De Angelis to Replace James in Heart of Racing GT4 Lineup

Photo: Camden Thrasher/Heart of Racing

Roman De Angelis is set to add the remaining Pirelli GT4 America rounds to his racing schedule, having been confirmed as Ian James’ replacement in the No. 24 Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

The reigning IMSA GTD class champion will team up with Gray Newell in the Pro-Am class entry beginning with this weekend’s rounds at NOLA Motorsports Park.

James, the team principal of Heart of Racing, is unavailable due to the team’s last-minute call-up to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the GTE-Am ranks.

Heart of Racing’s No. 25 Aston Martin GT4 entry remains unchanged with the lineup of Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt, which is competing in the Am class.

De Angelis will make his first SRO America start since the 2020 season where he earned wins at Circuit of The Americas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Newell/De Angelis duo already have previous racing experience together, as the two have teamed up most recently in the 24H Series scoring a class win at the 12H of Mugello in March.

“I’m super excited to be in SRO GT4 America,” said De Angelis.

“I’ve had the opportunity to do once before with another team and not only had a lot of fun racing in the series, but had some good results. Being with Gray in the car who knows the series well will be nice to help me understand the weekend’s layouts and how the racing is.”

Newell added: “NOLA presents a good challenge for us to get back on the horse and dig in. “I’m looking to apply some new techniques from my time at Mugello and make my place in the championship stick.”

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