Roman De Angelis on Road America success and the mission to finish the season strong
- Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah
- 12 hours ago
- 12 min read
The Heart of Racing (THOR)'s GTP driver, Roman De Angelis, spoke with DIVEBOMB to reflect on the team's successful outing at Road America. In the interview, De Angelis shared his thoughts on driving a GTP car, discussed his racing idols, and revealed behind-the-scenes insights into THOR's activities.
Always aiming for more
Roman De Angelis was beyond elated after crossing the line in sixth at Road America, which is the Valkyrie's best finish to date in the competitive GTP class. Fifth and fourth were within reach at the end of the race.
"I think what was going through my head was the car in fifth and fourth were so close.
"Obviously, I was super happy for the result, super happy for the team. Lots of hard work. I think from a personal level, [I'm] trying to improve, get more comfortable, more experienced and become stronger so we can fight for top finishes in the top class.
"But I think for everyone as a whole group, it's been great. It's been an awesome journey."
De Angelis has been heavily involved in simulator work to aid the development of the car before each round. The Canadian added that the engineers kept the drivers busy with configuring the setup.
"I'm involved in the sim side and then some of the development stuff on the simulator with setups and stuff like that pre-event.
"So for me, it was very rewarding [to] see all the hard work that gets put in. The engineers keep us busy with trying setups and stuff."
De Angelis argued that this was a possible result in Watkins Glen back in June if things went their way. Nonetheless, he felt excited to be close to the fifth and fourth-place cars in Road America and aims for another excellent result in Indianapolis.
"[That's] definitely a result that I think we could have had in Watkins Glen if things had gone a bit better.
"I was a bit, not disappointed, but excited, to be close to the cars in fifth and fourth, always wanting more. So hopefully we can do that in Indy."
Adjusting from GTD to GTP
De Angelis previously competed in the GTD class and took the championship title back in 2022 with the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. He noted that driving a GTP car was stressful for his neck during his earlier adjustment.
"Physically, the biggest thing for me is the neck.
"Obviously, there are a lot more G-forces. I think a track like Road America actually wasn't so bad because the corners are quite quick. The only long-duration corner is the Carousel, which is hard on the neck.
"But then you look back to Watkins Glen, where you have corners that are fourth, fifth gear, even sixth gear, and you're loaded for five seconds, for example, at 3Gs or whatever the max is in that corner. Those were the areas where I really struggled at the beginning of the year."
The Valkyrie made its endurance racing debut at the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener, the Qatar 1812 km. De Angelis was part of the No.009 crew alongside Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen.
During that race, he experienced a significant physical struggle, specifically with his neck. He later admitted that dealing with the physical demands of driving a high-performance GTP/Hypercar was the most challenging part of the experience.
"In the first WEC round in Qatar, I also struggled quite a lot.
"Lots of long-duration corners where you're like, just by the end of the race, you're holding on with your neck. So physically, that was the biggest thing."
As for the mental side, De Angelis said that understanding the system and controls was the main challenge. He argued that simulator work and driving with the same steering wheel configuration helped him a lot with race preparations.
"I'd say mentally, it's the systems and the controls, understanding all the electronics, the driver, tools that we have to be able to use in the car.
"One thing that's helped me a lot is the simulator and just driving with the same steering wheel, the same steering wheel configurations.
"And [by] doing that before race weekend, I already know what to expect, what settings to change where, and kind of have a few options of ideas of what I'm going to try corner by corner."
Racing with the household names
Being in the GTP class pitted De Angelis against well-known IMSA names such as Porsche's Nick Tandy, Cadillac's Earl Bamber, and Acura's Renger van der Zande, who is a good friend of his. The drivers he once admired and looked up to when he was younger are now his direct competitors, whom he must try to beat to be successful.
"There's so many things going on.
"You're always picking up on little nuances, and you're racing against guys like Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Renger [van der Zande], who's a good friend of mine.
"You look up to these people growing up, but at some point, you have to flip the light switch and understand that those are your competitors and you have to beat them as well."
As a 24-year-old, De Angelis had a lot to offer the team to best his GTP rivals. He specifically picked Tandy as a driver he watched the most growing up, and always learned something new from the Briton, who is 16 years his senior.
"Somebody's putting enough trust in you to go and compete and beat them.
"So there are things that you definitely pick up. Those guys have tonnes of experience in the class, but also in general, I'm 24 years old.
"I've been watching specifically a guy like Nick Tandy my whole life growing up. So there's always stuff to learn. I think managing traffic is probably the biggest thing."
Having been part of the GTD class for years, De Angelis was on the receiving end as he was in the car that was lapped by the faster prototype cars. This experience strengthened his skills in managing and understanding traffic.
"For me, the last five years I've been on the receiving end, I've always been the car being passed.
"I'm in the GT class, and I think by the end, that was something that I became quite strong in, [which] was managing traffic and understanding traffic."
Now in GTP, De Angelis is the one who laps the cars. He pointed out that prototypes have more downforce, and more of it is taken away when it is behind other cars. The Canadian noticed this issue in GTD, but it is much more pronounced in GTP.
"Now, it's quite the opposite.
"The rules are switched, where now we're passing GT cars, but the big thing with the prototypes is you get more air wash. There's more downforce on the [GTP] car, which means that when you're behind other cars, there's more downforce being taken off.
"The difference between clear air and not clear air is massive, relative to what it was in a GT car, which back then I would complain about and now I'm complaining about more. But the biggest thing for me is just learning traffic management."
De Angelis on the fight in Road America
Coming into Road America, De Angelis believed that the track's nature would suit their car since there was a lot of work the team put in before Watkins Glen.
"[Road America] was a track that we had hoped would be competitive for our car.
"I feel like we had put in a lot of work pre-Watkins Glen to be strong and be competitive. And I think in Watkins Glen we were [competitive].
"The result didn't show that, but during the race, we were running in the top five for the last hour or two on pace and just had a bit of bad luck with the strategy. But I think we were hopeful going into Road America. We had a great test."
The Valkyrie finished the FP1 in second, behind the No.60 Acura. De Angelis downplayed this achievement, citing that there was a lot of traffic and his THOR side happened to have a clean lap in. He thought that he could fight the other cars during the race.
"Obviously, you were second place in the first practice, but we didn't really get over our heads about it.
"There's so much traffic there. We got a clear lap, and that was it. So, you know, we thought we could fight, and we continue to think so."
De Angelis on co-driver Ross Gunn
De Angelis is paired with co-driver Ross Gunn as THOR's full-time GTP drivers. This pairing is unique as they both have a similar upbringing with no GTP experience. They had driven open-wheel for a few years before settling into GT racing.
"I think with Ross, it's a different story because I'm not joining a teammate who has GTP experience.
"I'm joining a teammate that basically had the same upbringing as myself, where we did maybe a year or two of Formula cars and then went straight into GTs because that's the opportunity we had.
"And we weren't in a background that could put us through the Formula 2 or Formula 3 ladder."
Gunn is four years older than De Angelis, but their career progressed at a similar pace. The 28-year-old had more Aston Martin GT racing experience in Europe. De Angelis has nothing but praise for the Briton and called him one of his best friends.
"So I think me and Ross, although he's a few years older than me, we both kind of progressed through our careers in a similar time.
"We were teammates in 2021 [at THOR]. He obviously does a lot more with AMR in Europe and GT racing.
"I think we're both helping each other adapt and learn and asking each other questions. And he's a great teammate. He's one of my best friends as well."
Since they are not too far in terms of age and understand each other's quirks, this gave them a comfortable and relaxed environment.
"So, you know, it becomes a really good environment for the two of us.
"I think something that's a great thing about Ross is he's very calm. He doesn't really get overwhelmed. He doesn't. I've never seen Ross lose his head in, you know, four years of being in the same team as him, as well as being teammates with him.
"Both of us are quite calm and quite relaxed as teammates. This makes the environment a lot easier, and it's something that I'll take with me and hopefully bring into many other opportunities."
Driving the fan-favourite car
It is no secret that the Valkyrie is among the fan-favourite GTP cars on the IMSA grid. De Angelis commented that his younger self would be hanging by the fence to wait for this car to pass him by.
"Yeah, it's very loud [and] it sounds amazing.
"And for the fans, it's [as] if I was, you know, my nine or 10-year-old self and went to a racetrack, I know that I would be hanging off the fences for that car to come by, as I was back then watching the Aston V12 LMP1.
"So I think it's just it's a fan favourite. It's really coming along and developing well. It's different for me because I see the car. I don't really see the car from the side of the track. But I hear the [positive] reception that I get from fans, and I definitely think it's a fan favourite."
What the cameras don't show
While motorsport is often glamorised in the media, De Angelis revealed what it's truly like behind the scenes. He was excited to share parts of the team's operations that the cameras never show.
