Aston Martin Valkyrie to chase more points at 2026 WEC in Fuji

MANILA: The Aston Martin Valkyrie aims to get its ninth consecutive World Endurance Championship (WEC) as it enters the second half of the 2026 FIA WEC series in Japan.

Likewise, the road-derived hypercar is targeting the fifth spot in the WEC constructors’ table. 

“The spectacular Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar returns to Japan, the scene of a competitive breakthrough in 2025, when works Aston Martin THOR (The Heart of Racing) Team drivers Marco Sørensen and Alex Riberas contested much of the 6 Hours of Fuji in podium contention, and scored FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship points for the very first time,” the company wrote.

“Now, 12 months on, the team returns to the evocative, iconic venue, set in the foothills of Mount Fuji, on a run of eight consecutive points finishes,” it added. 

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Hit the road running

Just three weeks ago, the Aston Martin Valkyrie competed in the Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas. Driving the machine were Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell, who finished less than three seconds behind the podium positions in fourth place.

Having also missed out on pole position by fractions of a second, this strong form means that Aston Martin finds itself in a pitched battle with Alpine for fifth place in the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship. 

Gamble, a former European Le Mans Series champion, and Tincknell, a double 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, are on an extraordinary run of consistency of their own. Aboard the #007 Valkyrie, the Brits are now one of only two driver crews in WEC to have finished in the points in all five rounds of the eight-race schedule so far in 2026.

“I’m really excited to be going back to Fuji. We’re coming off the back of our equal best race result in the championship at COTA, and we narrowly missed out on our first podium. That has only made us more determined to achieve a good result in Japan. It’s going to be a fun race, and with the track being one that suited our car last year, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do with Valkyrie this time,” Gamble was quoted as saying.

Echoing the same excitement and outlook ahead of the race is Tincknell, who said: “always enjoy going to Fuji. Japan is a fantastic country; it has such a different culture, but it is so cool to experience it. We’re coming off the back of one of the best weekends we’ve had with the #007, with a P4 in qualifying and again in the race. We’ve shown with our pace in practice and again in the race that we can fight at the front.”

Gamble and Tincknell are joined by teammates Alex Riberas (WEC and IMSA [International Motor Sports Association> GT class race-winner) and Marco Sørensen (triple WEC GT champion).

The duo claimed their first points of 2026 in the 6 Hours of São Paulo in July and will be seeking to repeat their extraordinary performance last time they raced at Fuji with perhaps an even more positive result.

Aston Martin Valkyrie: race specs 

The competition variant of Valkyrie—developed from its production sibling by Aston Martin and THOR—blends a race-optimized carbon fiber chassis with a modified 6.5-liter V12 powerplant. 

It generates over 1,000 horses at 11,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) in standard form but adheres to a strict 680 horsepower limit per the WEC’s hypercar rulebook and IMSA’s GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) regulations.

Aston Martin Vantage also Fuji-bound

The Aston Martin is also heading to Fuji Speedway to compete in the 6 Hours of Fuji—scheduled for September 27—to shoot for a record fourth consecutive LMGT3 (Le Mans Grand Touring 3) class pole position.

Of note, the Aston Martin Vantage has now claimed 54 GT class victories, which is the second-highest of any manufacturer. Further, the nameplate has also claimed 73 class pole positions, including the last three, which is a consecutive record in the LMGT3 class, and a high watermark for the THOR team. 

Team principal Ian James, who claimed his second career WEC victory in COTA, will be joined in the #27 THOR Vantage GT3 by regular co-drivers Mattia Drudi (double 24 Hours of Le Mans pole-winner) and Zach Robichon (former IMSA GTD champion).

Even closer to the points leader are Gray Newell (son of Valve Co-founder and President Gabe Newell) and Jonny Adam, who form two-thirds of THOR’s other ultra-strong Aston Martin Vantage GT3 line-up. They are joined in the sister #23 by Dudu Barrichello. 

The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 shares the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury Vantage road car and is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis, powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine. 

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