Ian James has a unique role in the FIA World Endurance Championship – a dual role, in fact, as both the ‘Bronze’ driver of the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 and Team Principal of Aston Martin THOR Team in the series’ headlining Hypercar category. It is a balancing act that he handles in his stride and a pressure he carries with aplomb.
‘Halo brand’ Aston Martin counts multiple successes to its credit in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, but only once has the iconic British carmaker triumphed at La Sarthe outright, all the way back in 1959 with the DBR1.
“That’s a long time ago, right?” muses James in the latest instalment of FIA WEC’s ‘Beyond the Track’ YouTube docuseries. His voice betrays the fact that there is significant honour at stake and prestige to be upheld with the Valkyrie project – Aston Martin’s attempt to end that 67-year drought.
“Le Mans is super-special to all of us,” adds Adam Carter, the company’s Head of Endurance Motorsport. “The DNA of Aston Martin is racing. From the very first day, it was competition and it’s really important for Aston Martin to stay in competition.”
As a newcomer to the championship, the Valkyrie inevitably took a few races to find its feet during the 2025 campaign, but the 93rd edition of Le Mans last summer showed signs of progress, as the striking British Racing Green prototype advanced to the Hyperpole shootout in qualifying for the first time.
James is quick to praise the experienced crew working tirelessly behind-the-scenes – a crew that has grown significantly in size since Heart of Racing Team first joined forces with Aston Martin six years ago to run a single Vantage in IMSA’s GTD class, and which now comprises specialists with successful backgrounds in disciplines all the way up to Formula 1.
“The level of personnel is very impressive,” he observes, with Carter concurring that ‘the spirit within the team is exceptionally good, but we’re on a steeper learning curve than the competition’. “We will gain on that experience and increase our competitiveness,” he adds. “Ultimately, we race to win.”
For James, the final result in France in 2025 – both Valkyries reaching the finish, in 12th and 14th positions following the disqualification of the #50 Ferrari, alongside fourth place in LMGT3 for the pole-sitting Vantage he shared with team-mates Mattia Drudi and Zacharie Robichon, just over a minute shy of the podium – made him ‘immensely proud’, describing it as ‘a great weekend’ for the entire team.
Dovetailing his driving duties with the responsibility of overseeing operations in both the Hypercar and LMGT3 camps makes for ‘complex and busy weekends these days’, acknowledges the British-born racer, who won on Heart of Racing Team’s home soil at COTA in 2024 and returned to the rostrum in last November’s Bahrain season finale.
“When I first watched Le Mans on TV, it was a dream for me to drive there – and people used to laugh at me,” he confesses. “I just wanted to race when I was younger – I used to think just one more year would be great – and that was when I was I my early twenties. Now, I’m 51 and still racing.
“To be able to go out there gives me a lot of joy – it’s such a privilege, and I pinch myself that I get to do this. Driving is actually my relaxation part – when I get in the car, I can just focus on that. I don’t really sleep during a 24-hour race, because my mind’s pretty active – with my dual role, I’m worrying about other things when I get out of the car. The adrenaline’s pretty high at that point, so sleep’s not really on my menu!”
Sleep might be a luxury he can’t afford at Le Mans, as every decision weighs upon him in Aston Martin’s quest for success, but with three cars at the chequered flag, it is also a strategy that clearly reaps rewards.
“I’ve achieved all my goals,” James reflects, “but hopefully I get to do this a few more times. Every day I’m on the track, it’s a blessing for me.”
It’s fair to say, nobody laughs at him anymore...
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