Triple Header Weekend for the Heart of Racing Team
(15 April 2024) - The Heart of Racing will compete in three of the team’s six championship campaigns over the course of the April 19-21 weekend. The No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 will be in Imola, Italy with the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be on the streets of Long Beach with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Joining the No. 27 IMSA GTD entry in Long Beach will be the No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the SRO GT America powered by AWS.
Ian James, Alex Riberas, and Daniel Mancinelli are set to take the green flag of the 6 Hours of Imola on Sunday. The trio started the WEC season with a second place finish in Qatar and look to continue on that momentum.
“I’m very excited to race in Imola,” said Riberas. “It is a circuit that holds a special place in most racer’s hearts being the last race of Ayrton Senna. I have never been there before which makes it extra special. We started the season strong in Qatar and as a team we are going to look to build on that foundation. I can’t wait!”
While James and Riberas will be making their debut at the Imola Circuit, Mancinelli is no stranger to the circuit, having raced at the track for over a decade.
“After the great second place in Qatar I’m heading into the Imola race weekend very excited for two reasons,” said Mancinelli. “Firstly because we all know that our expectations will be high again competing for the podium. Secondly it will be my home race, Imola is a race track which I used to race at since when I first started racing back in 2006. I’m very confident with the car and the whole Heart of Racing Team which I love to be with. We all started training hard to be ready for it.”
Nine time zones away, Roman De Angelis and Spencer Pumpelly will team up for the first time to compete on the streets of Long Beach. De Angelis is returning to the Grand Prix of Long Beach after finishing second at the 2023 edition of the race. The 100 minute race marks the first sprint race of the IMSA WeatherTech season.
“I’m definitely looking forward to getting back in the car after Sebring,” said De Angelis. “It will be our first sprint race of the year and first time partnering with Spencer Pumpelly, who I’ve never driven with before, but I’ve driven against him a lot in the past. I’m looking forward to driving with him. Long Beach is such a great event, there are tons of people, and it’s super fun to be back on a street circuit racing. It is always pretty crazy there with traffic management and a short sprint race after coming off of a 12 hour and 24 hour race, so a bit of a change in mindset. Just looking forward to learning from what we did the last two races with the new car and seeing if we could collect some points.”
Pumpelly joins the Heart of Racing team after competing with a fellow Aston Martin partnered team, Magnus Racing, for the first two races of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Pumpelly is no stranger to the Long Beach street circuit having a second place finish there himself.
“Joining Heart of Racing for Long Beach is an exciting opportunity,” said Pumpelly. “I’m looking forward to sharing a car with Roman for the first time and working with the crew. Long Beach boasts one of the best atmospheres in racing and it’s a race I never want to miss. The bumps and heavy braking zones should suit the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 well and I can’t wait to take it on track.”
The Heart of Racing Team will also be competing at the Grand Prix of Long Beach with its SRO GT America powered by AWS No. 25 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 that is driven by Gray Newell. This will be Newell’s first time competing at the Long Beach circuit, but he brings no shortage of street circuit knowledge after competing on the streets of St. Petersburg and Nashville over the previous three seasons.
Newell started the GT America powered by AWS season during the first weekend in April at Sonoma Raceway. The Washington-state native scored a second and third place finish to get a jump in the championship points standings.
“Street courses are a big challenge," said Newell. “Close walls, low margin for error and lots of traffic. My first go at the Nashville GP was maybe the hardest weekend of my career, so far. But that was three years ago and I am a much different driver today and am excited to take on a course I’ve been spectator to for many years.”
The Grand Prix of Long Beach will take the green flag first on Saturday at 4:30pm ET with the full broadcast on Peacock and USA Network. Following the IMSA race will be the first of two GT America powered by AWS races that can be watched on GT World’s YouTube Channel. Sunday morning will see an early start with the 6 Hours of Imola at 7:00am ET that can be watched on MAX. The final GT America powered by AWS race will take place at 7:20pm ET on Sunday.
