The Heart of Racing Event Preview | 2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach & 6 Hours of Imola
The Heart of Racing at Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Heart of Racing has made nine Grand Prix of Long Beach starts since 2020:
Race Date : Saturday, April 18th at 4:05pm ET
Best Starting Position : 1st (2023 - Marco Sørensen - GTD)
Best Finish : 1st (2022 - Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas - GTD Pro)
Podium Finishes : 2
2022 - 1st (No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage - GTD Pro)
2023 - 2nd (No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage - GTD)
Team Notes
Spencer Pumpelly will step in for Tom Gamble to drive alongside Dudu Barrichello, while Gamble pilots the team’s No. 007 Valkyrie in WEC.
This weekend, The Heart of Racing will compete with two IMSA WeatherTech entries and four World Endurance Championship entries, and will have a fan-favorite Aston Martin Vantage V12 drift car in the Super DRIFT Challenge.
In 2022, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas took the GTD Pro class win the Grand Prix of Long Beach after starting fourth and leading the final 24 laps of the 69-lap race.
Marco Sorensen set the GTD track record behind the wheel of the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage in 2023 after qualifying on pole after setting a fast lap of 1:17.811 seconds. The Sørensen and Roman De Angelis duo ultimately finished second after leading the first 23 laps.
The Heart of Racing has a total of 59 laps led in their nine race starts at Long Beach.
No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie Team Information
Driver Lineup : Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis
Series / Class : IMSA WeatherTech - GTP
Current Championship Standings : 10th
Ross Gunn
4 Grand Prix of Long Beach starts (first start: 2021)
Best Long Beach finish : 1st (2022)
Roman De Angelis
5 Grand Prix of Long Beach starts (first start: 2021)
Best Long Beach finish : 2nd (2023)
Chatting with the drivers…
Ross Gunn : “I’m very excited to be back for another Long Beach Grand Prix. The event is always a fantastic weekend filled with lots of exciting racing. It’s a very challenging street circuit, and the walls are always close by. We took some good steps in Sebring in terms of pace and we want to carry that into Long Beach. We are under no illusions as to how difficult this circuit will be for our car, but the key is to make good strides and hopefully we will be fighting for a strong position in the top 10.”
Roman De Angelis : “I’m looking forward to the first sprint race of the 2026 IMSA season with Ross and the Aston Martin THOR team. It’s been a challenging first two weekends, with us having to overcome some issues on the way to the flag. So I am really excited to move forward and fight for a better result at Long Beach.”
Previous Race : 12 Hours of Sebring
Started: 10th
Finished: 9th
Laps: 331/343
Laps Led: 0
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage Team Information
Driver Lineup : Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello, Spencer Pumpelly
Series / Class : IMSA WeatherTech - GTD
Current Championship Standings : 1st
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello
Making his first Long Beach start
Spencer Pumpelly
4 Grand Prix of Long Beach starts (first start: 2011)
Best Long Beach finish : 2nd (2012)
Chatting with the drivers…
Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello : “Our Vantage has been very good this year, and I think the team and my teammates have been doing such a good job. We are currently leading the GTD championship, something I never thought would happen in my debut season, especially since all the tracks are new to me. I’m super excited for Long Beach. I’ve been around it on the sim, and it seems quite challenging to overtake. So, I think qualifying will be a big part of it. I have a lot of trust in my team and am ready to get the weekend started!”
Spencer Pumpelly : “It’s great to be back with the Heart of Racing. I’ve had success with this team in the past, and I’m looking forward to another good run. The atmosphere at Long Beach is always amazing, given the strong Southern California car culture and local support for the race. I’ll also have the chance to drive with Dudu, which is something I’m looking forward to. It should be a great weekend.”
Previous Race : 12 Hours of Sebring
Started: 1st
Finished: 2nd
Laps: 318 / 318
Laps Led: 100
The Heart of Racing at 6 Hours of Imola
The Heart of Racing has made four 6H of Imola starts since 2023:
Race Date : Sunday, April 19th at 7:00am ET
Best Starting Position : 2nd (2024 - Ian James - LMGT3)
Best Finish : 5th (2024 - LMGT3 - Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, Alex Riberas)
Podium Finishes : 0
Team Notes
Kobe Pauwels will fill in for Dudu Barrichello in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 entry as Barrichello will compete at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
The Heart of Racing will compete with four World Endurance Championship entries for the first time: two HYPERCAR and two LMGT3.
The No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 will make its WEC debut this weekend with Gray Newell, Pauwels, and Jonny Adam.
The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team entry hopes to build on its momentum from Bahrain last year, where it finished third in the season finale.
No. 007 Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie Team Information
Driver Lineup : Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble
Series / Class : WEC - HYPERCAR
Harry Tincknell
5 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2014)
Best Imola finish : 1st (2014 - ELMS)
Tom Gamble
2 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2022)
Best Imola finish : 2nd (2022 - ELMS)
Chatting with the drivers…
Harry Tincknell : “After the delay to the start of the season, I’m really looking forward to getting down to business at Imola. The late start has provided extra preparation time, which has been helpful. Where we are compared to the start of 2025 is chalk and cheese. We are fully staffed in all areas, have made some very good progress with the Valkyrie’s electronics package and we come to Imola with very different targets. I’m not sure it will be the best circuit for us as the Valkyrie’s high-speed cornering ability isn’t suited to a bumpy track with big curbs, so it’s pretty hard to know where we’ll be. It is an amazing place to come though, and you feel the fans sitting right on top of you in some places. I can’t wait to get going.”
