Heart of Racing “Under No Illusions” With Updated Aston

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

The Heart of Racing is under “no illusions” on how difficult the Rolex 24 at Daytona could be for the team in the competition debut of Aston Martin’s updated Vantage GT3 according to Ross Gunn.

The British manufacturer, which has yet to formally launch its yet-to-be-named GT3 model, has rolled out with significant updates, primarily in the aero department, compared to the previous-gen Vantage GT3 car that debuted in 2018.

“We’re learning a lot about it,” Gunn told Sportscar365. “It’s pretty different in many ways. It’s also still a Vantage.

“We had a really solid test here pre-Christmas and we’re very excited to bring it here for the first time in a racing sense.

“But we’re under no illusions on how difficult it will be as well, because we are still learning a lot.”

The Aston Martin factory driver returns to the GTD Pro ranks alongside Alex Riberas in the team’s No. 23 entry, with Mario Farnbacher completing the lineup for the Michelin Endurance Cup races.

Gunn noted that the team needs to have realistic expectations for next weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, given the variables at play.

The Aston is one of four either brand-new or updated GT3 cars that are making its Daytona debuts.

“Of course we’re all here to win, but I think being realistic, the biggest thing for us is to to learn,” Gunn said.

“If we can come away with a clean race, learning about the car to head into the rest of the season, that will be a really good start.

“We have to be realistic in that new cars usually take a while to learn and also Daytona is potentially a race that we have to just use this as an opportunity.

“To be honest I think we’ll get a bit more of a picture come Sunday as to where we are but I definitely want to be realistic and focus on our job at hand.”

Gunn said a number of enhancements have been made to the Aston to be better suited to gentlemen drivers, something that will reap benefits in Pro-Am competitions worldwide.

“I think that’s quite a big thing nowadays in GT3 racing is that a lot of these manufacturers are looking for a car with a wide working window,” he said.

“I definitely think we’ve managed to make a lot of progress in that area.

“The previous generation was a very quick car but it has a smaller working window than it is now.

“With that in mind, I think it’s going to be a good step for gentlemen drivers.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John