What’s next for Aston Martin after both Valkyries finished their first Le Mans race?
- Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
Written by Ghazlan Atqiya Firmansyah, Edited by Aaron Carroll
Aston Martin has just completed their debut Le Mans race with the fan-favourite Aston Martin Valkyrie, run by The Heart of Racing (THOR) in the Hypercar class. Both their No.007 and No.009 cars made it to the chequered flag. But what’s next for their Hypercar program?
The background
Aston Martin last appeared in the top class with the disastrous LMP1 car, the AMR-One, back in 2011. During that year’s Le Mans race, the No.009 only completed two laps and its sister car No.007 spent four hours in the pits before officially retiring with only four laps credited to its name.
In 2025, Aston Martin entered the Valkyrie in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA SportsCar Championship, in the Hypercar and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) classes, respectively. Both entries are run by The Heart of Racing at the behest of the manufacturer.
Numbered 007 and 009, Aston Martin mostly spends their time at the back of the Hypercar class. While the team has yet to feature an outstanding result this year, both of its cars have demonstrated strong reliability, only retiring one car at the season-opening Qatar 1812 km.
Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark said: “Valkyrie’s debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a key milestone both in the development of the car and the sporting history of the brand.”
“It is only right that the Hypercar class of the field contains an Aston Martin, and one that galvanizes the legions of fans who come to watch this wonderful race as well as the millions more who follow it from around the world.”
As the only V12-powered car and the only non-hybrid Hypercar, Hallmark showed his excitement about bringing an “evocative” sound back to Le Mans.
“The sport’s fans have waited a long time to hear the Valkyrie’s V12 engine echo through the trees along the famous Mulsanne Straight, and Aston Martin is proud to bring this evocative soundtrack back to its natural habitat.”
How Valkyrie’s first Le Mans unfolded
Aston Martin’s first season with the Valkyrie was all about data gathering and learning how the car fared against its rivals. According to No.007’s Harry Tincknell; “Our systems are improving all the time. Every time we drive the car and gather data, it improves the car.”
Valkyrie was the lightest car in the Hypercar class based on the Balance of Performance (BoP) for Le Mans.
Following the disqualification of Porsche’s No.6 car during qualifying, the No.009 car advanced to Hyperpole for the first time, where it would start from 15th. The No.007 started in 20th.
Surprisingly, both cars had a solid race and mostly stayed out of trouble.
There was a slight scare at the beginning when the No.007 car returned to the pits for a slow puncture and overheating gearbox. When it rejoined, it was a long way behind its rivals and, in fact, behind the LMP2 field as well.
The No.009 car received a drive-through penalty for breaching Full Course Yellow (FCY) conditions, like many of its peers. But both Valkyries made it through the night and crossed the finish line with No.009 in 12th and No.007 in 14th following the disqualification of the No.50 Ferrari.
Finishing 12th is the team’s best result of the year, and the team was awarded two points for having both cars finish the race. They pretty much maximised everything they could. Having both cars cross the finish line of their Le Mans race is a massive accomplishment.
Tincknell was understandably pleased with how the race unfolded: “It was an amazing feeling and an amazing day. Both of the Valkyries made it home with a solid result. It was an amazing job by all of the team and for Aston Martin, who gave us a reliable, fast car.”
What’s next for Aston Martin?
Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis will return to the cockpit this weekend with IMSA’s Six Hours of the Glen. The duo will receive a morale boost from their Le Mans outing on their return to the States.
WEC full-timers Tincknell, Tom Gamble, Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen will return to action with the 6 Hours of São Paulo in July. But before that, they will reflect on their successful Le Mans race and figure out how they can carry the momentum into Brazil.
The car has shown its capabilities to survive for 24 hours. All that’s left to do is for Aston Martin to translate that reliability into outright pace, and hopefully score points by the season’s end.
