James scores Heart of Racing Team’s first pole position in WEC

Austin. TX (August 31, 2024) - Ian James secured the Heart of Racing Team’s first-ever FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) pole position at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Saturday. The achievement will also mark the first time for the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to start from the front of the LMGT3 class on the world stage.

The trio made up of Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas driving the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 will make the team’s first start in the United States in WEC for the North American-based team.

Prior to Saturday’s afternoon qualifying session, there were three practice sessions for the Lone Star Le Mans six-hour enduro, all of which provided James and his teammates time to hone the British sportscar to their liking. James, a veteran of COTA, felt immediately at home, which added to the confidence of the crew.

James set the second fastest lap in the first part of qualifying, securing a spot in the ten-minute Hyperpole shoot-out to determine the top-ten starting positions for Sunday’s race. In the Hyperpole session, the bronze-rated driver set a 2:05.587-second lap time to deliver Aston Martin’s seventh pole position at the Austin venue.

“Coming to our home race as an American-based team, and getting pole position, is a great way to start off the race weekend,” said James. “I've been living in America for a long time now, so I've had the chance to compete at COTA a lot which probably helped me a little bit today. I’ve just felt really comfortable all the way through the weekend. How you attack Hyperpole is a little bit different, but we got the tire pressures right. Really, there was only one lap, and we managed to deliver it. Hats off to the whole team, they always provide us with a great car and I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow!”

James’ pole position put the team one point higher in the championship points standings, just 44 points behind the class leader.

The Lone Star Le Mans will take the green flag at 2:00pm ET with live coverage on MAX and WEC.TV.