Long Beach, California
The Heart of Racing's No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie, expertly driven by Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis, clinched an impressive top-ten finish at Saturday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
This exciting event marked the kickoff of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series' Sprint Cup season, following two grueling endurance races in Daytona and Sebring, where the Valkyrie showcased its performance.
On Friday, Gunn took to the track for qualifying and ecured a tenth-place starting position, setting the stage for the race ahead.
Saturday Gunn took the green for the opening 20 minutes. However, a caution period soon came into play, prompting the team to call the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie into the pit lane for a driver change to De Angelis. The pit crew executed a flawless stop, allowing them to gain several valuable positions. Once back on the track, De Angelis fought for position ultimately crossing the finish line in eighth place.
The Heart of Racing team is gearing up for its next challenge, returning to the track from April 18-20 for the highly anticipated World Endurance Championship. Meanwhile, their IMSA program will pause for a month before racing resumes at the renowned WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca from May 9-11.
Roman DeAngelis : "It was a tough race but we kept the car clean. I think we had a tough start to the weekend with FP1 and FP2, having some issues. I was only in the car for about 10 laps before the race, so all in all happy that the car is in one piece. We are looking forward to getting closer to the other manufacturers. I'm excited to see what Laguna brings us." - From TheHeartofRacing.com
