Aston Martin have begun testing the new ‘hypercar’ with which they will return to Le Mans in 2025.
The British outfit, whose cars will be overseen by the Heart of Racing works team, join several manufacturers who have returned to the World Endurance Championship following the introduction of the new hypercar class.
Two AMR-LMH Valkyries will compete at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, which was won in 2024 by Ferrari’s 499P car for the second year in succession.
The last outright win for Aston Martin at Le Mans came in 1959, with 2025 set to mark their first tilt at the top-tier race since 2011.
The team will also take one step further than many of the returning manufacturers and run their own factory-made chassis in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship – the equivalent series in America, which includes the Daytona 24 Hours.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s head of endurance motorsport, said: “The Valkyrie is a pure, leading edge racing machine, and while it is very early in the testing cycle, we are satisfied that it is achieving the targets.”
Sportscar racing has seen a resurgence in popularity and participation with hypercars, with manufacturers able to compete with divergent design philosophies all under a ‘balance of performance’, which limits the power output of the cars.
Competitors can buy in a customer chassis and integrate it with their own power units, or build a fully original factory chassis from scratch.
Porsche, Ferrari, Peugeot, General Motors, Lamborghini, Alpine, BMW and other independents have joined the ever-present Toyota in recent years, producing several unpredictable outcomes in races.
Aston Martin, who produced the Valkyrie with Heart of Racing at a newly rebuilt facility near Silverstone alongside the Formula 1 team, will run their own chassis with a 6.5-litre V12 Cosworth engine.
Several Formula drivers have turned to sportscars, including 2009 champion Jenson Button, who says the cars are “more technically advanced” than those in F1.
Aston Martin’s current driver, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, has won Le Mans twice with Toyota, whilst ex-Aston driver and four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel tested a Porsche hypercar earlier this year.