Gamble Hoping for Valkyrie “Breakthrough” Podium at COTA

Photo: Andrea Lorenzina/DPPI

Tom Gamble is hoping this weekend’s Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas can deliver a “breakthrough podium” for the Aston Martin Valkyrie in FIA World Endurance Championship competition.

The British manufacturer with the American-flagged Heart of Racing squad has made consistent gains over the course of the season, highlighted by a fourth place finish for Gamble and co-driver Harry Tincknell in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the first double point finish for the program last time out at Interlagos.

“We had a really fast car [at COTA] last year, both in the dry, which we never really got to demonstrate too much because it was wet on slicks in quali, and then the race was really wet,” Gamble told Sportscar365.

“But even in the race, we had a really fast car in the wet. I think any condition should be good for us.

“The track suits the car a little bit more and we’re so much further now with the development of the car in terms of the systems and stuff like that, I think we should be in good shape to challenge for a really strong result.

“But in saying that, it seems like the level is always creeping up. Even with Genesis now, they seems to be getting really, really fast each race and are quicker and quicker.

“The competition is heating up.”

While there have been performance swings in the WEC, particularly this year with the Balance of Performance numbers held behind the curtain, Gamble said the level of competition has also increased as a whole.

“It’s fun in a way when it goes your way but the unpredictability of how strong is the competition going to be this weekend?” he asked.

“Going off last year, that was probably the first race where we were at the top of one of the time sheets, and very much at the sharp end.

“It was a bit of a turnaround weekend of like, ‘Oh we’ve got some strong pace now.’

“COTA and Fuji tended last year to suit the car, the nature of the circuits worked quite well for us. Hopefully we can finally make that breakthrough podium.

“Obviously we had a breakthrough result, even with both cars in the points at Brazil.

“Brazil last year was a real struggle for us and this year, we had a P6 in the end, which was a pretty good result for a track that we didn’t think would be super strong for us.

“We had some really, really strong pace at the end of the race as well. We’ll see how it gets on.”

Gamble Expecting a “Workout” This Weekend in Only Two-Driver Squads

Both of the Heart of Racing Valkyries are the only teams to utilize two-driver lineups this weekend, something Gamble said could lead to a bit of a “workout” in the Nos. 007 and 009 drivers.

Temperatures are set to near the triple-digits in Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), with heat indexes in the 110s (43-plus).

“Luckily it rained last year, so it was a bit of a savior,” said Gamble. “I think it will be alright. The Valkyrie’s got really good driver cooling, so it should be fine.

“We’ll probably do a double [stint] each and then a single and a single at the end.

“Two drivers, it might be a bit of a workout, but I’m sure it will be fine. We’ve got food physios and stuff to keep us in good fitness and health throughout the race.

“Hopefully it cools down a little bit, but I’m sure it’s going to be very, very hot.

“The rain last year made our lives a little bit easier.

“The two of us have had a solid season so far. It would be nice to finally get on that podium.”

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