Heart of Racing (HoR) has finalized their driver lineup for the FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage. The team has enlisted Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas for the upcoming season. James, who is also the team principal, will be returning with his teammates Mancinelli and Riberas after participating in selected rounds of the 2023 season. The trio previously competed in the #98 NorthWest AMR car and finished sixth in the GTE Am category at last year’s Centenary Le Mans. They are excited to continue their progress from last season and see what they can achieve with the introduction of the GT3 class.
In addition to the FIA WEC season, James will also be participating in Heart of Racing’s IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD commitments in North America. Riberas will join him in non-conflicting IMSA-WEC rounds in the #23 GTD Pro car. However, during two upcoming race conflicts, Mario Farnbacher will replace Riberas and join Ross Gunn in the #23 car. Riberas expresses his excitement about competing in the full WEC championship season for the first time and considers it a dream come true. He believes that the lineup with Mancinelli and James is a dream lineup and is eager to see how they perform in the new class.
Mancinelli, who made his WEC debut last year, is thrilled to be back in WEC with the Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3. He had a great experience last year with his teammates and emphasizes the strong bond they have both in and outside the car. Mancinelli describes Heart of Racing as more than just a team, but a family. With their previous experience, he believes they will be even better this year. He is particularly excited about the first race in Qatar in March.
The HoR crew, as one of the 18 LMGT3 entries, will begin the 2024 season with the official Prologue pre-season test on 24-25 February. This will be followed by the season-opener, an 1812 km race, at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit.
