IMSA News

By Stephen Kilbey - Sep 30, 2025, 3:52 PM ET

AMR's Valkyrie finding its stride

With the end of the 2025 FIA WEC and IMSA seasons fast approaching, Aston Martin THOR Team’s Valkyrie program is beginning to hit its stride.

The last two WEC races in particular have served as real progress markers for the Valkyrie, which is now becoming a regular in the deep Hypercar field’s midpack. In COTA, both cars looked on course for strong points finishes before overheating issues forced them into retirement, then in Fuji last weekend, the No. 009 qualified a season-high of third on the grid before going on to secure its best ever finishing position, fifth.

Aston Martin THOR Team is not expected to bring any performance Jokers to the V12-powered LMH-spec Valkyrie in time for the 2026 season though, according to team principal Ian James, who feels that it’s still too early in the car’s lifecycle to decide on a specific area to develop an update for.

“It’s hard to quantify it, but we started the year a few seconds off the pace and now we’re at the sharp end,” James told RACER before the race at Fuji. “The general understanding of the engineers, the crew, the drivers, that’s really the most significant change. The car has continued to evolve, the ruleset is tight, but there are things you can change and adjust, and we’re constantly doing that. It does feel like a never-ending cycle, but we’ve worked hard this year to reach our current position.

“I don’t think we’ll make any significant change next year. We’re going to run the car in the (Windshear) wind tunnel; we’ve been there for IMSA, and we know where we need to be to get in the box. There are a few technical changes they’re going to measure, but it won’t be a significantly different car from where we are now.

“This year we’ve been flat out, so we’ve not really considered any major updates as we haven’t maximized the car’s potential. We’ve got to do that first, then we can think about the future.”

Full-season No. 009 driver Alex Riberas agrees that the Valkyrie hasn’t yet reached its full potential. However, he is overwhelmingly positive about the gains the team has made, particularly in the car’s drivability, in such a short timeframe.

“The progress is real,” he said. “The car is just getting better and better. It’s a never-ending process of learning. But we’re taking strides. We have gains to make in reliability, but at Austin, I’d rather have that issue happen there than next year at Le Mans. It’s all encouraging, and it’s a statement to the fact that we have such a good team on the U.S. side and here. The global effort is a key. 

“The team has improved so many layers, the electronics, the damping, the suspension. It’s a fascinating experience to be part of this process, taking ideas, testing them and making a difference. We’re taking it one day at a time.”

A standout area that has needed improvement this year is the car’s compliance over curbs, which, at specific circuits such as Imola, has cost the car valuable time each lap.

“It’s not where we want it to be, but we’ve improved a lot,” James said of the car’s improved drivability over curbs and bumps in recent months. “It’s a lot further down the road in terms of the desired outcome when we started off.”

James also confirmed that Aston Martin is working on a solution for the overheating issue that caused the team’s double retirement in the rain at COTA.

“Radiators and stuff like that, we’ve got to analyze it, it’s in process,” he said. “We’ll definitely have a fix for it next year.”

In 2026, Aston Martin THOR Team will return for another crack at both Hypercar and GTP glory, with James confirming that the team’s ambitious dual program in the FIA WEC and IMSA will roll on. “We’ll be doing both again,” he said.