Unchanged Lineup for Heart of Racing LMGT3 Effort

The Heart of Racing will go into its second FIA World Endurance Championship season with an unchanged driver lineup as it represents Aston Martin in the new LMGT3 class.

Team principal and Bronze-rated driver Ian James, who was named for the effort when the entry was confirmed as part of WEC’s initial full season entry list back in November, will be joined by Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas.

Mancinelli and Riberas joined James when Heart of Racing took over NorthWest AMR’s GTE-Am entry as part of a mid-season switch last year, triggered by the retirement of longtime Aston Martin-affiliated gentleman driver Paul Dalla Lana.

The three drivers closed out their first partial WEC campaign with a class podium at the season finale in Bahrain and remain on board for the second year, which will see the team compete under its own name in the series for the first time.

The team continued to run under the NorthWest AMR banner even after taking over the entry, as mid-season changes to an entry name are not permitted in WEC.

“We’re going to continue the way we finished off last season,” said James.

“Alex, Dani and myself, I think we make a good team together. We learned a lot last year in WEC and we look forward to continuing that this season and with the introduction of the GT3 class see what we can achieve.”

Farnbacher to Stand In for Riberas During WEC-IMSA Clashes

Riberas’ inclusion in the WEC lineup will force Heart of Racing to reshuffle its lineup for a few IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events this season.

In addition to his WEC commitments, Riberas is also part of the team’s full season GTD Pro driver squad in the WeatherTech Championship alongside Ross Gunn.

Instead, Michelin Endurance Cup driver Mario Farnbacher will replace Riberas for the WeatherTech Championship rounds at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which clash with the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, respectively.

“Competing in WEC is a dream come true,” said Riberas.

“I always wanted to race in the full WEC championship season, and this will be my first time so it’s an honor and a privilege to be part of it.

“I think with Dani and Ian it’s a dream lineup. I cannot wait for Qatar to see how everything develops in the new class.

“It’s really hard to see and to expect where we’re going to be against the competition, but regardless, it’s a phenomenal project and really exciting for this new adventure.”