Sebring, FL
Roman De Angelis and The Heart of Racing continued the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at the 12 Hours of Sebring, piloting the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie alongside Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas.
Race Summary
Starting from 10th on the GTP grid, the No. 23 Valkyrie showed strong early pace as Ross Gunn worked the car forward through the opening stints. By lap 52, the team had advanced into the top of the field, running as high as 5th during the first caution period.
Shortly after, an unscheduled stop followed by a pit lane miscommunication resulted in a drive-through penalty, dropping the Valkyrie back to 10th and forcing the team onto the back foot.
Despite the setback, the team remained composed and continued to execute through the middle portion of the race, running 9th at the halfway mark while maintaining consistent pace across stints.
The race’s defining moment came on lap 208, when Alex Riberas brought the car in for a scheduled stop but was unable to restart from the pit box. The team returned the car to the garage, diagnosed the issue, and completed repairs in approximately 17 minutes before rejoining the race 14 laps down.
From there, De Angelis and his co-drivers focused on maximizing laps through the closing stages, continuing to run to the finish and gather valuable data under full race conditions.
Result
After initially crossing the line in 10th, the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie was classified 9th in GTP following a post-race disqualification from a car ahead.
Looking Ahead
With Sebring complete, the team now turns its attention to the next round of the championship on the streets of Long Beach — a shorter-format event that will place a premium on execution and qualifying performance.
