Aston Martin THOR Team left Fuji last weekend (26-28 September) with mixed emotions following a breakthrough performance for its Valkyrie Hypercar that yielded the marque’s best result to-date in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s top-tier – albeit one that it knew could have been even better still.
In the #009 entry, Marco Sørensen was a consistent top five contender throughout free practice in Japan, prior to topping the timesheets in the initial phase of the two part-qualifying session to progress to the Hyperpole shootout for the third time in the last four rounds.
The Dane proceeded to secure third on the grid for Sunday’s six-hour contest behind the wheel of the 6.5-litre, V12-powered Valkyrie – a scant three hundredths-of-a-second shy of a spot on the front row. After reclaiming the initiative from a fast-starting Paul di Resta 15 minutes into the race, Sørensen shadowed Sébastien Bourdais in the second-placed Cadillac, but subsequently dropped to the tail-end of the 18-strong Hypercar field due to a drive-through penalty for a Full Course Yellow (FCY) infringement.
That set the scene for a scintillating charge back up the order, and with the assistance of a mid-race safety car intervention that bunched the pack together, the multiple GT class world champion had recovered to sixth – in the midst of a tight tussle with Bourdais, Porsche’s Julien Andlauer and Peugeot’s Loïc Duval – by the time he handed the car over to team-mate Alex Riberas.
The Spaniard then continued that good work as the #009 Aston Martin comfortably held its own against its more seasoned competitors, with the Spaniard calmly navigating all of the drama to climb as high as fourth during his stint inside the cockpit.
Sørensen rejoined the fray for the dash to the chequered flag and looked set to unleash a challenge for the podium, but a decision to bolt on four fresh tyres at the car’s final pit-stop – when others gained time by changing just two – ultimately cost him track position.
After overhauling the #7 Toyota and São Paulo-winning #12 Cadillac, the 35-year-old went on to cross the finish line sixth, which became fifth following a penalty administered to the #94 Peugeot. The result marked only the Valkyrie’s second points finish in FIA WEC competition.
“That was one crazy race!” acknowledged Sørensen. “There was so much going on, with so many FCYs and safety cars, it made a lot of areas very difficult to manage. I think we did the most we could in the circumstances. We made a few mistakes, but in the end, we had good pace and it felt like we were fast enough to be on the podium.
“Fighting right at the front showed how far this whole programme has come since [the Valkyrie’s FIA WEC debut in] Qatar. I’m sure we’re going to keep building on this, as we have done all season and we will try again in [the season finale in] Bahrain.”
“This does feel a little bittersweet, as crazy as it sounds,” added Riberas. “Firstly, huge congratulations to the team. It was one of those races where everything was just so unpredictable, when all we needed was a clean run to have a shot at the podium – but to say we are not completely happy to have finished fifth, when you think back to where we were at the beginning of the programme, is definitely a very good sign...”
There was less joy in the #007 side of the garage, as British duo Harry Tincknell and George Gamble endured a more challenging day. After setting the pace in FP3, the former missed out on advancing to Hyperpole in qualifying by a tiny 0.032 seconds, and then picked up a drive-through penalty early in the race for making contact with Phil Hanson’s Ferrari and Kevin Magnussen’s BMW.
The #007’s bid came to a premature conclusion three-and-a-half hours in, when Gamble collided with the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 entry. Despite that disappointment, the mood in the camp was high at the end of the weekend, as the famous British brand – one of just three manufacturers to have contested all 100 FIA WEC races since the series’ inception back in 2012 – marked the milestone in style.
“Finishing fifth was a commendable result, given the fact the programme is still so young, and the highly competitive performance delivered by Aston Martin THOR Team, the Valkyrie and both drivers was hugely encouraging,” commented Aston Martin Head of Endurance, Adam Carter.
“Just like at Circuit of The Americas earlier in the month, the Valkyrie was able to race near the front of the field, and at Fuji it demonstrated enough pace to make it a genuine podium contender. Had we not witnessed such an eventful race, I don’t believe it is unrealistic to think we could have claimed one of the top positions. That is huge testament to the team and another example of the positive momentum we are building within this programme.”
“When you look back to Qatar at the start of the season, a result like this would have seemed like a dream,” added Ian James, Team Principal of the works Aston Martin outfit. “Now, we’re a little frustrated not to have achieved a podium finish. We have become increasingly competitive, and we will keep pushing. We are up against the best endurance racing teams in the world, and after that performance, we can hold our heads high.”
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