Tough weekend for the Heart of Racing at Laguna Seca
Monterey, Calif. (May 11, 2025) - The Heart of Racing finished the TireRack.com Monterey Sportscar Championship IMSA WeatherTech weekend tenth in the GTP category and 12th the GTD class.
Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis piloted the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca over the weekend. De Angelis qualified for the duo securing an eleventh place starting position.
De Angelis drove the first half of the 2 hour and 40 minute race making his way to sit in fifth place when contact on the left rear cut a tire, forcing the Canadian down pit lane, placing him one lap down. On the same pit stop, Gunn took over the Aston Martin Valkyrie for the remainder of the event. The Valkyrie ultimately crossed the finish line in tenth.
“I think the weekend as a whole went quite well,” said De Angelis. “On a personal level it was my first qualifying in the GTP so that was a great experience that went quite well. I think we were as close to the front as we’ve been during the race. I thought the first half of the race went according to plan and the pace was competitive. We had some contact with a GT that caused a tire puncture and put us out of contention for a top seven or eight. Ross did a great job to keep us where we were, but now we are looking forward to Detroit.”
“In general, it was a progressing weekend at Laguna Seca,” said Gunn. “We suffered a puncture when we were running within 20 seconds of the leaders after forty five minutes of the race. Then from there it was just about bringing it home to the finish and we did that. It’s been a positive weekend in terms of the steps that we’ve made and now how we managed to get closer to the midfield of the class. It’s very encouraging. We’ll take everything that we learned this weekend to Detroit in three weeks time.”
Casper Stevenson and Darren Turner were behind the wheel of the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage. Stevenson qualified third on Saturday, but due to a technical infringement Stevenson was forced to start at the rear of the GTD field on Sunday.
Stevenson was moving his way through the field from 15th when he was forced off course due to contact with a Porsche. The Aston Martin Vantage had minimal damage when Turner took the wheel for the final stint, Turner was able to work his way to finish 12th in the GTD category.
“It was a weekend like Laguna, up and down,” said Turner. “Casper qualified really well, but then we were shuffled to the back of the pack for a post qualifying infringement. Casper was doing a nice job at the start of the race today then got tangled up and was sent into a barrier which forced us back to the rear. I had a lot of fun the last 12 minutes of the race and really enjoyed being back in IMSA. The team did a great job this weekend and it was great to be back with the Heart of Racing IMSA team.”
“It was a bit of a challenging weekend,” said Stevenson. “We had a great qualifying, but a very tiny thing and there we were put in the back of the field. It was always going to be hearts to come through the field but we had a great strategy. We had contact with the Porsche. It’s been great to share a car with Darren. I’ve learned a lot, but it's still tough after such a good opening two rounds.”
The Heart of Racing IMSA team will be back in action at Detroit on May 31 before heading to the Six Hours at the Glen in June.
