Aston Martin
The test programme for the first of the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH cars continued two weeks ago with a further two-day test at Silverstone. DSC understands it was driven by a further selection of drivers as the team closes in on deciding who will crew the entries in both the FIA WEC’s Hypercar category and IMSA’s GTP class.
DSC is also aware that Heart of Racing undertook an evaluation programme earlier this year with an LMP2 car (supplied by a current ELMS team) to assist evaluation of several in their driver pool.
As suggested by Ian James at the launch of the Valkyrie programme in October of 2023, the bulk of the drivers under evaluation are understood to be drawn from those who have competed with Heart of Racing in GT3/GTD and/or from the Aston Martin Racing ‘family’.
The only known ‘outlier’ from those two pools so far came with the first official tests, with Mario Farnbacher and Darren Turner joined on track by Harry Tincknell.
Hyundai
More and more rumours are swirling around a potential Hyundai programme with an LMDH car, most likely with a joint WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP programme from as early as 2026.
If that is to happen then a programme announcement is likely to happen in several weeks rather than several months with attention now shifting to potential partners for the project.
US sources suggesting that a deal was done some time ago, with Chip Ganassi Racing were certainly wide of the mark at that point.
In Europe, there are several potential options, with United Autosports a strong contender and with several other top LMP, GT and single-seater teams also interested in stepping into the top class. Hyundai Motorsport boss Cyril Abiteboul was noted at Le Mans touring the paddock, and at least one team’s hospitality unit.
One left-field contender though may also be in the running.
The reason behind the parting of the ways between BMW and Team RMG has not been revealed either by the manufacturer or the team. But with Hyundai Motorsport in Europe based in Germany, the appeal of a top-quality German outfit with extensive new car development testing experience – including a major role in the early development of BMW’s LMDH the M Hybrid V8 – may well be telling!
Ford
A recent story from Autocar in the UK excited some on the internet with the indication that Ford is still evaluating the top class of endurance racing.
There’s no surprise there for DSC readers, but at present there is no direct indication of anything more than a (albeit very focused) watching brief from the ‘Blue Oval’.
Vanwall
Just a note to add that the long-running EUIPO Intellectual property process which embroiled PMC GMBh (the company responsible for the ByKolles-run Vanwall Hypercar programme) and UK-based Vanwall 1958 finally found in favour of the German entity this week.
The point at issue was the ownership of Class 12 (car making) in a tussle that has already taken several years.
Vanwall 1958 have two months to appeal the judgement – if they do not then the Trademark will transfer to PMC GMBh on 8 October. If an appeal is filed then the process would likely take well over a further year to decide, during which time the mark would stay with the UK entity.
Meanwhile, Vanwall has little prospect of regaining a slot in the FIA WEC Hypercar ranks with the two-car factory mandate in place for 2025. The grid is expected to be fully subscribed and there is no apparent move forward with a project that was significantly off the pace in 2023.
