Watkins Glen, NY (26 June 2023) – The Heart of Racing (HOR) team persevered through a weekend of ups and downs with both the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GTD PRO entry and the No. 27 GTD entry. When the checkered flag flew, both cars had raced to sixth place finishing positions in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
The weekend featured an opening practice Friday evening followed by a Saturday morning practice session before qualifying Saturday afternoon. Ian James qualified the No. 27 Aston Martin entry fifth for the start of Sunday’s race. Unfortunately the No. 23 Heart of Racing entry ran into a technical issue on the right rear tire, preventing the team from setting a qualifying lap.
The No. 23 Heart of Racing entry saw Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas team up for the fifth time this season.
Starting from the rear of the GT field Gunn was able to make up 15 positions of GT competition in the first 16 laps of the race, three of which were under full course caution conditions. Gunn and Riberas switched on and off each stint as the day progressed, carefully making their way through the field.
Unfortunately Riberas hit a tire that was left in his path by the No.3 team causing a drive through penalty, but was able to maintain his class position.
The duo worked their way up to second, in the order before being called back to pit lane on lap 147 to address the tire pressure issue with just an hour remaining in the race. Riberas crossed the finish line under caution in sixth.
The No. 27 Aston Martin was piloted by team regulars Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen, the duo was joined by HOR team principal Ian James.
James was first behind the wheel taking the first two stints. James handed the Aston Martin off to De Angelis in fourth on lap 98. De Angelis made his way back to sit third before Sorensen took the reins. With an hour remaining in the race, Sorensen was called down pit lane to serve a penalty due to a failure to adhere to tire requirements. Sorensen was able to make his way back up to sit sixth when the caution came out with three minutes remaining in the race.
The Heart of Racing will be back in action July 7-9th at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the next event on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar.
Quoteboard:
Ross Gunn (No. 23 GTD PRO) – “It was an unfortunate race for us. We were in a really good position with two hours to go. We were looking good for a minimum a podium, but unfortunately we needed to go on a different strategy for a minimum tire pressure mandate and that essentially ruined everything for us. So really frustrating. Still waiting for the luck to change because it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong. The team has worked very hard this weekend to give us a competitive car. It really showed throughout the race. We had some great pit stops and great teamwork that were able to go last all the way towards the front and we’re very proud of that. The luck will change at some point, it’s obviously quite tiring, but we will get it turned around.”
Alex Riberas (No. 23 GTD PRO) – “It was just one of those races. It’s not easy, this championship is very difficult. It’s very competitive and you have to be perfect in order to be up there on the podium and fighting for wins. Today, unfortunately, we weren’t. We had two drive through penalties that put us in a bit of the wrong place at the wrong time. We were a bit on the back foot to achieve good results today. At the end of the day, we were competitive for the most part. At one point, it seemed like a podium was achievable. We were right there and I think that gives us hope for the future. Mosport is one of the best tracks for us and I’m sure we can be competitive there as well.”
Roman De Angelis (No. 27 GTD) – “It seemed to be a pretty good weekend. We had really good pace here. The Aston always seems to be great at this track, particularly throughout the season. It’s one of the races we look forward to coming here just because of how good the car is here. The race was going really well. Ian did a great job in the first stint and made up a bunch of spots. I tried to do the same. I had a really good few stints and am pretty happy. Marco was able to bring it home as best he could after the 23 and 27 had a tire pressure violation. So, we’ll see what happens at the next one.”
Marco Sorensen (No. 27 GTD) – “It was a difficult race all around. It’s nice to do an endurance race again. I actually got a lot of time in the car. This was my first time racing at Watkins Glen and I love the track here so it made the two and a half hours I did in the car enjoyable. It was difficult and we’re doing a lot of what we had to do with some small fuel saving as well. Then we got a penalty for having a little bit too low tire pressures, which a lot of cars actually did in this race. It put us in a really bad spot, but I’m okay with finishing P6 with what we had today.”
Ian James (No. 27 GTD) – “ Generally it was a good weekend for the Heart of Racing. Qualifying went well, we had a problem with the 23 car, but they bounced back for the race. They were a contender for the podium, as was the 27 all race long. Unfortunately in the last hour we fell foul of IMSA’s tire pressure minimums, just like a lot of cars did during the race. It was too late for us to get back from there. So we had 2 P6’s, it’s good championship points. We move onto Mosport.”
About The Heart of Racing
The Heart of Racing races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research. The team competes internationally with concurrent campaigns in IMSA, SRO, Formula Drift and the 24H SERIES. Last season The Heart of Racing won the IMSA GTD Championship title in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The Heart of Racing team hosted their first all-female driver shootout in November of 2022, bringing to the team Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt for the 2023 SRO GT4 America season. To contribute to The Heart of Racing’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://give.seattlechildrens.org/fundraiser/3642390
