Tag Archives: FIA WEC

Aston Martin returns to WEC with the Valkyrie AMR-LMH

Aston Martin is one of the teams that have not competed in the WEC (World Endurance Championship) for years, and now they are returning to the competition in the 2025 season. They will compete in the Hypercar class and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with two Valkyrie AMR-LMH cars.

Both cars will be in the colors of the Heart of Racing team and will be powered by the Cosworth RA 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine. It is an improved engine that in the standard version has over 1,000 hp at 11,000 rpm.

The car is currently in the testing stages, which Aston Martin will run on European and North American tracks until the end of autumn. At the first tests held at the British tracks Donington and Silverstone, racers Darren Turner, Mario Farnbacher and Harry Tincknell were behind the wheel.

It will be the return of another manufacturer that will join Ferrari, which after half a century returned to the WEC. At this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari won with the Ferrari LMH 499P. The car is powered by a twinturbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine with 680 hp (500 kW), which in combination with an electric motor with 272 hp (200 kW), produces a total of 952 hp (700 kW). The engine is paired with a seven-speed sequential gearbox. It is equipped with a 900-volt battery from Formula 1, which is charged by deceleration and braking.

It has not yet been confirmed whether Aston Martin will appear at the IMSA 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2025.

Source: Aston Martin

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WEC teams will transport cars by airplanes

At the beginning of the month, the first race in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) was held in Bahrain, and the winner was the Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar. The next race is on April 21 in Italy and the teams are facing the problem of how to transport the cars. Until now, they did it by ships through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, but due to frequent attacks by the Yemeni Houthis, they chose another option, transport by airplanes.

The Houthis have begun attacking all cargo ships sailing the Red Sea and will not stop doing so until Israel stops its aggression against Palestine. So far they have had several successful attacks and sinkings, although the US and British navies are in those waters trying to ensure the free transport of goods on one of the busiest sea routes in the world. This sea route is of great importance for Europe, so there are more and more frequent announcements from other European countries that they will send their navy. One of them is Denmark, which intends to protect the ships of one of the largest transport and logistics companies, Maersk.

Due to the attacks of the Yemeni Houthis, the transport ships did not arrive on time, so the Prologue test was not held in Qatar. It was concluded that air is the safest option for the teams, and in fact the only possible solution that guarantees the safety of WEC participants and the guarantee that everything will arrive in Italy on time. This has further increased the cost to the teams, which is around £250,000. It should be noted that the teams pay for the air transport of their cars.

Source: Motorsport

Mick Schumacher will compete in the FIA WEC

Mick Schumacher, the son of one of the best Formula 1 drivers ever, Michael Schumacher, spent the past season as a reserve driver for Mercedes, and from next season he will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He will be the driver of the Alpine racing team.

“A new chapter for me starts with Alpine in the FIA WEC hypercar category. The car is impressive and I can’t wait to get started. I grew up with single-seaters, so driving a car with a closed cockpit and covered wheels is a great opportunity to improve my driving skills. missing races this year, that’s what I’ve loved since I was a kid. Sometimes it’s hard to watch other riders on the track. Endurance racing is a new challenge for me and I’m sure we’ll have some great times together next year at Alpine,” stated Mick.

Mick also announced that he will continue to be a Mercedes test driver. “I am happy and grateful to be a reserve driver for Mercedes next season as well. It is good to stay connected with this great team in Formula 1,” said Mick Schumacher.

In testing, the 24-year-old German showed his driving skills which was enough for the Alpine team to offer him a contract. He joined the rest of the driver line-up with Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Charles Miles and Paul-Loup Chatin and Ferdinand Habsburg.

Source: Alpine

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