The Heart of Racing Event Preview | 2026 Daytona International Speedway
The Heart of Racing at Daytona International Speedway
The Heart of Racing has made six starts at the 3.56-mile road course since 2020:
Wins : 1
No. 27 Vantage - GTD : Roman De Angelis, Marco Sørensen, Ian James, Darren Turner
Poles : 1
2026 - GTD : Zacharie Robichon (1:45.113-seconds)
Top-five finishes : 4
GTD PRO :
4th - 2024: Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, Mario Farnbacher
GTD :
5th - 2021: Roman De Angelis, Ian James, Darren Turner, Ross Gunn
1st - 2023 : Roman De Angelis, Marco Sørensen, Ian James, Darren Turner
3rd - 2025 : Casper Stevenson, Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi
Team Notes
The Heart of Racing will field two IMSA WeatherTech entries, making its debut in the top GTP class with the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie. The team will be making its seventh start in the GTD class in the team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage.
The Heart of Racing will be making its debut in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with the team’s female driver academy and Mike David Ortmann.
The Aston Martin THOR Team and Valkyrie will be making its first Rolex 24 At Daytona start.
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello will join the team for his first Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Brazilian joins the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage for his first full season in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
In 2025, the No. 27 Team led 118 laps throughout the 24-hour race before ultimately finishing third.
Hannah Greenemeier and Mike David Ortmann will also be making their Daytona International Speedway debuts, though Hannah Grisham has an Mx-5 Cup start at the track.
No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie Team Information
Driver Lineup : Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas, Marco Sørensen
Series / Class : IMSA WeatherTech - GTP
Starting Position : 11th - Ross Gunn (1:35.382-seconds)
Ross Gunn
6 Daytona starts (first start: 2020)
Best Daytona finish: 4th (2024, GTD PRO)
Roman De Angelis
7 Daytona starts (first start: 2019)
Best Daytona finish: 1st (2023, GTD)
Alex Riberas
9 Daytona starts (first start: 2014)
Best Daytona finish: 4th (2024, GTD PRO)
Marco Sørensen
5 Daytona starts (first start: 2017)
Best Daytona finish: 1st (2023, GTD)
Chatting with the drivers…
Ross Gunn : “Thank you to The Heart of Racing for all the hard work they put in, it’s been a challenging ROAR. Though, qualifying for our first Rolex is something to be excited about. We can still find a bit more performance from the car, but that’s part of the evolution of a new car and is something we are enjoying. Come race day hopefully we will be fighting towards the front.”
Roman De Angelis : “Definitely not a smooth ROAR for us due to some technical issues on the car throughout the four days of testing. With that being said the team did an amazing job checking some important boxes for the upcoming race in terms of set-up work and general checklists that are extremely important for a race such as the 24 Hours At Daytona, as well as working long hours to find and fix the issues. We now go into the race weekend confident that we have a car to fight for 24 hours and hopefully be a strong contender in our first 24 hours of Daytona with the Aston Martin LMH”
Alex Riberas : “A very difficult and challenging ROAR for us. We encountered several issues which required us to lose a majority of the running. We can be very happy that this happened in the ROAR and not during the Rolex 24 Hour week. We seemed to have found the issue and seemed to have solved the source of the problem and now we can confidently look forward to the Rolex 24, which is always a difficult race to begin with. If we can stay clean and focus on maximizing our opportunities, I’m sure we can get a good result.”
Marco Sorensen : “I’m excited to be at Daytona with the Heart of Racing for the Valkyrie’s debut in the Rolex 24! It’s a first experience for everyone and we will continue to learn and make changes as we need to. Unfortunately, we were unable to maximize the ROAR weekend, so hopefully we can get everything dialed-in in the final practice sessions before the Rolex 24.”
