Aston Martin, in collaboration with American auto racing team Heart of Racing, will enter two Valkyrie AMR-LMH hypercars in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The entry follows new regulations by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) requiring at least two cars per manufacturer in the Hypercar class from 2025. Aston Martin says it supports this regulatory change and is committed to participating fully in the Hypercar category.
Adam Carter, head of endurance motorsport at Aston Martin, emphasized the brand’s long-standing connection to endurance racing: “You can trace the roots of Aston Martin’s endurance racing back to the earliest days of the brand. Indeed we first raced at Le Mans more than 95 years ago – something no other road-going hypercar manufacturer can say. We are very proud of our association with this wonderful event, and with that in mind, it’s very clear that we are committed to WEC’s hypercar concept and bringing our famous Wings back to the very forefront of international sportscar racing, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
The Valkyrie AMR-LMH features a race-optimized carbon-fiber chassis and a modified 6.5-liter V12 engine, originally developed by Cosworth for the road-going Valkyrie. The power unit is being adapted to meet the balance of performance requirements of the Hypercar class and to endure the demands of long-distance racing. Unlike the road version, the race car will not include the battery-electric hybrid system.
Development of the Valkyrie AMR-LMH is progressing, with on-track evaluations already conducted at Silverstone and Portimao circuits. The car is set to make its track debut later this summer, followed by an intensive testing phase before its planned homologation in the autumn.
Heart of Racing has established a UK headquarters for its WEC program near Silverstone, where the racing cars are being developed in collaboration with Aston Martin Performance Technologies. The team also plans to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the USA, running the Valkyrie AMR-LMH in the GTP class from their Phoenix headquarters.
“With this new direction of the WEC rule set we have had to bring forward our plans to run multiple cars in the WEC Hypercar class. This has obviously condensed our build-up process, but we are very excited about the prospect of having two cars in the field. We will be proud to be a part of this class, which has seen a meteoric rise in the past couple of years, and offers amazing racing and fan interaction. The challenge ahead is immense, and we are looking forward to the journey,” said Heart of Racing team principal Ian James.
