up to the dual FIA WEC & IMSA programme for the Valkyrie, which remains on track to debut in 2025.
“We are going to collaborate with Multimatic on some of the operational side of it for WEC,” he continued. “I think George Howard-Chapell (Multimatic’s motorsport business director, who was present at the WEC season opener in Qatar) will be involved in the project.
“I’ve had a relationship with Multimatic for many years. I really respect what they do and what Larry (Holt) has achieved there.
“So we will work closely with them. There’s a core group there that was involved in the Ford GT programme up in Brackley. We will build that from probably five or six core people to around 40 come the start of next year.”
From Heart of Racing’s staff, there are a select few dedicated to the project, adding to the personnel from Aston Martin and Multimatic who are hard at work in the background.
In about six weeks we will have a further developed car with more of the suspension and control units from the Hypercar in it
While Heart of Racing is overseeing all areas, the division of labour is clear. AMPT is responsible for design work, and Multimatic is building the car alongside it.
“We’ve got our own driver-in-the-loop simulator now in Arizona, we’re getting the Valkyrie model on there. We are working on the backside of it, on the engineering side,” James explained.
“It really is a collaborative effort and we will get more and more involved as it gets to officially running the Hypercar in the middle of the year.”
When the Valkyrie finally hits the track in anger, Aston Martin’s first announcement regarding Valkyrie Hypercar programme in 2019 will feel like a distant memory.
Since then so much has changed. The LMH-specific regulations have been revised, LMDh-LMH convergence was announced and delivered and a fleet of manufacturers have committed the GTP and Hypercar rulesets.
Just what will the Valkyrie LMH – with its race-optimised carbon-fibre chassis and modified version of the Cosworth-built 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine – look like when it hits the track?
And now that Heart of Racing is deep into the weeds of the revival project, how much of the foundational work that was completed before the programme in its original form was shelved has been carried over?
The DNA follows what it was originally going to be, but it’s definitely a different animal
“I think it’s a general progression (from the original concept). But because the ruleset changed the aerodynamics had to be redone. We have an AMR Pro and we’ve put many thousands of kilometres on it, so we’ve learned quite a few little bits from that.
“Multimatic has the test car for that for the factory. But a lot of the car has been generated in the last six months. The DNA follows what it was originally going to be, but it’s definitely a different animal.
“It (the final race car) will look like a Valkyrie from 100 feet away. It will look similar to an AMR Pro but when you look into the details they’ll be distinctly different.
“And I think performance-wise, the AMR Pro is ridiculous in terms of the downforce and horsepower it has, so we won’t get anywhere near that.
“With the AMR Pro we do a lot of trackdays and corporate days in it. With a 250-pound passenger and me driving it at a 10th of its capability, we can lap quicker than the GTP pole at Laguna Seca. That’s how crazy it is.”
There is still plenty of work to be done before the car is ready for competition. But James is energised by the project, which runs alongside Heart of Racing’s two-car GT3 efforts with the new Vantage in the FIA WEC and IMSA.
“This has been a journey for me and I’ve worked on this for the last two years. I’m super excited about it, I think the Valkyrie is going to be a fan favourite no matter where it races.”
The target, James says, is for the Valkyrie to complete “at least 12-15 thousand kilometres” of track testing before the car attends the annual IMSA December BoP test at Daytona at the end of the year.
Part of the development work to come also includes a visit to the Sauber wind tunnel in Switzerland and Windshear wind tunnel in Concord, North Carolina as part of its homologation processes. The non-hybrid Valkyrie will be the first LMH-spec prototype to visit the Windshear facility ahead of its campaign in the IMSA SportsCar Championship next season.
Was there any apprehension at all about becoming the first manufacturer to take the plunge and run an LMH prototype in GTP? In short, no.
“It was never in doubt. We want to be represented in both championships. We love racing in America, it’s where we’ve started and grown up as Heart of Racing. It’s a big undertaking but I have faith in the entire process.”
IMSA’s ability to balance the car against the current crop of GTP manufacturers is almost certainly going to be monitored closely by the other LMH manufacturers.
Images courtesy of Aston Martin, Ford Performance
