MOTORSPORT – THE Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar is concluding its debut season in international competition this weekend when it participates in the climax of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
Valkyrie is the first Le Mans Hypercar to be produced by Aston Martin. Raced by the works Aston Martin Thor Team, it is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February.
This unique, ambitious, and trail-blazing programme has grown in competitiveness at every turn through a gruelling season that has already covered nearly 22,000 racing miles and seven WEC rounds, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for the two stunning, green Aston Martins.
“Aston Martin entered Hypercar in 2025 to compete on the world stage in endurance racing and at the highest level of competition,” said Aston Martin endurance motorsport head Adam Carter. “In WEC and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America, we have found that level of competition to be extremely high, full of great talent, with some well-established and deservedly respected programmes to race against.”
Valkyrie’s sporting momentum continues to grow after a highly promising September in which it fought for a podium position in the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan before recording its best WEC finish with fifth position overall. This, after the unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered British hypercar ran as high as fourth position in the rain-affected race in Austin in the US earlier in the same month.
Then in the IMSA finale – the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta – in mid-October, Valkyrie clinched its first podium in global competition, coming home within five seconds of a famous maiden victory.
This all follows an encouraging 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, where both Valkyrie hypercars completed their maiden twice-around-the-clock event without issue to finish 12th and 14th, and the Aston Martin Thor Team registered the cars’ – and Aston Martin’s – first manufacturers’ world championship points in the Hypercar class.
The three works drivers responsible for the podium in Atlanta, Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, and Alex Riberas, are all returning to action in Bahrain as the eight-hour race length requires that each car is shared by three racers.
Gunn is re-joining his British compatriots Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble in the #007 Valkyrie, having shared the car with them in Qatar and again at Le Mans. The same goes for De Angelis, who is driving the #009 entry alongside Riberas and three-time WEC GT champion Marco Sorensen.
Meanwhile, 2024 Spa 24 Hours winner and Aston Martin works driver Mattia Drudi will get his first chance to sample WEC-specification Hypercar class machinery when he drives the Aston Martin Thor Team Valkyrie in the official WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain on Sunday at BIC.
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