The Heart of Racing takes class win at 12H of Mugello
Scarperia e San Piero, Italy (March 23, 2025) - The Heart of Racing Team completed the 12H of Mugello on Sunday finishing second overall and first in the AM class. The twelve hour enduro was split into two parts, racing seven hours on Saturday and finishing the final five hours on Sunday.
Gray Newell, Hannah Grisham, and Ian James teamed up in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Mercedes GT3, marking Grisham’s first start at Mugello and second start in the GT3 machine. On Friday each driver was allotted 15 minutes each to set a fast qualifying lap, the trio’s combined lap times earned a second overall starting position on Saturday.
James took the first stint in the No. 27 machine on Saturday battling heavy rain before passing the wheel to Newell for the second stint. Over the course of the seven hours the team was able to make the right adjustments to the Mercedes, putting the trio in a perfect window for Sunday’s race.
On Sunday, the weather changed for the better, James finished up his drive time in the first two stints before Newell took over. The Heart of Racing Team was able to use several Code 60s to their advantage, extending their fuel window to the max. Right as Newell was about to hit the maximum stint time, Grisham took over to finish the final hour and half of the race. Grisham had a great battle for second overall as she came home with a strong runner up finish and class victory for the team.
“This race was a significant challenge,” said Newell. “The track had changed so much over the course of my stint on Sunday, the track seemed to come to me and then the tires went away which made me change my driving style throughout the stint. It was tough, but I’m happy I was able to rise to the occasion. I can’t thank Ian (James) enough for being such an incredible mentor to us. I’m just so happy to be here!”
“That last stint was actually my first time fuel saving during a race,” said Grisham “It was super interesting and I was able to learn a lot. Overall it was an amazing weekend with perfect execution from everyone at the Heart of Racing and SPS. We really just kept the car clean and didn’t really make any mistakes and I think that’s why we ended up first in class and P2 overall. Thank you to the team for giving us the opportunity to be at the front of the field!”
Newell, Grisham, and the Heart of Racing Team will head to Sonoma Raceway March 28-30th for the SRO America season opener. Newell will make his first full season GT3 debut in GT World Challenge powered by AWS while Grisham looks for a chance at the Pirelli GT4 America championship.
