Aston Martin, partner teams claim first Daytona win

Aston Martin announced that through its partner teams, the British automotive brand has claimed its first win in North America’s most famous endurance race — the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Per the Gaydon-based brand, it is its first win in the series after 12 attempts since its debut in 1964. The victory is also significant for the brand as it happened during its 110th anniversary year.

“This is an incredibly significant day in the history of Aston Martin Racing. The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a race we’ve wanted to win for a long time with Vantage and, for good reasons, it’s proved a tough nut to crack, which is why it means so much today. For Aston Martin to win its class in the most important endurance race in North America is an emphatic statement of our intent in this market, and it's the perfect way to begin the defense of Heart of Racing’s defense of the IMSA GTD crown. Congratulations too must go to Magnus Racing, who delivered a superb performance and could just as easily have won, and to our new partners TGM who along with TF Sport did a great job to reach the finish of such a challenging event,” said Aston Martin Racing Head of Partner Racing Huw Tasker.

The winning Vantage GT race car was from Heart of Racing. Behind the victory were drivers Roman De Angelis, Ian James, Darren Turner, and Marco Sørensen.

Heart of Racing was followed by another Aston Martin partner team Magnus Racing. Their Vantage GT entry was crewed by drivers John Potter, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, and Nicki Thiim.

Their efforts allowed Aston Martin to place two teams on the podium, showing how dominant the British marque is.

“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. It's great to be able to win this race for the Seattle Children’s Hospital and to underline the love and support we give to them, and we owe our gratitude to team owner Gabe Newell for allowing us all to make this dream come true, and of course Aston Martin,” said Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James.

Photos from Aston Martin

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