Yahoo Autos Aston Martin will return to Le Mans in 2025 with Valkyrie hypercar
It's for real this time, we swear! Well, Aston Martin does, anyway. That's right: The British automaker officially announced Wednesday that it will run a racing prototype of its Valkyrie in the Hypercar class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025 — alongside a return to the highest tiers of endurance racing. In partnership with Heart of Racing, Aston Martin says at least one Valkyrie race car will be entered in the top Hypercar class of both the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships (IMSA) from 2025. This means the Valkyrie will also compete in the Rolex 24 and 12 Hours of Sebring.
"We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days," said Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda. "Through those glorious endeavours we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years. Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built."
Per Aston Martin, more than 240 drivers have represented the brand at Le Mans over the course of the company's 95-year history. And 19 of its cars have clinched class victories, but only once has the marque taken the top spot on the overall podium: Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby did it in 1959 with the DBR1.
