Heart of Racing Targeting LMGT3 Auto Invite in Asian Campaign

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Heart of Racing Team has set its sights on fielding a third Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, should the American squad secure an auto-invite by winning the Asian Le Mans Series class championship.

Team principal Ian James confirmed that it would take up the entry for the French endurance classic, in what could mean a five-car operation across its expected two-car Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar effort and continued dual LMGT3 full season presence in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year.

Speaking with Sportscar365, James outlined the reasons of entering the winter championship for the first time: “It was tough with the WEC program to hit the ground running with the delay in the start of [this] season.

“So the genesis was really to keep everybody together and keep working over the winter and keep improving, and nothing does that better than competition.”

James, who admitted they would even have likely run the series if it was held in Asia, confirmed the two-car Asian GT class effort will “identical” from a crew standpoint, although they “could” have variations in its driver lineups.

So far, only the U.S.-based Briton and fellow FIA Bronze-rated pilot Gray Newell are confirmed for the six-race season that kicks off at Paul Ricard on the week after next month’s WEC season-ending 6 Hours of Monza.

“I think 29 cars is epic,” said James of the GT class field. “The racing could be really good. Obviously the points spread will be really good if you have a bad weekend.

“I think consistency will be the key there. It’s interesting.

“More than anything else, rather than results, it’s just keep repeating the processes and not making mistakes and working through everything and keeping the drivers sharp.

“It will be a valuable tool.”

When asked if they would take up the Le Mans auto-invite, James said: “If we won the championship, we would add a GT car. We’d have a five car entry [for Le Mans]. Why not? Let’s go for it.”

Heart of Racing Plotting Bathurst 12 Hour Return

In addition to contesting the so-called ‘Winter Le Mans Series’ James said there’s currently a “50/50” chance Heart of Racing will also again tackle the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour, a race the team won in the Bronze class in 2025.

Should the program materialize, it would look similar to recent years where SPS automotive performance would operate a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the team.

James has been the only mainstay in the lineup over its last three efforts, which most recently featured Eduardo Barrichello and Roman De Angelis as co-drivers.

“We’ve got a lot going on so we just have to see how all that pans out,” said James. “It’s an awesome event. We’re trying to get back there.”

It would mark the second North American team to commit to the 2027 Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener, following news that 13 Autosport will make its debut at Mount Panorama with a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

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