Valkyrie
Highlights
- Aston Martin THOR Team achieves Valkyrie’s best-ever result in the FIA World Endurance Championship
- British duo Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble deliver second consecutive points finish in strong start to WEC campaign
- Valkyrie has now finished in the points for the last four WEC races
- Aston Martin fourth in WEC Hypercar Manufacturers’ standings
- Valkyrie the only road-derived hypercar to contest world’s two premier sportscar series, the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA
The Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar laid down an encouraging marker ahead of next month’s 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans campaign with a fourth-place finish at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps — the car’s strongest result yet in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Competing in its 10th WEC outing since debuting in Qatar last year, the British-built hypercar, driven by Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell, crossed the finish line just five seconds behind the winner after a dramatic and incident-filled race that delivered a thrilling conclusion and underlined endurance racing’s appeal.
Run by the factory-backed Aston Martin THOR Team, the #007 Valkyrie emerged as a contender in the final two hours thanks to sharp strategy calls and aggressive overtaking from Tincknell. A well-timed Safety Car period also enabled the team to refuel and synchronize its strategy with its rivals.
Tincknell executed two decisive overtakes within a single lap to move from 10th to eighth. Further Safety Car interruptions in the closing stages then brought Gamble into a five-car battle for second place. At the final restart, Gamble narrowly avoided a spinning Alpine at Eau Rouge before overtaking a Toyota in the closing five minutes to secure fourth place in a frantic sprint to the flag.
The sister #009 Valkyrie, driven by Marco Sørensen and Alex Riberas, appeared poised to join the points-scoring positions before misfortune struck late in the race. Running comfortably inside the top 10 and well placed on soft tires ahead of the penultimate restart, Riberas was forced onto the grass along the Kemmel Straight while attempting to pass for fifth place. The ensuing spin triggered the race’s final Safety Car period and ultimately forced the car into retirement, ending what had otherwise been an impressive performance.
The result marked not only Valkyrie’s best WEC finish to date, but also the strongest race yet for the #007 crew and a second consecutive points finish for Gamble and Tincknell. Aston Martin now sits fourth in the Hypercar Manufacturers’ Championship, while the British pairing occupies ninth place in the drivers’ standings.
Valkyrie’s run of points-scoring finishes has now stretched to four races, following previous results in Fuji and Bahrain at the end of last season. Qualifying at Spa also represented a milestone for Aston Martin THOR Team, with both Valkyries progressing to Hyperpole and securing sixth and seventh on the grid.
Attention now turns to the championship’s marquee event, the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 13–14 June, where Valkyrie will seek to build on Aston Martin’s historic outright victory in 1959 with Roy Salvadori, Carroll Shelby and the iconic DBR1.
Aston Martin Vantage
Highlights
- The Heart of Racing Team finishes second in the 6 Hours of Spa
- Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi kickstart their world championship campaign with hard-fought Spa podium
- 17th WEC podium appearance at Spa for Aston Martin’s most successful racing car – the Aston Martin Vantage
- The second-place finish in class also revived the team’s championship ambitions and helped erase the frustration of the opening round at Imola, where the crew retired while challenging for another strong points result.
James secured a front-row start in class after advancing to the Hyperpole session, before Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona pole-sitter Robichon converted that pace into second on the grid. James, who also serves as team principal, held the position in the early stages while completing a double stint to satisfy his drive-time requirements.
After sustaining light contact from a hypercar, James handed the car over to Robichon in sixth place. Despite the incident, the damage proved superficial, allowing Zach to recover the car to a competitive fourth position.
A series of late-race Safety Car periods then reset the field and opened the door for a late charge from Drudi, who fought his way into the podium positions. Initially classified third on the road, the crew was elevated to second after the race-leading car received a five-second penalty for a pit-lane infringement.
“To finish second was fantastic,” said James. “I did my part and Zach and Mattia did a wonderful job in the car, and the team was perfect all day long. To get to stand back on the podium is great too.”
The podium finish in Belgium marked the 17th podium appearance for a Vantage crew since 2012, during which Aston Martin’s most successful racing model has also claimed five class victories.
Sharing its core mechanical architecture with the ultra-luxury Vantage road car, the Vantage GT3 — winner of last year’s 24 Hours of Spa, the world’s premier GT3-only endurance race — is built around Aston Martin’s bonded aluminum chassis and powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine.
Above contents © 2026 Aston Martin Racing reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee