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage Information
Driver Lineup : Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello, Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi
Series / Class : IMSA WeatherTech - GTD
Starting Position : 1st - Zacharie Robichon (1:45.113-seconds)
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello
Making his first Rolex 24 At Daytona start
Tom Gamble
4 Daytona starts (first start: 2022)
Best Daytona finish: 3rd (2025, GTD)
Zacharie Robichon
7 Daytona starts (first start: 2019)
Best Daytona finish: 1st (2022, GTD)
Mattia Drudi
1 Daytona start
Best Daytona finish: 3rd (2025, GTD)
Chatting with the drivers…
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello : “My first time at the ROAR was a success! There were a lot of firsts; new team, new car, new track, and it all ran smoothly! It was great to see how the team works, and how everybody gets along. I can't wait for the Rolex, and hopefully we'll be in the mix!”
Tom Gamble : “The ROAR went well. We improved the car and it was great to be back with the team. We still have some small improvements to make before the race on Saturday, but I’m confident we’ll be fighting at the front. We have a strong line up and a great team, and I can’t wait for it!”
Zacharie Robichon : “We were able to do what we set out to do at the ROAR and try a number of changes on the car to put ourselves in a good position for the race. The team helped put together an incredible car for qualifying. Ultimately it’s a great place to start a 24 hour race, but as we know it’s not necessarily the deciding factor.”
Mattia Drudi : “I think the ROAR was a positive three days for us. We tried many things with quite a lot of driving time so we actually covered many items and it all went to plan. I feel like we are in a good window. I think we did a great job and I’m sure we can be competitive next week and can try to have a good race like we did last year.”
No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage Information
Driver Lineup : Hannah Grisham, Hannah Greenemeier, Mike David Ortmann
Series / Class : IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS
Starting Position : 6th - Hannah Grisham (1:53.70 seconds)
Hannah Grisham
Competed at Daytona in MX-5 Cup
Hannah Greenemeier
Making her Daytona debut
Hannah and Hannah have six podium finishes in SRO Pirelli GT4 America
Matt David Ortmann
Joining The Heart of Racing for the first time
Making his Daytona debut
Chatting with the drivers…
Hannah Grisham : “The ROAR weekend went well for us. We got a solid amount of practice and were able to fine-tune the car. Qualifying went well today, though it was a bit hectic with 36 cars in the field—trying to find clean space while also trying to pick up a draft. I’m really looking forward to the four hour race tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a tight battle, and it’ll come down to executing what we’ve been working on over the past week. I’m excited and grateful to be making my first Michelin Pilot Challenge start tomorrow with everyone at The Heart of Racing.”
Hannah Greenemeier : “The ROAR was a positive step forward in getting setup and track knowledge and just overall comfort. The pace we showed seemed to be very competitive and we look forward to continuing the momentum into the four hour race. Hannah and Mike have been doing a great job and I am excited to see what we can do on Friday. Thanks to the whole Heart of Racing Team for the great opportunity and all their hard work.”
Mike David Ortmann : “I’m extremely happy to be here with the Heart of Racing team for IMPC. Today’s qualifying was a real team execution — everyone worked incredibly hard and we truly maximized the package. I can’t wait to go racing here at Daytona. The atmosphere is just amazing with so many fans around.”
Catch the Action
IMSA WeatherTech Championship : Saturday, January 24th
NBC Network Coverage: LIVE, Saturday, January 24 – 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, January 25, 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET in the U.S.; International feed coverage available on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube Channel (outside the U.S.)
Live Qualifying Stream: Thursday, January 22 – 2:05 p.m. ET on Peacock and IMSA.tv (in the U.S.) and IMSA Official YouTube Channel (outside the U.S.)
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge : Friday, January 23rd
Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE - Flag-to-flag beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET in the U.S.; International feed coverage available on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube Channel (outside the U.S.)
IMSA WeatherTech Race 1 of 11 : Daytona International Speedway
Track Length / Type : 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course
Race Length : 24 Hours
IMSA Michelin Pilot Race 1 of 10 : Daytona International Speedway
Track Length / Type : 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course
Race Length : 4 Hours
Join The Drive
Use #IMSA and #Rolex24 to join the conversation on social media, and be sure to follow and tag The Heart of Racing on Instagram, Facebook, and X to share the weekend’s excitement.
