Heart of Racing Focused on GTs for “Next Couple of Years”

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Ian James has downplayed media reports linking The Heart of Racing to an imminent Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar program, stating that he envisions staying in the GT ranks for the “next couple of years.”

The Heart of Racing team principal addressed a report in Autosport that indicated that a decision is “weeks away” to green-light a LMH program that would be run by the American squad in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship beginning in 2025.

Speaking with Sportscar365, James wouldn’t deny the team’s desire to eventually race in the top class but stressed that its focus remains in GT racing for the time being.

“I see lots of reports but most of it is news to me,” he told Sportscar365.

“Long term, our goal is to be in the top class. But we have no direct path to that right now. There’s nothing in the immediate future.

“Nothing’s agreed or signed or there’s a definitive direction.

“I can’t imagine us not being in GT for the next couple of years. But things move fast so you never know.

“I would never rule it out. I see the way motorsport moves and things happen on a flip of a coin.

“But we’re definitely doing GT next year. That’s what we need to put to bed first.”

James said that the team intends to continue with a similar program in 2024, with the goal of again having Aston Martin Vantage GT3s in both the GTD Pro and GTD classes of the WeatherTech Championship next year, alongside a single-car LMGT3 entry in the WEC.

While the team owns an Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, James said the suggestion of converting the track day car into a LMH machine would be wide of the mark, suggesting that a bespoke car would need to be built from the ground-up with full factory involvement.

“I don’t think a privateer team could do it,” he said. “I think it has to be a factory thing. It’s an intricate process. An AMR Pro is definitely not a LMH car.

“It’s lighter, it’s more downforce. If they would race a derivative of that car, I would have thought it would have had to be more of a bespoke piece.

“It’s not as simple of a process of changing the wings on it and run it.”

James indicated that The Heart of Racing wouldn’t be directly involved, including from an investment point of view, in restarting the Valkyrie LMH project, which was canned in 2020, citing the introduction of the LMDh platform as a reason from the British manufacturer.

However, he said if the car becomes an viable option to purchase, he said they would consider it against the market options at the time.

“I don’t have any definitive plan for a Valkyrie or an Acura or a Cadillac, etc,” James said. “If we went to the top class, it would be what the best package is available.

“If we went, it would have to be manufacturer-driven. I don’t think anybody could compete in Hypercar unless it’s manufacturer-driven. That’s my personal opinion.

“I think the manufacturer would have to be the driving force. Because as far as I understand it’s so intricate on the relationship, the homologation, and all of that. It goes on and on and on.

“Glickenhaus did their own thing and Vanwall [too]. None of that is at the same level of what’s needed to be competitive in that class now.”

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