With potential titles on the road, the Coronary heart of Racing workforce has gone with two GTD PRO entries for the upcoming six-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Indianapolis this weekend. Usually campaigning an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in each GTD PRO and GTD, the workforce is placing Roman De Angelis and Mario Farnbacher in GTD PRO within the No. 27, including to the No. 23 of Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas.
Gunn, with 4 podium finishes together with a win on the Six Hours on the Glen in June, goes into Indy solely 17 factors out of the championship lead (Riberas has missed a number of races resulting from conflicts with the FIA World Endurance Championship). Coronary heart of Racing, and Aston Martin, have the identical margin for the groups’ and producers’ championships. Laurin Heinrich, AO Racing and Porsche at present lead these standings.
In final 12 months’s 2h40m race at Indianapolis, Gunn and Riberas completed second. With De Angelis having no shot at replicating his 2022 GTD title, the workforce is trying to construct on final 12 months’s robust end at Indy by doubling its efforts in GTD PRO.
“This level within the season is getting actually thrilling,” stated Gunn. “We now have simply two races to go and our full focus is on the races forward. Final 12 months we had a powerful run at Indianapolis and this 12 months the aim is to copy that very same success. The Coronary heart of Racing Group has finished an superior job this season to deliver constant ends in the championship and I’m very happy with the efforts they’ve put in up so far. Everyone seems to be extremely motivated going into these subsequent two races and from my perspective, I’ve been making ready as exhausting as ever and I’m actually excited to get again out on monitor.”
De Angelis shall be making his first begin within the GTD PRO class, the Canadian was moved from Silver to Gold driver rating after the 2023 season, making him eligible for the category transfer. Final 12 months at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, De Angelis positioned fourth after main the GTD subject for 28 laps.
“I’m wanting ahead to a different IMSA endurance race, particularly with this one being the primary endurance race at Indy,” stated De Angelis. “It’s thrilling to be becoming a member of the GTD PRO subject and driving with Mario. My mindset actually doesn’t change a lot as we all the time have GTD and GTD PRO automobiles combined in and battling. I’m wanting ahead to the expertise and new problem!”
Becoming a member of De Angelis for the primary time this season is Farnbacher, who has been the endurance and fill-in driver for Riberas within the No. 23 Coronary heart of Racing entry for 4 races thus far this season. Farnbacher is not any stranger to the Brickyard, having competed on the 2.439-mile circuit in 2014 with workforce principal Ian James, securing a sixth-place end. Since then, the German driver has completed second (2022) and fourth (2023) there in SRO’s GT World Problem America eight-hour endurance race.
“I’m actually wanting ahead to teaming up with Roman,” stated Farnbacher, the 2020 GTD champion. “This weekend I shall be working with the No. 27 workforce as an alternative of the No. 23 workforce like I’ve been with. I’m wanting ahead to the problem with Roman, it is going to be cool to workforce up with him; he’s a extremely good, quick younger man. It’s improbable to get an opportunity to get chosen from the drivers to be there and a giant thanks to the workforce. We additionally get to be on the well-known Brickyard. I’m actually wanting ahead to the problem of the endurance race there.”
Along with the double GTD PRO entry, the Coronary heart of Racing’s 2022 feminine driver shootout winner Hannah Grisham will make her first IMSA Lamborghini Tremendous Trofeo begin with Forty7 Motorsports at Indy. Grisham at present drives the No. 26 Coronary heart of Racing SRO Pirelli GT4 America entry alongside Hannah Greenemeier. The duo at present have 5 podium finishes on the season together with a win at Sonoma Raceway.
“I’m very excited to be racing at Indy this weekend with IMSA in Tremendous Trofeo,” stated Grisham. “Indy is a monitor I’ve had some success at up to now and I’m hoping to hold that into this coming weekend. I’ve solely made one prior IMSA begin within the Mazda MX-5 Cup, and I’m excited to have the chance to be again competing as a part of the IMSA weekend.”
