Aston Martin at Le Mans 2026
Le Mans Countdown Clock
Race start: Saturday 13 June 2026 • 16:00 CEST / 15:00 UK
Le Mans is not only Aston Martin’s biggest standalone motorsport weekend of the year, it’s also a major points-paying round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, making the result hugely important for both the Valkyrie Hypercar programme and the Vantage LMGT3 campaign.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
FTP Le Mans Coverage
Follow Aston Martin’s Le Mans 2026 story through the FTP Motorsport Hub. From Valkyrie Hypercar build-up to Vantage LMGT3 updates, qualifying, Hyperpole and the final race report, this section will bring together all Fuel the Passion coverage from race week.
Coming later this week, as the story develops, simply click on the button below to find out more.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Why this matters
Le Mans is not just another race for Aston Martin. It’s the place where the marque achieved its greatest overall motorsport victory, when the DBR1 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. Sixty-seven years later, Aston Martin returns with the Valkyrie in the top Hypercar class, chasing the kind of result that would connect the brand’s modern racing future with one of its most famous historic moments.
The Valkyrie makes this story even more special. It’s the only road-derived Hypercar competing in the premier class, powered by a naturally aspirated V12 and carrying Aston Martin’s hopes against some of the strongest manufacturers in world endurance racing. After encouraging performances at Imola and Spa, including fourth overall for the #007 car at Spa, Le Mans now becomes the biggest test yet of how far the programme has come.
But this is not only a Valkyrie story. Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3 entries continue a proud Le Mans GT tradition, with Heart of Racing and Racing Spirit of Léman carrying the Vantage name into the LMGT3 fight. Between Valkyrie in Hypercar and Vantage in LMGT3, Aston Martin has one of its most significant Le Mans line-ups in years.
For Fuel the Passion, Le Mans 2026 feels like a landmark weekend: heritage, ambition, British racing pride, V12 drama and the chance to watch Aston Martin write the next chapter of its endurance racing story. That’s why this page will follow the build-up, entries, schedule, results and key FTP Motorsport Hub updates throughout race week.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
FTP Motorsport Hub • Le Mans 2026
Race Week Schedule
Le Mans is not just a 24-hour race. It is a full week of preparation, pressure and anticipation, with practice, qualifying and Hyperpole all building towards the start of the world’s greatest endurance race on Saturday afternoon.
| Date | Session | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 10 June | Free Practice 1 | 14:00 |
| Wednesday 10 June | Qualifying — LMP2 & LMGT3 | 18:45 |
| Wednesday 10 June | Qualifying — Hypercar | 19:30 |
| Wednesday 10 June | Free Practice 2 | 22:00 |
| Thursday 11 June | Free Practice 3 | 14:45 |
| Thursday 11 June | Hyperpole 1 — LMP2 & LMGT3 | 20:00 |
| Thursday 11 June | Hyperpole 2 — LMP2 & LMGT3 | 20:35 |
| Thursday 11 June | Hyperpole 1 — Hypercar | 21:05 |
| Thursday 11 June | Hyperpole 2 — Hypercar | 21:40 |
| Thursday 11 June | Free Practice 4 | 23:00 |
| Saturday 13 June | Warm-up | 12:00 |
| Saturday 13 June | 24 Hours of Le Mans — Race Start | 16:00 |
| Sunday 14 June | 24 Hours of Le Mans — Race Finish | 16:00 |
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Aston Martin Hypercar Entries
Aston Martin’s headline Le Mans story sits in the Hypercar class, where the Aston Martin THOR Team will field two specially liveried Valkyries. These are the cars carrying Aston Martin’s hopes of returning to the very front of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 67 years after the DBR1’s famous overall victory in 1959.
The Valkyrie remains one of the most distinctive cars on the grid. It’s the only road-derived Hypercar competing in the premier class, powered by a race-developed version of its naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine. For Aston Martin fans, that makes this more than just a works racing programme, it’s a direct link between the brand’s most extreme road car and the world’s greatest endurance race.
#007 Aston Martin Valkyrie
The #007 Valkyrie arrives at Le Mans with an all-British line-up of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn. This is the car carrying the strongest recent momentum, following Aston Martin’s best FIA WEC Hypercar result so far with fourth overall at Spa.
For FTP, the #007 car feels like the main Aston Martin benchmark. Tincknell brings proven Le Mans experience, Gamble has been one of the standout names in the early Valkyrie programme, and Gunn adds further Aston Martin and IMSA strength. If Aston Martin is to spring a surprise in the top class, the #007 is likely to be central to that story.
#009 Aston Martin Valkyrie
The #009 Valkyrie will be driven by Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis. This car has shown flashes of pace but is still chasing its first major 2026 breakthrough, making Le Mans an important opportunity to turn promise into a complete result.
Sørensen brings huge Aston Martin works-driver experience, including previous Le Mans success in the Vantage. Riberas has been central to The Heart of Racing story, while De Angelis adds proven IMSA pedigree. For the #009 crew, the target will be a clean, consistent 24 hours and a result that reflects the progress Aston Martin believes the Valkyrie has made since last year.
