The team will field entries in both IMSA WeatherTech and SRO GT America
Long Beach, Calif. (April 8, 2025) – The Heart of Racing heads to the West Coast this weekend competing in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and SRO GT America powered by AWS during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Aston Martin THOR Team will make the Valkyrie’s street circuit debut, while the Heart of Racing Team hopes to continue its podium streak in the GTD category. The team will also make its first appearance in GT America SRO3 competition having competed in the GT4 ranks for the last four seasons.
Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis will pilot the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie during Saturday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. Gunn and De Angelis made their first start on the street circuit together in 2021 in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage in the GTD category where the duo finished sixth.
Gunn teamed up with Alex Riberas in 2022 where the pair won in the IMSA GTD Pro class. The following year De Angelis was joined by Marco Sorensen who put the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage on pole for the start of the race, De Angelis and Sorensen finished in second.
The Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage will have Casper Stevenson and Tom Gamble back behind the wheel after the two with the help of Zacharie Robichon have scored back-to-back third place finishes and currently sit second in the GTD championship points standings.
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is only 100 minutes long and marks the start of the IMSA sprint race season. Stevenson and Gamble will both make their first start on the 1.968 mile, eleven turn street circuit.
The Heart of Racing Team will also double up with running an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for the first time in GT America powered by AWS with Gray Newell behind the wheel.
Newell made his first Grand Prix of Long Beach start in 2024 where he secured the fastest GT4 lap time in qualifying to start on the pole for the first of two races. Newell finished the weekend with a third and fourth place finish. The Washington state native will make his third start in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 after finishing eighth in his GT World Challenge America debut weekend at Sonoma Raceway in March.
The Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach IMSA WeatherTech race will take the green flag on Saturday April 12th at 5:05pm ET with live coverage on USA Network. Race one of the GT America weekend will take place Saturday evening at 8:20pm ET followed by race two on Sunday at 2:20pm ET with live coverage on YouTube.com/GTWorld.
The Heart of Racing Driver Quotes :
Ross Gunn : “Long Beach is always a special race. It will be the first race for the Valkyrie on the street course. Hearing the V12 echo on some of the buildings will be something, you’ll want to be there just to hear how insane it is. I always enjoy this race, it’s obviously the shortest race of the season so you can expect it to be action packed. For Roman and I and the Heart of Racing, it will be really important for us to continue to build on the progress we’ve made over Qatar and Sebring. I can’t wait to get out there!”
Roman De Angelis : “I always look forward to Long Beach. I’m not only a massive fan of the event and track itself, but it also marks the first sprint race of the year which is particularly more exciting this year competing the GTP class! I’m looking forward to sharing the car with my full season teammate Ross, whom I’ve had some great success with in the past. I think we can continue our constant forward progression with the Aston Martin Valkyrie program!”
Casper Stevenson : “After seeing onboard laps of the circuit, I can’t wait to drive my first laps on Friday at Long Beach. It looks like an awesome challenge. It has been a track on my bucket list for years. We’ve had a great first two endurance races of the year and I’m hoping we can bring this momentum into the first sprint race of the year!”
Tom Gamble : “I’m looking forward to heading to Long Beach, it’s my first time at the circuit and it’s one I’ve always wanted to drive. We’ve had a really strong start to the season with two podiums and I’m confident we can build on this momentum and challenge for wins. The Heart of Racing Team has given us fantastic cars all year so we definitely have the tools to do the job!”
