Heart of Racing’s Ian James told Motorsportweek.com that Aston Martin is hoping to start testing the new Valkyrie Hypercar in the third quarter of this year, ahead of an expected debut in 2025.
“Q3 is when, hopefully, we’ll have a car on the ground to start track testing,” said James.
“Obviously a lot of off track testing right now, components and simulation stuff. We have an AMR Pro mule car that we’ve been running certain parts on, so we’re excited to get the real thing on the track.. But yeah, everything on the program seems to be on schedule.”
The team has been testing the car in both the United States, where Heart of Racing is primarily based, and at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.
The car will compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, with Heart of Racing running two factory-supported programs in both series simultaneously.
“The DNA is from the road car. It’s definitely under the LMH rule set and we’re using the channel, with the lightness of the road car. So you’ll definitely see the familiar lines of the roadcar in the racecar,” said the British-American.
The Valkyrie LMH will be powered by a V12 Aston Martin engine, with no hybrid unit — potentially the only non-hybrid Hypercar in both the WEC and IMSA next year.
“It’s not a hybrid so we don’t have the weight of the battery, so that offsets the weight of the engine, per se.
“The packaging is very nice and tidy. Listening to the engine in the mule car and on the dyno it’s an impressive piece.”
While Heart of Racing will be running the car in both championships, the development is being managed by Aston Martin and their partner Multimatic, which already has a hand in many sportscar projects in both WEC and IMSA, including the Ford Mustang GT3 programme and the Porsche 963.
“[The decision not to include hybrid] was an packaging decision, in the philosophy and design. But that’s a question for Aston Martin really,” James concluded.
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