- Aston Martin Valkyrie to make Far East competition debut in Japan
- Aston Martin THOR Team aims to capitalise on growing competitiveness of spectacular V12-powered British hypercar
- Valkyrie chases first top ten finish in FIA World Endurance Championship
- All-British line-up, Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble to race Valkyrie #007
- Three-time FIA WEC GT champion Marco Sørensen and Alex Riberas return to Valkyrie #009 for Fuji
- Valkyrie the only ‘Hypercar’ to contest the world’s two premier sportscar series, IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship
- Aston Martin honoured to be a pillar brand in WEC’s 100th race history, having participated in every round since its inception in 2012
23 September, 2025, Fuji Speedway, Japan: The spectacular new Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar makes its Far East competition debut this weekend as the British ultra-luxury performance brand celebrates 100 races in the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] when it participates in the 6 Hours of Fuji (Sunday, 28 September).
Aston Martin is one of three manufacturers to have been present at all WEC’s preceding 99 races, since the championship’s inception in 2012. In that time, some of the greatest glories of Aston Martin’s competitive history have been permanently etched into the honour roll of what has become the world’s most prestigious endurance series.
Having claimed an LMGTE Pro Class podium in the inaugural WEC event – the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring – with Darren Turner (GBR), Stefan Mücke (DEU) and Adrian Fernandez (MEX), Aston Martin has subsequently achieved (or contributed to) 11 world championship titles, notched up 53 class victories (the third highest of any manufacturer) and won its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times in the WEC era.
“Aston Martin is honoured to be participating in the 100th WEC race,’ said Adam Carter, Head of Endurance Motorsport. “Since the beginning, Aston Martin understood the value and the power of a global endurance campaign and WEC has been an essential part our race programme since its introduction. When you look at what WEC has grown into, with its depth of manufacturers, diversity of technical regulations and the exceptional standard of organisation and promotion, it is a huge testament to all those who work tirelessly to bring the championship to bear. We congratulate everyone involved in the series for this outstanding milestone and we firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
“For Aston Martin, this is also an important race. 100 consecutive events over 13 years of competition is a clear demonstration of our commitment to endurance racing – a value that can be traced all the way back to the very beginnings of the brand. To have recorded more than 50 class victories in that time, and to have achieved such a consistently high level of success speaks to the rich sporting pedigree we have worked so hard to achieve and maintain. With Valkyrie we aim to take the next step on that journey and strive to race at the front of the field and contest for outright victories in this prestigious and exceptional championship.”
Valkyrie’s sporting momentum continues to grow after a highly promising Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] earlier in the month. In only the fifth race of its trail-blazing debut WEC season, the unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered British hypercar, ran as high as fourth position long into the rain-affected race in Austin, TX. Moreover, Alex Riberas (ESP) qualified the #009 Valkyrie into the prestigious Hyperpole session for the second time and placed it eighth on the grid for the six-hour event – its highest starting position so far in the world championship.
This follows an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans (in June) where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue, finishing 12th and 14th, and the Aston Martin THOR Team registered the cars’, and Aston Martin’s first Manufacturer’s World Championship points in the Hypercar Class.
Valkyrie is the first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin. Raced by the works Aston Martin THOR Team, Valkyrie is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February.
The Aston Martin THOR Team will keep to its two regular WEC Valkyrie line-ups for the the 6 Hours of Fuji, with the #007 driven by Tom Gamble (GBR) and Harry Tincknell (GBR) and the #009 by Alex Riberas (ESP) and Marco Sørensen (DEN).
Developed from the Valkyrie production car by Aston Martin and THOR, the competition version blends a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000rpm and produces over 1000bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kw (680bhp) power limit as per hypercar regulations.
Tom Gamble, driver #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I’m very excited to be racing at Fuji for the first time. We’ve been improving every time we roll out the car and last time out in COTA we came close to a double-points finish with both cars. I’m confident we can keep improving and push for a good result next weekend!”
Harry Tincknell, driver #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I’m super-excited to be heading to Fuji. It’s obviously a very cool part of the world to be racing in. We’re coming off the back of a very positive race in Austin where the car was quick from the beginning of the race and where we showed strong pace in both the dry and the wet. The big thing for this learning year with Valkyrie is that we improve every race and we can do that again in Japan. Hopefully the circuit can play to our strengths like it did in Austin. It demands a lot from the drivers and the weather has been very changeable there over the years, but it’s a good track to race on and we go there more buoyant than ever.”
