Aston Martin Vantage wins class at Daytona

Aston Martin Vantage wins class at Daytona

The Heart of Racing IMSA team has given Aston Martin its first victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona when drivers Roman De Angelis, Ian James, Darren Turner and Marco Sørensen took GTD class honours in a Vantage.


So competitive was the car that the Heart of Racing was also the first GT car to finish the race. Plus, with another Vantage team, Magnus Racing, finishing second in GTD and the third GT car home, it was a double podium finish for Aston Martin.


Aston Martin Vantage wins class at Daytona

With the focus firmly on making it through the night unscathed, in a race that is notorious for high attrition, both GTD Vantages started steadily with James (Heart of Racing) and John Potter (Magnus Racing) staying out of trouble in the early running. But strong stints ensured both cars were firmly established in the top five by the evening.

Heart of Racing was never out of the top three throughout the long night and, for a long period until about two hours before dawn, the team’s GTD Pro class entry also led its class before running into technical issues.

Magnus Racing’s car became a victory threat as dawn broke and the race reached its climax. Excellent performances from De Angelis and Turner (who can now add a Rolex 24 victory to his tally of three Le Mans and two Nürburgring class wins), meant the American racing fans were treated to a showdown between FIA World Endurance GT champion Sørensen and his former teammate Nicki Thiim, now a rival in the Magnus Racing car.

The last hour was interrupted several times by caution periods, but Sørensen held his nerve as he and Thiim crossed the line just 5.3 seconds apart at the finish. Heart of Racing’s team principal and race winner Ian James said, “Words can’t do justice to how proud I am of this team and what they’ve achieved this weekend. To win the Rolex 24 at Daytona is the crowning glory for anyone involved in IMSA and it means the world to all of us to have finally done it.

Winning Daytona as reigning IMSA GTD champions just goes to prove the strength and the talent of the team we’ve built up at Heart of Racing.”


Aston Martin Vantage wins class at Daytona

L-R: Class-winning drivers, Marco Sørensen, Ian James, Roman De Angelis, and Darren Turner

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