The Heart of Racing (also known as Heart of Racing Team, or simply Heart of Racing) is an American auto racing team founded by British racing driver Ian James,[1] American businessman Gabe Newell,[2] and American developer Yahn Bernier.[3][4] Heart of Racing primarily compete in sports car racing with factory support from Aston Martin. The team races in support of the Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, Washington.
 | |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Base | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Team principal(s) | Ian James |
| Founder(s) | Ian James Gabe Newell Yahn Bernier |
| Current series | FIA World Endurance Championship GT4 America Series IMSA SportsCar Championship Middle East Trophy GT America Series |
| Former series | D1NZ North Island Enduro Series GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Porsche Supercup 24H Series |
| Current drivers |  Roman De Angelis Mario Farnbacher Hannah Greenemeier Hannah Grisham Ross Gunn Ian James Darren Kelly Daniel Mancinelli Gray Newell Alex Riberas Zacharie Robichon |
| Noted drivers |  Maxime Martin Marco Sørensen |
| Teams' Championships | 2019, 2021 D1NZ, 2021 North Island Enduro Series, 2022 IMSA GTD |
| Drivers' Championships | 2019, 2021 D1NZ, 2021 North Island Enduro Series, 2022 IMSA GTD |
| Website | www |
Racing history
editThe name "The Heart of Racing" was initially a campaign launched by Team Seattle in 1997, where in races they would support the Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, Washington.[5] This campaign has since continued beyond the establishment of the racing team, where they continue to support the cause in every race they participate in. Ian James, a former member of Team Seattle, established the racing team under the same name as the campaign, where the team would partner with Team Seattle and Alex Job Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for three seasons up until 2016.
From 2014 to 2016, the combined effort teams of The Heart of Racing, Team Seattle, and Alex Job Racing ran Porsche 911 race cars, finishing in the Top 5 of IMSA's GT Daytona (GTD) class in two of the three seasons. Heart of Racing also supported Michael Ammermüller and Lechner Racing for a season in 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, where Ammermüller finished 4th overall and taking home six podium finishes. Heart of Racing also won the D1NZ drifting series twice with the team in the 2019 and 2021 seasons with New Zealander racing driver Darren Kelly in a modified Nissan GT-R.
2020
editIn 2020, The Heart of Racing returned after a three-year hiatus returning to IMSA competition in the GTD class with support from Aston Martin. The driver lineup consisted of Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas, Ian James, Nicki Thiim and Darren Turner. Their best result came at the 2020 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing 2nd.[6]
2021
editHeart of Racing's first victory would come at the 2021 Detroit Sports Car Classic with Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn, after rival entry CarBahn with Peregrine Racing failed to meet the 40-second refuelling requirement in the regulations, thus disqualifying them.[7] Both De Angelis and Gunn would win again in the 2021 Northeast Grand Prix. Ian James would join the duo for the 2021 Petit Le Mans, where they would win once more in the GTD class. The No. 23 car ultimately concluded the 2021 season 3rd in the final GTD class standings. Heart of Racing raced in the 2021 GT4 America Series, competing in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 with Ian James and Gabe Newell's son Gray. James and Gray Newell finished the year 13th in Pro-Am, collecting a win in the second race of the Watkins Glen round. In the 2023 GT4 America Series, De Angelis and Newell completed the season 4th in the Pro-Am class, and Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt finished 6th in the Am class. Riberas and Kelly also won the 2021 North Island Enduro Series championship in New Zealand.[8]
2022
editThe team entered a second No. 23 Aston Martin entry in the GTD Pro class for the 2022 season, with Riberas and Gunn competing in the full season. De Angelis returned to the No. 27 GTD entry for the full season. James, Turner, Maxime Martin, and Tom Gamble also participated alongside the team in select rounds for both GTD and GTD Pro entries.[9] Both entries would each win two races, most notably taking a double class victory in the 2022 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.[10] The No. 23 car finished 4th in the GTD Pro standings, whereas both the No. 27 car and De Angelis would win the GTD championship.[11]
The team also helped develop Kelly's Formula D Aston Martin Vantage, which debuted in the 2022 Formula D season. Kelly's Vantage was powered by a twin-supercharged 6.0-liter V12 sourced from Aston Martin, and used components from the GT3 and GT4 racing versions of the Vantage.[12]
2023
editFor the 2023 season, both entries would complete the season in the Top 5 of the GTD Pro and GTD standings, the No. 23 car finishing 5th and the No. 27 car finishing 2nd respectively. During the season, The Heart of Racing would see a class victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona event for the first time, also finishing ahead of the GTD Pro-winning car, taking victory in the 2023 edition of the race with De Angelis, Marco Sørensen, James, and Turner.[13] The No. 23 also gained two additional victories, winning in Road America and Lime Rock Park, the latter the No. 27 car also won, completing another double class win for the team.[14]
Following Paul Dalla Lana's retirement from racing, Heart of Racing replaced NorthWest AMR in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship in a mid-season switch, taking their spot in the entry list beginning at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.[15] The driver lineup was replaced by Riberas, James, and Daniel Mancinelli.[16] With the exception of the Monza round, the team, still competing under the NorthWest AMR name to conform with series regulations,[17] finished in the Top 7 in all of the remaining races in the schedule, including a 3rd-place podium finish at the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain.[18]
Later that same year, The Heart of Racing announced that they would be in charge of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Le Mans Hypercar programme for 2025, a project that Aston Martin revived after initially ending the project in 2020 to focus on their Formula One venture.[2] The team is also collaborating with Multimatic to assist with operations.[19]
2024
editIn 2024, The Heart of Racing confirmed that they would field two Aston Martin Valkyries for both the Hypercar class and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2025,[20][21] following an announcement at a press conference from organizers of the FIA World Endurance Championship that a Hypercar team would be required to field two cars to participate.[22] The team completed a shakedown with the new car, now named the Valkyrie AMR-LMH, at Silverstone Circuit and Donington Park in July, with Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner, Multimatic driver Harry Tincknell, and Heart of Racing's Mario Farnbacher present at the test.[23][24]
The Heart of Racing came to the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship this time under their name, now fully replacing NorthWest AMR as the second Aston Martin entrant. The team retained their driver lineup, keeping James, Riberas, and Mancinelli on board. The Heart of Racing secured their first LMGT3 class victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship that year, taking the win after starting from pole position at the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans.[25] They would complete the season having scored a total of three podiums and a win, finishing 5th in the LMGT3 standings.