Alex Riberas, driver #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “I am really looking forward to Fuji, especially after the strong performance that we showed in Austin, even though we weren’t really able to capitalise with a result. The team showed really good performance in the wet a and the dry throughout the weekend. I think everybody is extremely motivated. We gained a lot of momentum from last weekend and I think we can carry that on in Fuji, keep progressing and keep improving as we have been doing all year long. It’s a very different track to Austin, with a surface that has much lower grip, so it’s going to be challenging out there for everybody, but I think we have a package that can be competitive once again.”
Marco Sørensen, driver #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie: “Going back to Fuji feels a little bit like going home for me – since I have raced in Japan quite a bit over the past couple of years. I’m really looking forward to it. We have been at Fuji nearly every year since I began endurance racing in 2015. I really hope we can maintain the positive momentum we have had with Valkyrie since Le Mans I would say. We’ve seen big improvements, and it seems like we are getting closer and closer so I really hope that Fuji provides that breakthrough result.”
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “Obviously the whole team was encouraged by the step forward in performance that Valkyrie took in Austin. The performances we saw at the Circuit of the Americas were a result of the continuous and methodical approach everyone in the team, from the drivers through to the mechanics, is taking in our first year with the car. The focus remains the same, to take incremental steps building performance through flawless execution. The competition we are racing against is the toughest in global endurance motorsport, so we keep need to keep doing this to keep moving forwards, because our rivals are not standing still.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “The Lone Star Le Mans event provided a clear indication of the growing potential of Valkyrie. To be running in the top six and to have set front-running pace throughout the weekend’s sessions was very encouraging to witness. The objective is continue this positive momentum curve for the rest of this season and we believe that as we gain more experience with every race we are on course to do just that.”
Vantage celebrates glorious run as WEC reaches 100 races at the 6 Hours of Fuji
- Aston Martin Vantage returns to Fuji as one of the most successful GT racing cars in the history of the FIA World Endurance Championship
- Vantage chasing first win of WEC season at Round 6, in Japan
- Ian James leads THOR challenge alongside teammates Zach Robichon and works driver Mattia Drudi
- A Racing Spirit of Léman return for Anthony MacIntosh after starring in WEC debut at Interlagos in July
Aston Martin’s most successful sportscar of all time, Vantage, celebrates 100 races in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji (28 September), Round 6 of the series.
Through five iterations, spanning 12 and a half seasons, the glorious Vantage has claimed 53 GT class victories – the second highest of any manufacturer. It has won races in every WEC class it has contested (LMGTE Pro, LMGTE Am and LMGT3), and with every version of Vantage that Aston Martin has introduced. Responsible for 11 world championship titles, and five 24 Hours of Le Mans class wins in the WEC era, Vantage has also claimed 68 class pole positions, and of all its drivers Pedro Lamy (POR) still holds the record as the most successful GT driver in WEC with 19 victories; all with Vantage.
The most successful GTE Am (2012-2022) car of all-time, Vantage recorded 33 wins and 29 pole positions before the class was retired to make way for the current LMGT3 category which embarks on its 15th race this weekend.
Vantage’s record at Fuji is no less impressive; with seven class victories derived from 16 podium appearances – two of which were double-class wins – as well as nine class pole positions. On only three occasions has the Fuji WEC podium not featured a Vantage driver crew.
This year, for the 100th WEC race, two partner teams, The Heart of Racing [THOR] and Racing Spirit of Léman [RSL] uphold Vantage’s honour at Fuji. Team principal Ian James (GBR) returns this year as a regular class frontrunner, alongside Zach Robichon (CDN) and Mattia Drudi (ITA) looking to break the team’s 2025 podium duck with the #27 Vantage.
RSL recalls Anthony MacIntosh (USA) who starred on his WEC debut in the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo alongside Eduardo Barrichello (BRA) and Aston Martin works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot (FRA) in the #10 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The trio achieved the team’s first WEC podium finish in LMGT3, after Barrichello raced to a dramatic third place in the closing stages; with MacIntosh and the Brazilian having worked together to claim the class pole on the previous day.
“Vantage has a proud and glorious history in WEC, which celebrates its 100th start this weekend at Fuji,” said Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter. “I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate that than one or both of our partner teams achieving a podium finish this weekend. Both teams, crews and, of course, cars have certainly proven they have the potential.”
Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury performance brand’s most focused sportscar, the Vantage GT3, is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. As well as victory in IMSA at Watkins Glen, the car recorded class victory in the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as well as a class podium in the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring, in June.
How to follow
The 6 Hours of Fuji will begin at 1100 local time (+8 Hours BST) on Sunday, 28 September. Final practice, qualifying and the race will be broadcast live on FIA WEC TV online with a choice of English or French-language commentary and via selected broadcasters at a national level.
Automobile Magazine-UK
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