WEC
Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar completes shakedown test
Aston Martin's Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar completes maiden shakedown test as preparations for 2025 debut ramp up
Gary Watkins
Edited: Jul 17, 2024, 8:48 AM
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The Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar that will compete for outright honours in the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship next year has undertaken its first test.
A shakedown by the Valkyrie AMR-LMH was undertaken earlier this month without bodywork ahead of the start of proper testing in the next few weeks in its definitive form.
The run was described as a “systems check” by Ian James, team principal of the Heart of Racing squad that will field the Valkyrie AMR-LMH in both the Hypercar class in WEC and GTP in IMSA from 2025.
He confirmed that the V12-powered Aston ran as “a spine without bodywork”.
“It was just a short test to check that the drivetrain, the braking system and everything is working properly before we start testing with the completed car,” James told Motorsport.com.
“That should be in the next couple of weeks if everything goes to plan.”
The location of the test has not been divulged, though James confirmed that it was not on a proper race circuit and that the running was only in a straightline.
He did reveal, however, that driving duties were handed to former Aston Martin factory racer Stefan Mucke.
The German was brought in a result of a lack of availability of a suitable driver from Aston’s factory roster, James explained.
Mucke has close links with the Multimatic organisation, which is a key partner in development and the running of the AMR-LMH, from his stint as part of its GTE Pro WEC squad with the Ford GT run under the Ganassi banner in 2016-19.
A shakedown this month for Aston’s first contender for overall honours at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 2011 means the Valkyrie programme remains on schedule ahead of its projected race debut at next January’s Daytona 24 Hours IMSA season-opener.
Aston earmarked a start to its test programme early in quarter three of this year on the launch of the car last October.
Watch: Aston Martin's Hypercar: Back in Top Class Endurance Racing
Initial running will be centred on one AMR-LMH in Europe before a second chassis is brought on stream for testing in the USA at IMSA circuits late in the year.
“We will be focusing on one test car to start with in Europe, and once we get over a certain threshold in mileage we will put one test car in the US and one in Europe,” said Aston head of endurance motorsport Adam Carter in May.
Aston undertook two tests early in the year with the Valkyrie AMR Pro track day car from which the LMH has been developed.
The runs at Silverstone and Portimao were focused on data acquisition and software testing.
Aston and Heart of Racing confirmed last month that it has expanded its initial WEC programme from one to two cars in line with the new rule mandating two entries from factory teams in Hypercar.
A single car is planned in IMSA.
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