For the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship, The Heart of Racing brought in Mario Farnbacher to replace Pittard and drive alongside Gunn and Riberas in the team's #23 GTD Pro entry. Turner would be replaced by Spencer Pumpelly and Zacharie Robichon in the #27 GTD entry. At the 2024 IMSA Battle on the Bricks, the #27 would move to the GTD Pro class, taking the number #027.[26] Towards the end of the season, Ross Gunn fought for the GTD Pro driver's championship against AO Racing's Laurin Heinrich, and at the final round in the 2024 Petit Le Mans, had the opportunity to clinch the title. Gunn ultimately settled as runner-up in the GTD Pro standings after being unable to pass Daniel Serra for 2nd position at the 2024 Petit Le Mans. Gunn needed to finish 2nd or better to win the title after Heinrich's squad suffered a momentary gearbox issue and failed to score.[27]
The Heart of Racing raced in the first four rounds of the 2024 GT4 America Series and took home two podiums with De Angelis and Newell behind the wheel.
Race results
edit24 Hours of Le Mans results
edit| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Drivers | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NorthWest AMR[a]
|
98 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas
|
LMGTE Am | 310 | 33rd | 6th |
| 2024 | Heart of Racing Team
|
27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas
|
LMGT3 | 196 | DNF | DNF |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
edit| Year | Entrant | Class | No | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NorthWest AMR[a]
|
LMGTE Am | 98 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Aston Martin M177 4.0 L Turbo V8 | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas
|
SEB | POR | SPA 7 |
LMS 6 |
MZA | FUJ 7 |
BHR 3 |
9th | 51 | |
| 2024 | Heart of Racing Team
|
LMGT3 | 27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo | Aston Martin M177 4.0 L Turbo V8 | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas
|
QAT 2 |
ITA 5 |
SPA 11 |
LMS Ret |
SAP 2 |
COA 1 |
FUJ 9 |
BHR | 4th* | 55* |
* Season still in progress.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
edit* Season still in progress.
Notes
edit- ^ a b Paul Dalla Lana retired from racing and withdrew his NorthWest AMR team with immediate effect a week before the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Heart of Racing took over the entry, but kept the NorthWest AMR name and number to conform with the championship regulations.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "24 Heures du Mans. Qu'est-ce que Heart of Racing, l'écurie qui permet le retour d'Aston Martin ?". ouest-france.fr. 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ a b Euwema, Davey (2023-10-04). "Heart of Racing to Run Valkyrie in IMSA, WEC in 2025 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "Valve boss Gabe Newell is raising money for NZ children's charity through car racing". PCGamesN. 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "Aston Martin to compete in Hypercar with The Heart of Racing". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "Don Kitch Jr". ProFormance Racing School. 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "Heart Of Racing IMSA Return Confirmed With Aston Martin". dailysportscar.com. 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ "CarBahn Loses GTD Win in Refueling Infraction". sportscar365.com. 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ Shackleton, Zane (2021-06-27). "Riberas and Kelly win three-hour finale, claim North Island title". VelocityNews. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Heart of Racing Confirms Aston Martin in GTD Pro". sportscar365.com. 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ "Heart of Racing takes double GTD victory at Watkins Glen". RACER. 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "Final IMSA 2022 points standings, results after the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta". nbcsports.com. 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
- ^ Lee, Kristen (2022-04-05). "A Twin-Supercharged Aston Martin V12 Vantage Drift Car Stole the Show at Formula Drift". The Drive. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2023-01-29). "Heart of Racing Aston Claims GTD Honors, Beating Pro Winner – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "IMSA Lime Rock: Heart of Racing Astons take both class wins". www.autosport.com. 2023-07-22. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
- ^ "It's race week! Northwest AMR replaced by Heart of Racing entry". www.fiawec.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ Euwema, Davey (2023-04-26). "Heart of Racing Anticipating "Baptism by Fire" at Spa – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2023-04-24). "Dalla Lana Calls Time on Racing Career – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
- ^ O'Connell, R. J. (2023-11-04). "Toyota number eight team take title with dominant Bahrain win". RaceFans. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Heart Of Racing Closing In On Valkyrie LMH Debut". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Aston Martin returns to Le Mans with two Valkyrie LMH hypercars in 2025 | Aston Martin". www.astonmartin.com. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
- ^ Dagys, John (2024-06-14). "Heart of Racing Set for Two-Car Valkyrie Hypercar Effort – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
- ^ "WEC confirms two-car rule for Hypercar manufacturers for 2025". www.motorsport.com. 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
- ^ "Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar completes shakedown test". www.autosport.com. 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ Euwema, Davey (2024-07-22). "Valkyrie AMR-LMH's First Runs an "Immensely Proud" Moment – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
- ^ "#83 Ferrari Holds On To Win Lone Star Le Mans". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
- ^ Dagys, John (2024-09-18). "Heart of Racing Moves No. 27 Aston to GTD Pro for Indy – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
- ^ "AO Racing's IMSA GTD Pro Triumph Represents The Peak Of Its Ascent". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-11-06.