Tom Gamble : “I’m incredibly excited to get the WEC season underway. We’ve had to wait a little longer than expected but it’s finally time to get started. The team worked incredibly hard over the winter to make steps forward for this year, so it’s exciting to see how it’s going to go. Imola is one of the most iconic tracks we race at so it’s going to be special to drive the Valkyrie there once again.”
No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie Team Information
Driver Lineup : Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas
Series / Class : WEC - HYPERCAR
Marco Sørensen
3 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2022)
Best Imola finish : 1st (2022 - ELMS)
Alex Riberas
2 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2024)
Best Imola finish : 5th (2024 - WEC)
Chatting with the drivers…
Marco Sørensen : “The wait to go racing with the Valkyrie in WEC has been longer than expected, but it’s such a special car to drive that you always find yourself looking forward to getting back in it. We’re now moving into a phase where everywhere we race we have a dataset to work with, which will help us understand the car’s behavior more quickly. This will allow us to get into a working window much faster every weekend. We ended the 2025 season in a pretty competitive position and I’m looking forward to us trying to maintain that momentum into 2026.”
Alex Riberas : “It feels like an eternity since we were in Bahrain last year at the finale and fighting at the front, so to finally be ready to get the new season started feels very special. Imola will be a very important race as we’ll be able to see, for the first time, where we’ve taken steps forwards as a team and how the hard work everybody’s been doing has had an impact. I’m super-excited and really looking forward to being back on track with the team.”
No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage Team Information
Driver Lineup : Gray Newell, Kobe Pauwel, Jonny Adam
Series / Class : WEC - LMGT3
Gray Newell
Making his first start at Imola and in the WEC.
Kobe Pauwel
Making his first start at Imola and in the WEC.
Jonny Adam
2 starts at Imola Circuit (first start:2020)
Best Imola finish : 1st (2020 - GT World Endurance Cup)
Chatting with the drivers…
Kobe Pauwel : “This is a significant milestone in my career. Competing in my first WEC race is both an honor and a valuable opportunity to race at the highest level of endurance racing alongside The Heart of Racing Team. I’m fully focused on maximizing every lap and contributing to the team. I already shared the car with Jonny; we worked very well together. It will be my first time sharing the car with Gray. He has shown impressive pace and improvements over the last couple of years. I am sure we will form a strong trio. I’m grateful to everyone who made this possible, and I’m ready to take on the challenge.”
Jonny Adam : “I am really looking forward to the start of the WEC 2026 season with THOR. Imola is a fantastic circuit, steeped in history, and it is a challenge due to the nature of its corners and curb profiles. Teaming up with Gray on his debut in WEC will be fun, and I’ll be there to support him along the way, plus with the addition of Kobe, whom I have raced with. We have a strong lineup to hopefully have an enjoyable, clean weekend to pick up a nice result come Sunday afternoon.”
No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage Team Information
Driver Lineup : Ian James, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi
Series / Class : WEC - LMGT3
Ian James
2 starts at Imola Circuit (first start:2024)
Best Imola finish : 5th (2024 - WEC)
Zacharie Robichon
3 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2020)
Best Imola finish : 7th (2022 - ELMS)
Mattia Drudi
18 starts at Imola Circuit (first start: 2014)
Best Imola finish : 1st (2014 - Italian F4 Championship; 2016 - Porsche Carrera Cup Italia)
Chatting with the drivers…
Zacharie Robichon : “After a few extra weeks on the sideline, it’s finally time to get the new WEC season going. Last year, we finished just off the podium in the final championship standings, and this year our goal is to move into the top three. We know we have a solid team and driver lineup, now it’s just a matter of putting it all together.”
Mattia Drudi : “I’m happy to kick off the season, especially considering it’s going to start from my home race, Imola. It’s been a long wait from Bahrain. We left the 2025 season with a strong performance, and I think we should aim to start 2026 on the same level. It’s really important to maintain consistency, keeping the same lineup and team. Last year, Imola was the only DNF we had all season, so we will push to get a really good result. I think the car suits the track well. I will push even more since I don’t live far from Imola.”
Catch the Action
IMSA WeatherTech Championship QUALIFYING : Friday, April 17 - 8:20pm ET
Peacock Streaming Coverage : LIVE – 8:20pm ET
International Streaming Coverage : LIVE – 8:20pm ET IMSA YouTube Channel
FIA World Endurance Championship QUALIFYING : Saturday, April 18 - 8:30am ET
FIAWEC+.com
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HBO MAX
IMSA WeatherTech Championship RACE : Saturday, April 18 - 4:00pm ET
NBC Network Coverage : LIVE – 4:00pm ET - 6:00pm ET
Peacock Streaming Coverage : LIVE – 4:00pm ET - 6:00pm ET
International Streaming Coverage : LIVE – 4:00pm ET - 6:00pm ET IMSA YouTube Channel
FIA World Endurance Championship RACE : Sunday, April 19 - 7:00am ET
FIAWEC+.com
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HBO MAX
IMSA WeatherTech Race 3 of 11 : Grand Prix of Long Beach
Track Length / Type : 1.968-mile 11-turn temporary street course
Race Length : 100 minutes
FIA World Endurance Championship 1 of 8 : Imola Circuit
Track Length / Type : 3.05-mile 21-turn road course
Race Length : 6 hours
Join The Drive
Use #IMSA, #AGPLB , #WEC, and #6HImola 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.
