Aston Martin THOR Team and Valkyrie Hypercar ready for fresh challenge of Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
British hypercar pursuing ninth consecutive WEC points finish, as it chases fourth in the WEC manufacturers’ standings
Home hero Alex Riberas and Marco Sørensen aiming to build on Fuji points finish with #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie
British duo Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble have finished in the points with the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie all but once in 2026
Valkyrie the only road-derived hypercar to contest world’s two premier sportscar series, the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA
The spectacular Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar will make its Spanish competition debut at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, when the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] hosts Round 7 of 8 at the 2.9-mile venue on Sunday.
This is the first time in WEC history that the famous Barcelona track has been included on the season schedule, and for the works Aston Martin THOR Team represents the penultimate race of a season which has seen Valkyrie finish in the points in every race.
That run continued at Fuji Speedway (JPN) three weeks ago, when both Valkyries started in the top six for the first time. The #007 entry driven by British duo Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell also led the race, while its sister #009 of Alex Riberas (ESP) and Marco Sørensen (DEN) was in the podium hunt until the final Safety Car. The team hopes to carry this form on to Barcelona as Riberas heads to his first home WEC race.
Valkyrie is now on a run of eight consecutive points finishes, including two fourth places in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] in Austin, TX (USA). This consistency has put the British ultra-luxury performance brand in sixth position in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship with 54 points, 42 behind fourth place with a maximum of 88 points available from Barcelona and the final round – the 6 Hours of Monza, on 8 November.
The competition variant of Valkyrie – the pure racing expression of the world’s ultimate road-going hypercar – is developed from its production sibling by Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing [THOR] and blends a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000rpm and produces over 1000bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kW (671bhp) power limit as per the WEC’s hypercar rulebook and IMSA’s GTP regulations.
Harry Tincknell, driver #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie (WEC): “I’m looking forward to getting going in Barcelona. Fuji feels like a missed opportunity for us, so I think it’s great to be able to have another chance to score a great result. The car has been progressing well as the season has gone on and we’ve seen that in our results. Fourth place in COTA and then being in the top three for the first half of the race in Fuji was strong. Barcelona is a track that we haven’t been to before in WEC and we haven’t tested there either, but nevertheless the circuit’s general characteristics should play into the hands of Valkyrie. Especially now the last two corners have reverted to the original high-speed layout. This means we’re very encouraged going into the weekend to fight for a good result and we will try our best to do that.”
Tom Gamble, driver #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie (WEC): “I’m really excited to be returning to Barcelona for the first time in a few years. The last race I contested there I finished on the podium so hopefully we can do that again this weekend. We had some mega pace in Fuji so I’m looking forward to building on that again and racing towards a strong result in Spain.”
Alex Riberas, driver #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie (WEC): “Going to Barcelona was the most amazing surprise of my season. Racing on my home track, in the city where I grew up, is a dream come true, and especially to do so in a hypercar with the Aston Martin THOR Team and the Valkyrie is something that never in a million years did I think would become a reality. So, I am going to try and cherish every single moment from the weekend and embrace the joy and the love of everybody that will come to the racetrack and just enjoy it as much as possible. I also think we have a strong car there as we showed in Fuji in the last race. We just must keep our heads down; give everything we have and I’m sure we will have our shot on Sunday.”
Marco Sørensen, driver #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie (WEC): “It will be nice to go to Barcelona, a track we’ve never raced on in the WEC before. I’m looking forward to a new challenge. I’m sure that the team is ready for what we must do, but it is also quite nice that this is a new challenge for everyone in the field. Barcelona is going to present a challenge for the Hypercar class. It’s quite a small and narrow track, and so I think the traffic management is going to be quite difficult there and it will be interesting to see what’s going to happen.”
Ian James, Team Principal, Aston Martin THOR Team: “We have seen for ourselves, and we have shown in recent races that we have the potential to fight among the frontrunners when the conditions are in our favour. Our run of points finishes also shows that we can deliver on the performance potential available to us on a given weekend. As a team we always try to focus on execution, eliminating mistakes, and maximising opportunities when they occur. We will continue this process through the last two races of the year and push to see what else we can achieve with Valkyrie before the season ends. Barcelona, while familiar to all of us, is a new proposition for WEC, so it will be interesting to see how quickly everyone finds the performance window and what opportunities that offers us through the weekend.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport: “Valkyrie proved to be competitive in Fuji and the car has performed as anticipated on circuits with similar characteristics to Barcelona, which has a high-speed first sector and low speed dominated final sector. This means we can look ahead to Barcelona with the aim to fight for more points this weekend, while recognising that we are racing against considerably more experienced and highly capable competitors. Barcelona is also a new proposition for everyone in the Hypercar class, and so it will be interesting to see how this shapes the competitive order.”
Aston Martin Vantage keeps pressure on in WEC title chase
The Heart of Racing Team makes Barcelona world championship debut
Vantage has strong momentum in the FIA World Endurance Championship after a win and three podiums from Le Mans onwards
Vantage aiming for fourth LMGT3 class pole position of the season
Vantage and THOR second in LMGT3 Teams’ title fight
COTA race winners Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi in contention for LMGT3 Drivers’s title with #27 Aston Martin Vantage
Double-pole winner Gray Newell makes Barcelona debut, alongside team-mates Jonny Adam and Dudu Barrichello
Aston Martin’s most successful racing car, Vantage, is back in competitive action in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] this weekend, and it will be right in the fight for the FIA Endurance Trophies for LMGT3 Drivers and Teams, with just two races remaining in the season.
As WEC heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time in the series’ history, the Heart of Racing Team [THOR] is riding the crest of a wave in terms of performance. Having set the last three LMGT3 class pole positions (not including the 6 Hours of Fuji for which qualifying was rained off) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 6 Hours of São Paulo and the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA], the team also claimed victory with the #27 THOR Vantage GT3 driven by team principal Ian James (GBR), Mattia Drudi (ITA) and Zach Robichon (CAN).
The same crew went on to finish second in Round 6, the 6 Hours of Fuji, after a magnificent final-hour fightback. That result puts THOR #27 second in the Teams’ standings with 62 points, 24 behind the leaders and with a maximum of 26 available from each of the final rounds.
Their team-mates, Gray Newell (USA), Jonny Adam (GBR) and Dudu Barrichello (BRA), who race the sister #23 THOR Vantage are also theoretically title contenders, though their path to the championship is more challenging, being 37 points off the Teams’ title lead. But having finished twice on the podium already this season, their main target is to claim a maiden WEC victory for Newell and Barrichello.
The Vantage GT3 shares the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car and is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
How to follow
The 6 Hours of Barcelona will begin at 1200 local time (1100 BST) on Sunday, 18 October. Final practice, qualifying and the race will be broadcast live on FIAWEC+ online with a choice of English or French-language commentary and via selected broadcasters at a national level.
