Aston Martin is popping the champagne after taking out a one-two finish in the GT class at the 61st Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race for 2023, marking the company’s first class win at Daytona since 1964.
Aston Martin’s Seattle-based race partner, Heart of Racing, took out first place at Daytona 24 in GT and GTD classes with their #27 Vantage GT3, with Magnus Racing taking out second place with their #44 Vantage.
Heart of Racing beat out 22 competitors in Daytona’s GTD class, delivering Aston Martin’s first victory after 12 failed attempts at the circuit, while managing to beat 10 other competitors in the GTD Pro class, including the second-place WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Drivers Doman De Angelis, Ian James, Darren Turner and Marco Sorensen were responsible for the first-place finish for Heart of Racing, followed by Magnus Racing just 5.3 seconds behind. AMR’s head of partner racing, Huw Tasker, said:
“For Aston Martin to win its class in the most important endurance race in North America is an emphatic statement of our intent in this market. This is an incredibly significant day in the history of Aston Martin racing.”
The Aston Martin Vantage GT shares its aluminium body-on-frame design and the 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine with the Vantage road car, which in road-going form produces 375kW/685Nm and transfers power to the rear wheels via an eight-speed transmission.
Taking out the overall win in the GTP class was Acura and Meyer Shank Racing in their Acura ARX-06. It was the second consecutive overall win for the team, and Acura’s third consecutive victory at the legendary event.