"It's a great question.
"I think in motorsports, it's definitely a sport where I think sports in general and athletes in general, teams and all the that sort of industry is covered up and glamorised because it's an entertainment sport where, you know, people watch it on TV and everything's good and well, but there's a lot going on in the background."
De Angelis now lives in Seattle, where the team is based. He witnessed how the team members worked hard for each race preparation and gained a new level of respect and outlook.
"I now live where the team's based.
"I'm able to go into the shop and go into the sim basically every day. And I think it gives you not a new respect, but a different outlook on, you know, the mechanics, the engineers, the team principals, everyone involved in logistics and stuff like that.
"[It shows] how much work goes into preparing not only the car, but preparing all the small details as well, like booking hotel rooms and booking flights and stuff like this."
De Angelis recounted how he did not know how many preparations were needed before he truly saw it himself. He liked the vibe of THOR, which he likens to a tight-knit family-style racing team.
"There's so much that goes into the race weekend aside from us just driving, which, before I really saw it from the inside, I would just show up and drive.
"It gives you a new level of appreciation and respect for the people that are around you, that they also have their role within the team that, you know, everyone kind of has to come together to produce this product, which is a great result. So it's a very tight-knit family-style racing team, which I really enjoy being a part of."
Being realistic about taking the fight to the GTP giants
Aston Martin jumped to the GTP class, which has been occupied by its peers for almost three years, and some of these teams are backed by manufacturers that have won some of endurance racing's most prestigious races.
"Yeah, I think we're just realistic.
"Going into the season, we were quite aware of the fact that not only are we jumping into a series where our competitors have had three years of experience and races at these same tracks, but we're also racing against factories that have won Le Mans multiple times and have won IMSA races and have been involved in prototypes. These are big manufacturers."
"You're talking about Porsche, which is one of the most iconic brands in endurance racing, as well as BMW, Cadillac [and] Acura.
"So, you know, we understand where we are. We understand the task at hand, but I think at the same time, if you look back, you know, at Sebring, even, for example, we weren't as far off as we expected to be."
De Angelis said the team had an incredible feat by making steady progress across the season, especially at Road America, where they took on Porsche, Cadillac and Acura near the end of the race.
"In Watkins Glen, we started to fight no closer to the front, and then [at] Road America.
"[We were] fighting with Porsche, Cadillac and Acura in the end and stuff like this, you know, three-quarters of the way through our first season. So, I would take that as an impressive feat. So, yeah, I'm positive about the whole thing.
"If anything, the last few races have been even more of an uplift for me. I don't really need to fight to bring myself up, but the results have done that for me."
Nailing Indy
While the GTD and GTD Pro will take on the GT Challenge at VIR this weekend, those not belonging in this class will return to action in September. De Angelis is relieved to have ample time to rest.
"And I know it's nice to have a bit of a break now.
"I haven't had this long of a break in a long time, but I'm itching to get to Indianapolis."
When asked about his objectives in Indianapolis, De Angelis said he was hoping to nail running in traffic and at the front, something that he thought the team had not fully unlocked in Road America.
"I think running in traffic and at the front.
"This was the first time we really... not that we weren't pushing hard in the beginning of the year, but for example, a race like Watkins Glen or a race like Sebring, the car was quite difficult to drive. We were maybe a second, a second and a half, or two seconds away.
"So, we knew that we couldn't really fight, and the big thing for us and for our team was to finish, not have damage, and to get data. That was our job. You know, [we] obviously push and see what the car can do, but, you know, we're not fighting tooth and nail with people."
Now that the team has reached a phase where they feel they are in the mix to contend for higher positions, De Angelis wants to nail restarts and avoid falling behind in traffic in Indianapolis.
"And I think now we're at a point where we're fighting in traffic and we're battling and defending and maybe a bit more aggressive.
"I think things like restarts and, like I mentioned, falling in traffic is stuff that, taking into Indianapolis, I now have a much better idea and also a lot more confidence internally about fighting against these guys."
De Angelis and Gunn's stints at Road America saw them fighting against drivers that have been successful in racing prototypes, which brought a major morale boost to the team's camp.
"I had [fighting] stints, as well as Ross.
"We both had stints in Road America, where we're fighting against guys that have won races and have been very successful in prototype racing as well as in the past few years.
"So, I think it just brings a whole uplift to the whole team, mechanics, crew engineers [and basically] ourselves."
