The IMSA Sanctioned Test at the Daytona International Speedway later this month is set to be a significant one for two reasons. It will be the first appearance for GTD cars with torque sensors ahead of the 2025 WeatherTech season and the first run at an IMSA event for Aston Martin’s Valkyrie AMR-LMH.
Speaking with DSC in Bahrain earlier today, Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s head of endurance motorsport, confirmed that the British manufacturer and partner team Heart of Racing will be in attendance in Florida with a single car. It will be another important milestone for the programme, which follows a productive test programme which began during the summer.
“We’re progressing well, the car has run well, the feedback around it is positive, but racing is about competition. We know it will be a challenge, which is why we’re coming,” he said when asked about the steps taken in recent months.
“We’ve got some formidable competition, so you can’t underestimate the quality and calibre of people here. We’ve taken that into account and set ambitious and appropriate targets.”
So far during its development phase Aston Martin has completed about 11,000 kilometres with the Valkyrie AMR-LMH at multiple circuits. And there’s plenty more running to come, as Aston and Heart of Racing will participate in a Michelin tyre test next week in Bahrain with a single car, before heading to the Daytona test with a second chassis.
“In Daytona, you’ll start to see a direction of travel as the teams are building, with support from the UK and US team to make sure we are putting our best foot forward rather than splitting into two teams,” Carter added when asked if the staff and drivers at the Sanction Test will give an indication of who will make up the IMSA team.
With the car close to being homologated ahead of the 2025 IMSA and FIA WEC seasons, Carter noted that the process of finalising the car’s spec is on track.
“It’s fine,” he said, “we’ve had mega support from the FIA, ACO and IMSA and everyone is working together.”
However, no decision has been made regarding the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in January. It is not yet clear whether the Valkyrie’s global race debut will come in IMSA’s season opener in Florida or the FIA WEC’s curtain-raiser in Qatar.
“We have our plan, we are going with our plan, and we have regular review meetings,” he concluded. “We will make the appropriate decisions at the appropriate time.”
Image courtesy of Aston Martin
