It was in the summer of 2019 when Aston Martin first announced its plan to build a Hypercar to the World Endurance Championship’s LMH rules.
The intention was to enter the championship from 2021, but it won’t be until next year before the Valkyrie lines up on the grid at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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A lot has happened since Aston first laid out its ambition of returning to the top echelon of sportscar racing after a gap of more than a decade.
Firstly, the formation of the LMDh formula undermined Aston’s plans to base its LMH model on the road-going Valkyrie. Then, the LMH regulations were changed as part of the convergence process for WEC and the IMSA Sportscar Championship - something that also forced both Toyota and Peugeot to alter their cars after their respective entries into Hypercar in 2021 and mid of 2022 season respectively.
Then there was the small matter of Aston Martin Lagonda being taken over by a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, marking the start of a new chapter in the British brand’s history.
Under its new ownership, Aston started putting more focus on its newly-branded Formula 1 team, a separate entity owned by Stroll, leaving the Hypercar programme on the backburner.
Source: Autosport