FTP Angle
The Hypercar class is brutally competitive, and Aston Martin shouldn’t be treated as the favourite. But that’s also what makes this story so compelling. The Valkyrie has already moved beyond simply proving it can survive; now Le Mans 2026 asks a bigger question; can Aston Martin turn progress, reliability and a unique V12 platform into a serious top-class result?
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Aston Martin LMGT3 Entries
While the Valkyrie carries Aston Martin’s hopes in the top Hypercar class, the Vantage AMR LMGT3 continues one of the marque’s proudest modern Le Mans stories. Aston Martin has enjoyed major success at Le Mans through its GT racing cars, and in 2026 three Vantage entries will line up in LMGT3 aiming to add another chapter to that record.
This part of the Aston Martin effort matters because Vantage has already proved itself at La Sarthe. The platform has taken class victories, pole positions and podiums across different eras, and the latest GT3 version arrives with strong teams, experienced drivers and genuine class ambition.
#27 Heart of Racing Team Vantage AMR LMGT3
The #27 Heart of Racing Team Vantage AMR LMGT3 will be driven by Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi. This is one of the key Aston Martin GT entries to watch, especially after Drudi put the Vantage on LMGT3 pole at Le Mans in 2025 and the crew finished fourth in class.
The #27 car also arrives with useful momentum from Spa, where Heart of Racing showed the Vantage could fight at the sharp end of LMGT3. For FTP, this is probably Aston Martin’s strongest GT-class victory chance: experienced, proven, and already familiar with what it takes to be in the Le Mans fight.
#23 Heart of Racing Team Vantage AMR LMGT3
The #23 Heart of Racing Team Vantage AMR LMGT3 adds a second THOR entry to the LMGT3 field, driven by Gray Newell, Dudu Barrichello and Jonny Adam.
This line-up has a great Aston Martin story attached to it. Newell makes his Le Mans debut, Barrichello returns for another attempt, and Jonny Adam brings serious Le Mans pedigree, including previous class victories with Aston Martin. His return to La Sarthe gives the #23 car a strong link to the modern Vantage success story.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Aston Martin LMGT3 Entries continued
#59 Racing Spirit of Léman Vantage AMR LMGT3
The third Aston Martin GT entry comes from Racing Spirit of Léman, with the #59 Vantage AMR LMGT3 driven by Clément Mateu, Marius Fossard and Valentin Hasse Clot.
This entry adds further depth to Aston Martin’s Le Mans presence. Racing Spirit of Léman is already part of the wider Aston Martin customer-racing story, and Hasse Clot brings works-driver quality to a crew that includes Le Mans debutants. It may not carry the same immediate profile as the two Heart of Racing cars, but it strengthens the overall Aston Martin presence in LMGT3.
FTP Angle
The LMGT3 story is more than a support act to Valkyrie. Aston Martin’s modern Le Mans reputation has been built largely through its GT cars, and Vantage remains one of the marque’s most important racing names. With three cars on the grid, proven drivers, and Heart of Racing pushing hard in the WEC, Aston Martin has a real opportunity to fight for class success while Valkyrie takes on the Hypercar giants.
For Fuel the Passion, that makes Le Mans 2026 a two-part Aston Martin story: Valkyrie chasing history overall, and Vantage defending one of Aston Martin’s proudest racing legacies in GT.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Aston Martin at Le Mans Heritage
Le Mans is woven into the Aston Martin story. The marque first raced at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1928, just 15 years after Aston Martin was founded, and soon became a regular class contender. Early successes came with the International and Ulster, establishing Aston Martin as one of the important British names in pre-war endurance racing.
The most famous chapter came in 1959, when the Aston Martin DBR1 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright with Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. That victory remains one of the defining moments in Aston Martin history: elegant, brave, technically brilliant and achieved on the biggest endurance racing stage in the world.
In the modern era, Aston Martin’s Le Mans reputation has been built largely through GT racing. The mighty DBR9 delivered famous class wins in 2007 and 2008, while the Vantage has continued that story with further WEC-era class victories, including the most recent Aston Martin class win at Le Mans in 2022. Aston Martin’s engineering partner Prodrive also celebrates its 25th Le Mans in 2026, having played a major role in the brand’s modern GT success.
That’s what makes 2026 so significant. The Valkyrie now takes Aston Martin back into the top class, chasing the kind of overall result the brand has not achieved since 1959, while the Vantage AMR LMGT3 continues the GT legacy that has carried the marque through so much of its modern racing story.
For Fuel the Passion, this is the appeal of Aston Martin at Le Mans: past and present meeting in one place. From DBR1 to DBR9, from Vantage to Valkyrie, Le Mans is where Aston Martin’s racing identity feels at its most complete.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.
Image © Aston Martin Lagonda. Used for editorial purposes.