The Heart of Racing finishes third in Twelve Hours of Sebring
Valkyrie makes impressive first start in IMSA with top-ten finish
Sebring, Fla. (March 16, 2025) - The Heart of Racing Team finished third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD category in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway this weekend. The Aston Martin THOR Team secured its first top ten finish with the Aston Martin Valkyrie in its United States debut as the GTP entry came home ninth after 12 hours of racing through the Florida heat on the legendary circuit.
Casper Stevenson, Tom Gamble, and Zacharie Robichon piloted the Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage, combining to take third in Saturday’s twelve hour enduro. Robichon qualified for the trio on Friday setting the sixth fastest lap time in the GTD category.
Robichon was in the drivers seat for the first two stints, after the first pit stop the Canadian raced his way up to run in second position for the next 17 laps. Stevenson took over next, remaining in podium contention. While Gamble was behind the wheel, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team took an unplanned trip down pit lane to address a sensor issue placing the team on a different pit stop plan.
Through great strategy, near perfect pit stops, and well executed driving, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team was able to drive their way back from fifth to score third in the final moments of the race.
The Aston Martin THOR Team made their United States debut with the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie in IMSA’s GTP category. After Ross Gunn qualified the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie on the sixth row, the Briton combined with Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas to take a ninth place finish.
Gunn was first to complete his stint in the new Aston Martin Valkyrie when the team’s race strategy changed due to the hot temperatures of the Florida weather. The Heart of Racing crew adapted quickly to the change making steady progress throughout the race to finish ninth after starting twelfth.
The Heart of Racing Team will compete next with IMSA in the Long Beach Grand Prix April 11-12. Ahead of Long Beach the team will compete in the 24H Series in Italy March 22-23 and the SRO America season opener at Sonoma Raceway.
The Heart of Racing Quote Board :
Casper Stevenson : “We had an up and down race, but Tom did amazing in that last stint and the strategy the team did was next level and we managed to get another great result. I’m just so thankful to the team, Tom and Zach because I feel that it wasn’t 100% our day, but we still delivered an amazing result. And to add to that, the Valkyrie had a great debut, there are just smiles all around at the Heart of Racing Team.”
Tom Gamble : “A bit of a wild race at one point, we just seemed to be quite far down. Everything seemed to work out in our favor there towards the end. The car was flying today, massive credit to the Heart of Racing, they always give us a fast car. It was a solid day for all of us. It’s a pretty good way to start the season so hopefully we can keep this up.”
Zacharie Robichon : “Today was just a testament to the team. Ultimately I think this was the ideal result we could have hoped for. A faultless job by everyone, and the pit stops were fantastic today. We had a small issue in the middle of the day, which is really not our fault and we were able to just kind of not let it phase us and come back from it. A podium is a pretty good way to finish the second race of the year, two third place finishes to start the year!”
Ross Gunn : “It was an absolutely awesome job by everybody on the team to get to the end of what was a good race and was probably the toughest race in the world. We overcame a few obstacles during the race and dealt with those really well. Alex and Roman drove solid stints and it was just a case of keeping a clean nose which we did, no contact. No issues and the Valkyrie performed really well throughout the entire race.”
Roman De Angelis : “It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions to stay the least. It was one of the hardest races I’ve had personally, it was super physical out there. I’m super proud of the Heart of Racing and Aston Martin for getting the Valkyrie across the line. I think everything that we took from Qatar as a learning point we made good progress in the development. Definitely a really good day in the office and super happy for the team and the No. 27 team on their podium finish.”
Alex Riberas : "Tremendous job today by everybody. We entered into this race knowing it would be a tremendous challenge for ourselves with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie exceeded all of our expectations. To be able to finish this race and to finish in the top ten is the best way we could start the season and this new adventure in the GTP category. I’m so very proud of everybody and already looking forward to the next one.”
