Aston Martin believes its fourth-place finish at the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) provided another clear indication of the progress made with the Valkyrie during its second FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.
Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble brought the #007 Aston Martin THOR Team entry home fourth at the Circuit of The Americas after challenging near the front throughout the six-hour race. The result continued a strong run for the British pairing, who have now scored points in five consecutive rounds after struggling to break into the top 10 during the Valkyrie’s debut campaign.
The manufacturer also enjoyed success in LMGT3, where Heart of Racing converted a strong weekend into victory for the #27 Vantage AMR and third for the sister #23. Together, the results gave Aston Martin one of its strongest overall WEC weekends since introducing its current Hypercar and LMGT3 programmes.
Aston Martin sees clear progress with Valkyrie
The Valkyrie entered WEC in 2025 as the only Hypercar derived from a road-going model, but Aston Martin initially faced a steep development curve against manufacturers with substantially more experience in the category.
At its debut in the Qatar 1812km, the car qualified more than three seconds away from the leading pace and failed to score during its first six races. However, the programme began showing signs of progress towards the end of that season when Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen finished inside the top seven at each of the final two rounds.
That upward trajectory has continued into 2026. Tincknell and Gamble, whose best result during the previous campaign had been 13th, have emerged as consistent points scorers and increasingly regular contenders towards the front.
Aston Martin Head of Endurance Adam Carter believes the COTA weekend demonstrated how far the programme has advanced.
“This result was another example of the progress we continue to make in understanding Valkyrie,” commented Aston Martin Head of Endurance, Adam Carter. “The team delivered an exceptional performance and a podium position was tantalisingly close.
“This championship is packed full of world-class competition, and many of the teams we are racing against have years more accumulated data and understanding to draw upon than we do, so we can take considerable satisfaction from this performance. That said, we intend to continue pushing until the end of the season to see what more can be achieved with Valkyrie in 2026.”
Tincknell and Gamble extend points-scoring run
The #007 crew has gradually turned consistency into stronger outright results throughout the season.
Tincknell and Gamble finished ninth at Imola before taking fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, which marked one of Aston Martin’s strongest Hypercar finishes at that stage of the programme. They followed that with eighth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and sixth at São Paulo.
The Brazilian round also delivered Aston Martin THOR Team’s first double top-10 finish, providing another indication that both cars had begun moving closer to the established Hypercar contenders.
COTA continued that progression. The #007 topped two of the weekend’s three practice sessions before advancing to Hyperpole and securing a second-row starting position. Tincknell and Gamble then remained in podium contention during the race and ultimately finished fourth, only a few seconds away from the top three.
The result also strengthened their position in the Drivers’ standings, while Aston Martin remains involved in a close fight with Alpine for fifth in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
James impressed by Aston Martin’s pace after 18 months
Aston Martin Team Principal Ian James highlighted the speed of the programme’s progression after another competitive showing.
The Valkyrie has competed at WEC level for only around 18 months, leaving the team with significantly less data than many of its rivals. Nevertheless, Aston Martin has increasingly brought the car into battles with manufacturers that have competed throughout the current Hypercar era.
James believes the narrow margin to the COTA podium showed just how quickly the operation has developed.
“To finish just a couple of seconds away from the podium was a spectacular performance,” commented Team Principal, Ian James. “It shows how much progress we continue to make with this car and team. I’m a racing fan as much as anyone, and when you see the dicing and how close everything is at the front now, it’s exceptional that we’ve come to a place where the team is competing at this level after only 18 months.”
Although Aston Martin still searches for its first WEC Hypercar podium with the Valkyrie, its recent results have brought that target considerably closer.
Aston Martin continues evaluating Valkyrie development
While the team remains focused on the final three rounds of the current campaign, Aston Martin has also begun evaluating potential developments that could improve the Valkyrie for 2027.
The manufacturer continues exploring areas where it can extract additional performance as it builds a larger body of race and testing data. However, its recent form means the current specification still has opportunities to deliver stronger results before the end of 2026.
COTA highlighted that balance. Aston Martin demonstrated enough speed to lead practice sessions, qualify near the front and challenge for a podium without relying on unusual race circumstances.
The manufacturer now heads towards the closing stages of the season aiming to convert that increasingly consistent competitiveness into its first top-three Hypercar finish.
Heart of Racing delivers breakthrough LMGT3 victory
Aston Martin’s COTA success extended beyond the Hypercar class as Heart of Racing enjoyed a landmark weekend with the Vantage AMR in LMGT3.
James combined his Team Principal responsibilities with his regular driving duties in the #27 alongside Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon. The trio converted a strong weekend into victory, giving the entry its first win of the season.
The result carried additional significance because COTA has previously proved successful for the team. Heart of Racing also won at the Texas circuit two years earlier, and the latest victory reinforced the Vantage’s affinity with the venue.
The #23 entry added another podium through Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam. Barrichello had earlier put the car on pole position as Aston Martin secured a front-row lockout, and the crew eventually finished third.
That gave Heart of Racing first and third in LMGT3 and represented Aston Martin’s first double podium in the class.
James relieved to convert potential into victory
Heart of Racing had come close to securing a breakthrough on several occasions during the previous two seasons without consistently converting its pace into victories.
James therefore viewed the COTA result as an important reward for the work undertaken by the team.
“It feels like we’ve finally got the monkey off our back,” reflected James. “We’ve been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all-round and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do.”
The result also continued a strong run for the #23 crew, which secured its second podium in three rounds.
Heart of Racing’s double podium placed both Aston Martins firmly among the leading LMGT3 contenders and added another major result to a season in which the Vantage has regularly demonstrated competitive pace.
Carter praises Vantage performance
Carter also highlighted the strength of the Vantage programme after both cars reached the podium.
Aston Martin has established the latest-generation Vantage as a consistent LMGT3 contender during 2026, but the COTA victory finally converted that pace into the result the manufacturer had been pursuing.
“This was an exemplary performance from Vantage, and a fantastic result for our partner team,” added Carter. “Vantage has been a competitive force in FIA WEC throughout 2026, and this victory feels long overdue. To see both THOR crews up on the podium underlines how well the car performed and just what a high level the team is operating at.”
The outcome gave Aston Martin success at both ends of the WEC field, with the Hypercar programme coming within reach of its first podium while the LMGT3 operation converted its potential into victory.
COTA underlines Aston Martin’s upward WEC trajectory
Aston Martin ultimately left Texas without the Valkyrie podium it continues to chase, but its performance suggested that such a result has moved increasingly within reach.
The #007’s fourth place followed competitive pace across practice and qualifying and extended Tincknell and Gamble’s run of points finishes to five consecutive rounds. That consistency contrasts sharply with the difficult opening months of the programme and places Aston Martin in a stronger position as it approaches the final part of the season.
At the same time, Heart of Racing’s victory and double LMGT3 podium gave the manufacturer a tangible reward at COTA and strengthened an already competitive campaign for the Vantage.
Aston Martin still has work to do before it consistently challenges the established Hypercar frontrunners, while its battle with Alpine remains an immediate championship priority. However, another fourth-place finish and a genuine podium challenge have provided further evidence that the Valkyrie programme continues moving in the right direction.
