Double Podium for The Heart of Racing Team at VIR
No. 23 team closes the GTD PRO championship gap, provisionally sitting 17 points behind the leader
Alton, VA. (25 August 2024) - The Heart of Racing continued the team’s podium streak with second and third place finishes in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway on Sunday. After a messy qualifying session Saturday afternoon, the team drove to the front of both fields scoring a double podium with top three finishes in both GTD and GTD PRO classes.
Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas teamed up in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. During the second practice of the weekend, Riberas set the fastest lap in the GTD PRO category with a 1:43.578 second lap. The Spanish driver went on to qualify for the duo Saturday afternoon, securing a ninth place starting position for the two hour and 40 minute race.
“It was a really good day for the Heart of Racing,” said Riberas. “An absolutely amazing job by everybody in terms of strategy and pit stops, everybody did their job and we were rewarded with another podium finish. It’s just incredible. We arrived at VIR with the clear goal of reducing the gap to the Porsche (championship leader), and we did that. Now, we are just 17 points behind them in the championship going into the last two races. It's game on. I’m very proud to be a part of the Heart of Racing!”
Riberas took the first stint for the No. 23 Heart of Racing team gaining five overall positions before handing the Aston Martin Vantage to Gunn at the 40 minute mark. With great strategy from the No. 23 team, Gunn made his way to lead the GTD PRO field over the next 11 laps. Gunn led the field for the next 40 minutes before pitting for the last time for four Michelin tires and fuel. Unfortunately the No. 23 machine was out of contention for the win after IMSA penalized the team for a small miscalculation in the fueling time. Gunn ultimately crossed the finish line in third after serving the drive through penalty. The No. 23 Heart of Racing team further closed the gap to provisionally sit 17 points behind the championship points leader.
“Yesterday was a slightly more tricky day in qualifying, but today the Heart of Racing had a good day,” said Gunn. “I felt like yesterday we were slightly out of place, because we showed good performance in practice. Today we executed a brilliant strategy that really worked in our favor. We had a really good middle part of the race where we managed to make way to our competitors and utilize the clean air for the Aston Martin. We are super happy to get a podium finish and close the gap again in the championship. Alex did a brilliant opening stint, saving fuel and making positions up where he could. And then the team did a brilliant job with the strategy, and really gave me the opportunity and the tools to get this podium. It was a shame about the penalty, but overall very happy with the end result.”
In the No. 27 Heart of Racing GTD entry was Roman De Angelis and Zacharie Robichon in the driver's seat. The Canadian duo started Sunday’s race from fourth after Robichon set a fast lap of 1:44.362 seconds Saturday afternoon.
“I’m just super happy to be able to get a podium this year with the No. 27 team,” said Robichon. “The No. 27 team had a win with Roman and Spencer (Pumpelly) at CTMP, but it's nice to be involved in a podium with them here at VIR. I think we got the maximum out of it today. The car was very good, very strong, and the team did a great job by giving us a car that we could fight with. It’s kind of the nature of the beast here at VIR, it's not a super easy track to race because of the high speed nature of it, so it makes it tough to make a move. Ultimately, the No. 32 car was just a bit better than us today. I think we can be super happy with our result, though you always want more. Any day you feel a little bit disappointed with P2, is a pretty good day.”
Robichon was behind the wheel of the No. 27 Heart of Racing machine for the first two stints taking the Aston Martin Vantage from fourth to second. After 57 laps, Robichon passed the reins to his Canadian counterpart for the final 40 minutes. De Angelis was able to maintain the second place position through a late in the race caution to score the No. 27 team’s second podium of the season.
“Definitely a good day, Zach and I got our first podium together today,” said De Angelis. “It is a good result for us after the kind of year we've had. We'll take a podium anytime we can. The No. 27 crew, myself, Zach, the mechanics, engineers, strategists, they all did a really good job today. Zach did great in the beginning to give me the car in second. I just did what I could from there and tried to try to do what I could with the Mercedes. We just didn't have it today. Super happy to get another podium, and hopefully we can keep this roll going for the rest of the year.”
The Heart of Racing Team will be back in action next weekend at Circuit of the America’s marking the team’s first home World Endurance Championship race. The Heart of Racing IMSA program will take the track next at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, September 20-22.
