De Angelis ‘Hoping to Fight’ for Valkyrie’s First Win in Year Two

Roman De Angelis believes that Heart of Racing Team “can hopefully fight for our first win” with the Aston Martin Valkyrie as it enters a second season of competition.

The LMH-based Valkyrie competed in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship last year, making its debut at the WEC’s Qatar 1812km.

The program had some standout results, including a fifth place result at the 6 Hours of Fuji and a podium finish at Motul Petit Le Mans for De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas.

“We’re obviously always still learning and we’re quite humble about the competition and where we are, but I also think that we’re in a position where hopefully those podiums and those top-five finishes are more constant this year than last,” De Angelis told Sportscar365.

“Every weekend we got stronger and stronger and stronger. That was just a learning process.

“Overall just the execution of the team last year was phenomenal. From the engineering standpoint and from the pit lane standpoint, I feel like we were one of the stronger teams.

“So I think what we were able to do last year was very impressive and a pat on the back to everyone involved in The Heart of Racing and Aston Martin.”

The Valkyrie will race with the same driver lineups this year and has seen far fewer developments compared to its LMDh competitors, with the V12-powered prototype not taking any Evo jokers.

“I think going into a year in general with the same people as before, the same car as before, you’re always a bit more confident,” said De Angelis. “Every every time I sit in the car I’m more comfortable.

“After a full season relative to jumping in the car in Qatar for the first time last year, I definitely have a bit better of an idea of what to expect with the car, the chassis, all the controls as well, which is something that was quite new to us last year and quite a challenge.

“As a team and as an organization and as an engineering group, we have a much better understanding of the car.”

Alex Riberas echoed his teammate’s positivity, also taking pride in having been part of the car’s development process.

“One of the most special feelings I had last year that I will remember forever is being able to give your own input and see how that input has a consequence in a design and that change ends up creating an improvement on track,” he told Sportscar365.

“I’m really excited to continue that line. I think we have to stay grounded and be realistic.

“We’re still facing some insanely good teams and the competition is super high, but if we continue working our way, I think we’re going to be happy with the results by the end of the year.”

Riberas said that he would consider a podium in both the WEC and WeatherTech Championship a success for the team this year.

The Valkyrie is set to make its Rolex 24 debut this weekend, with the Ian James-led outfit having elected to skip the first round of the WeatherTech Championship in 2025 in favor of a series debut at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

“I think in Daytona we don’t really have much of an expectation,” said Riberas. “I think being the first time for the car here, it’s a very unique track.

“We faced some difficulties in the test we did here last year.”

Electrical issues limited the Valkyrie’s track-time in the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway last November.

The car has also shown a lack of pace at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 compared to its GTP rivals.

“We need to make it to the morning on Sunday and everything between now and then is kind of just making sure that we’re as prepared as possible,” added De Angelis.

“We just have to make sure that we execute everything we can, driver changes, pit stops, set up to make sure that come Sunday morning, we’re in a strong position to fight.”

John Dagys contributed to this report.