Ultimate Hypercar Valkyrie, Road to Track...Start a new challenge for Le Mans
Feb 07, 2025
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Valkyrie, the only competing model among road car-based hypercars, is Aston Martin's first racing car built in compliance with FIA hypercar regulations, and will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the U.S.-based IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Valkyrie will compete in the official race for the first time in the "Qatar 1812 Km" on 28 February 2025. In this match, Aston Martin's official team THOR will make its full-fledged debut on the world motorsport stage, featuring two valkyries.
Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark said, "We are very proud to be able to compete for the 24-hour Le Mans race again," adding, "This journey to victory is in line with the brand's core values and will be an important milestone in the history of Aston Martin Motorsports." "Valkyrie is the only roadcar-based hypercar that challenges top sports car races at WEC and IMSA, a model that perfectly demonstrates Aston Martin's racing DNA that has been going on for over 100 years," he added.
Harry Tinknell (UK), the most recent 24-hour Le Mans class winner at Aston Martin, will compete in the WEC full season in a #007 Valkyrie with fellow and durable racing rising star Tom Gamble (UK). Meanwhile, the team's other machine, #009 Valkyrie, will be played by three-time FIA GT World Championship winner Marco ø (Denma) and Alex Riveras (Spain), who has won the WEC LMGT3 class.
At IMSA, Ross Gunn (UK), who competed for the 2024 IMSA GTD Pro Championship title, and Roman De Angelis (Canada), the 2022 GTD class champion, will compete in the GTP class in THOR's #23 Valkyrie. In addition, the two drivers will join the WEC drivers to complete the three-man driver lineup for the 24-hour Le Mans race. Ross Gunn will complete his all-British driver lineup by driving the #007 Valkyrie with Harry Tinknell and Tom Gamble in the two-day race on June 14 and 15.
THOR, which operated Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at WEC and IMSA, oversees the Aston Martin official Valkyrie racing program at WEC and IMSA. "Anyone who has participated in sports car racing will know how honored it is to run the race at the top level with Aston Martin and to run the only race car that inherits the essence of road cars as it is, a model that is considered the most beautiful car in the world," THOR CEO Ian James said. "It is an important moment in my career to take on this program."
Aston Martin Valkyrie is unique in the top hypercar class of global endurance races. The model, co-developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and THOR, is currently the only competitive model built on existing mass-produced ultra-high performance vehicles and positioned as the ultimate hypercar.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie is not just a hypercar, but a model that represents an innovative turning point in the history of automotive engineering, marking the pinnacle of performance, design, and innovation, said Adam Carter, general manager of Aston Martin Durable Motorsports. "The Valkyrie, which combines F1® technology and roadcar technology perfectly, is a machine born for racing, and competition in the world's top class of endurance racing will further demonstrate the vehicle's technological prowess." "Thanks to its compliance with Hypercar regulations, Valkyrie shares several technical elements with Roadcar, with the same V12 powertrain at the heart of it," he added.
With a carbon fiber chassis optimized for racing, the race car is equipped with a 6.5-liter natural inhaler V12 lean-burn engine manufactured by Cosworth. The engine spins up to 11,000 rpm in the roadcar version, producing more than 1,000 horsepower. The racecar's power unit has been adapted and strengthened to meet the performance standards of the hypercar class and has been developed to withstand the harsh driving environment required for the highest level of endurance racing. The Valkyrie lineup has a common V12 engine, which not only provides strong performance but is also in harmony with Aston Martin's pure racing philosophy.
In terms of reliability and durability, the hypercar regulation includes conditions such as limiting 500Kw (680bhp) output, which serves as a favorable factor for V12 engines designed to withstand high load cycles from the outset. In particular, fuel efficiency is emerging as an important development task in the race environment.
It is important to reduce fuel payloads while supplying the energy needed during the stint, and we operate at a lower speed than the highest performance the engine can produce because of the low power required, Adam Carter said. "We can maximize fuel efficiency by readjusting the torque curve and reducing friction losses by reducing engine rotation as the power is limited by regulations." "The aerodynamic design of the Valkyrie hypercar has evolved to meet the official approval criteria required by racing regulations, which was made possible thanks to a solid basic structure based on road cars, co-designed by Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and Adrian Newy, who will join the Aston Martin F1® team as managing technical partner since March 2025, adding that it is difficult to imagine Adrian Newy, one of the leading racing car designers in history, did not consider racing when designing the car."
The conversion from road car to race car is mainly in accordance with the FIA's technical regulations, reflecting competition standards considering safety and performance. In the race, it is necessary to respond quickly to various situations such as driver replacement and tire replacement, real-time fuel replenishment at pit stops, and possible collisions between vehicles. To this end, technologies such as a structure that can quickly replace the front and rear bodywork, a refueling system through a single fuel inlet, a high-speed pneumatic jack system integrated into the chassis, and a driver cockpit that optimizes safety, rapid access and visibility are applied.
The racing suspension composition is a double wishbone method and has a torsion bar spring that operates as a push rod, and adjustable side and center dampers. In addition, Valkyrie uses 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tires that are required under the Hypercar regulations.
This approach also affects the primary design of the racecar, one of which is the Xtrac Seven-speed Sequential Transmission, which operates on a paddle-shift semi-automatic shift.
As with all Aston Martin's race cars, we are ultimately focused on adapting characteristics to the conditions required by the regulations and bringing out the best performance within them based on very high performance vehicles, Adam Carter said. "All of this work was done in close collaboration with the global Aston Martin design studio, and Aston Martin Performance Technologies played a key role in the development process."
Reporter Kim Hyung-joon hj.kim@carguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
