The Coronary heart of Racing crew has added a GTD PRO entry for subsequent month’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. Already dedicated to getting into GTD for the complete season alongside its Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR GTP entry, the delayed debut of the Valkyrie till Sebring opened the door for a GTD PRO entry for the season opener.
Driving the No. 007 Coronary heart of Racing Crew Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in GTD PRO will likely be crew regulars Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas – already confirmed as one of many Valkyrie Hypercar drivers for WEC – and Marco Sorensen. Most lately Gunn, De Angelis and Riberas completed the 2024 season with a third-place end at Motul Petit Le Mans of their debut race collectively. Sorensen will make his third consecutive Daytona begin with Coronary heart of Racing, the Dane having been part of the 2023 Rolex 24-winning No. 27 crew.
“I like kick-starting the 12 months off at Daytona,” stated Gunn. “It’s one of many classics that’s necessary to drivers, groups, and producers competing in sports activities automotive racing. Our goal is to attempt for the victory –we have now a very nice crew and nice automotive. I’m actually completely satisfied to be teaming up with Alex and Roman, who did a superb job at Petit Le Mans. Then including Marco is only a cherry on prime. I’m actually trying ahead to beginning the season, it’s going to be an enormous problem with a number of nice groups and drivers on the market, however we’re fairly assured and can give it our greatest shot.”
Though the crew has not declared its full-season drivers for the No. 27 GTD entry, if it retains the identical drivers for the season, the crew will welcome again Zacharie Robichon and Tom Gamble, with crew newcomers Mattia Drudi and Casper Stevenson set to construct on their intensive expertise in GT3 equipment with their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut. Robichon rejoins after competing within the crew’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage in 2024. Gamble will make his first begin with the crew since Petit Le Mans in 2022, the place he was teamed up with Gunn and Riberas, incomes a fourth-place end.
“This race has been on my bucket listing for a very long time, and I’m excited to lastly verify it off,” stated Drudi. “Having my dad [Luca Drudi] as a previous winner makes this chance much more particular. The crew has delivered sturdy performances over the previous few years and our Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has confirmed to be more and more aggressive. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and expertise the enduring Daytona circuit!”
Absent from the driving force line-up is crew principal Ian James, who shouldn’t be within the seat for the Rolex 24 for the primary time in a number of years.
“We’ve got two actually sturdy line-ups this 12 months for Daytona,” stated James. “Although it’s a little bittersweet for me, it will likely be the primary Rolex 24 I cannot be driving in since we began the crew in 2020. I feel these younger guys will do an ideal job and hopefully we are able to come out after 24 hours with a podium end.”
The groups make their on-track debut for the Roar Earlier than the 24 take a look at weekend on Jan. 17-19, previous the Rolex 24 on Jan. 23-26.
