Now, that is what you call a step forward. Aston Martin is walking away from the recent six-hour contest in Austin with genuine pride after its #007 Valkyrie charged to a fourth-place finish in Lone Star Le Mans.
Let me tell you, the journey to get here has been wild. When this stunning green prototype debuted at last year's Qatar 1812km curtain-raiser, it was more than three seconds shy of the pace in qualifying and missed out on points entirely across its opening six races. It remains the only machine on the FIA WEC grid derived directly from a road-going vehicle, making its current trajectory all the more impressive.
We've been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all-round and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do.
Fast forward to 2026, and the machine is a regular threat. Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble are on an incredible run of five consecutive points-paying performances, including a ninth at Imola, fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, eighth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sixth in São Paulo. They backed that up in Texas by topping two of the three practice sessions and locking down a second-row starting slot in Hyperpole before securing that fourth-place result.
"This result was another example of the progress we continue to make in understanding Valkyrie," commented Aston Martin Head of Endurance, Adam Carter. "The team delivered an exceptional performance and a podium position was tantalisingly close."
Team Principal Ian James echoed the sentiment, noting just how close they were to the rostrum. With three rounds remaining, Tincknell and Gamble are hunting down the top ten in the Drivers' standings, while the manufacturer fights Alpine for fifth in the standings.
Meanwhile, the LMGT3 division saw absolute dominance from the #27 Heart of Racing Team Vantage AMR. Piloted by Ian James, Mattia Drudi, and Zacharie Robichon, the machine converted a maiden front row lockout into a class victory, matching a result from two years prior at the venue. The sister #23 crew of Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello, and Jonny Adam made it a double podium for the squad by taking third place from pole position.
"It feels like we've finally got the monkey off our back," reflected James. "We've been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all-round and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do."
