| The Heart of Racing | |
| Base: | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Founded: | 2014 |
| Principal: | Ian James |
| Founder: | Ian James Gabe Newell Yahn Bernier |
| Current Series: | FIA World Endurance Championship GT4 America Series IMSA SportsCar Championship Middle East Trophy GT America Series |
| Former Series: | D1NZ North Island Enduro Series GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Porsche Supercup 24H Series |
| Current Drivers: |  Roman De Angelis Mario Farnbacher Hannah Greenemeier Hannah Grisham Ross Gunn Ian James Darren Kelly Daniel Mancinelli Gray Newell Alex Riberas Zacharie Robichon |
| Drivers: |  Maxime MartinMarco Sørensen |
| Team Titles: | 2019, 2021 D1NZ, 2021 North Island Enduro Series, 2022 IMSA GTD |
| Driver Titles: | 2019, 2021 D1NZ, 2021 North Island Enduro Series, 2022 IMSA GTD |
The Heart of Racing (also known as Heart of Racing Team, or simply Heart of Racing) is an American auto racing team founded by British racing driver Ian James,[1] American businessman Gabe Newell,[2] and American developer Yahn Bernier.[3] [4] Heart of Racing primarily compete in sports car racing with factory support from Aston Martin. The team races in support of the Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, Washington.
The name "The Heart of Racing" was initially a campaign launched by Team Seattle in 1997, where in races they would support the Seattle Children's hospital in Seattle, Washington.[5] This campaign has since continued beyond the establishment of the racing team, where they continue to support the cause in every race they participate in. Ian James, a former member of Team Seattle, established the racing team under the same name as the campaign, where the team would partner with Team Seattle and Alex Job Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for three seasons up until 2016.
From 2014 to 2016, the combined effort teams of The Heart of Racing, Team Seattle, and Alex Job Racing ran Porsche 911 GT3 R race cars, finishing in the Top 5 in two of the three seasons. Heart of Racing also supported Michael Ammermüller and Lechner Racing for a season in 2015 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, where Ammermüller finished 4th overall and taking home six podium finishes. Heart of Racing also won the D1NZ drifting series twice with the team in the 2019 and 2021 seasons with New Zealander racing driver Darren Kelly in a modified Nissan GT-R.
In 2020, The Heart of Racing returned after a three-year hiatus returning to IMSA competition in the GTD class with support from Aston Martin. The driver lineup consisted of Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas, Ian James, Nicki Thiim and Darren Turner. Their best result came at the 2020 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing 2nd.[6]
Heart of Racing's first victory would come at the 2021 Detroit Sports Car Classic with Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn, after rival entry CarBahn with Peregrine Racing failed to meet the 40-second refuelling requirement in the regulations, thus disqualifying them.[7] Both De Angelis and Gunn would win again in the 2021 Northeast Grand Prix. Ian James would join the duo for the 2021 Petit Le Mans, where they would win once more in the GTD class. The No. 23 car ultimately concluded the 2021 season 3rd in the final GTD class standings. Heart of Racing raced in the 2021 GT4 America Series, competing in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 with Ian James and Gabe Newell's son Gray. James and Gray Newell finished the year 13th in Pro-Am, collecting a win in the second race of the Watkins Glen round. In the 2023 GT4 America Series, De Angelis and Newell completed the season 4th in the Pro-Am class, and Hannah Grisham and Rianna O'Meara-Hunt finished 6th in the Am class. Riberas and Kelly also won the 2021 North Island Enduro Series championship in New Zealand.[8]
The team entered a second No. 23 Aston Martin entry in the GTD Pro class for the 2022 season, with Riberas and Gunn competing in the full season. De Angelis returned to the No. 27 GTD entry for the full season. James, Turner, Maxime Martin, and Tom Gamble also participated alongside the team in select rounds for both GTD and GTD Pro entries.[9] Both entries would each win two races, most notably taking a double class victory in the 2022 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.[10] The No. 23 car finished 4th in the GTD Pro standings, whereas both the No. 27 car and De Angelis would win the GTD championship.[11]
The team also helped develop Kelly's Formula D Aston Martin Vantage, which debuted in the 2022 Formula D season. Kelly's Vantage was powered by a twin-supercharged 6.0-liter V12 sourced from Aston Martin, and used components from the GT3 and GT4 racing versions of the Vantage.[12]
For the 2023 season, both entries would complete the season in the Top 5 of the GTD Pro and GTD standings, the No. 23 car finishing 5th and the No. 27 car finishing 2nd respectively. During the season, The Heart of Racing would see a class victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona event for the first time, also finishing ahead of the GTD Pro-winning car, taking victory in the 2023 edition of the race with De Angelis, Marco Sørensen, James, and Turner.[13] The No. 23 also gained two additional victories, winning in Road America and Lime Rock Park, the latter the No. 27 car also won, completing another double class win for the team.[14]
Following Paul Dalla Lana's retirement from racing, Heart of Racing replaced NorthWest AMR in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship in a mid-season switch, taking their spot in the entry list beginning at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.[15] The driver lineup was replaced by Riberas, James, and Daniel Mancinelli.[16] With the exception of the Monza round, the team, still competing under the NorthWest AMR name to conform with series regulations,[17] finished in the Top 7 in all of the remaining races in the schedule, including a 3rd-place podium finish at the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain.[18]
Later that same year, The Heart of Racing announced that they would be in charge of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Le Mans Hypercar programme for 2025, a project that Aston Martin revived after initially ending the project in 2020 to focus on their Formula One venture. The team is also collaborating with Multimatic to assist with operations.[19]
In 2024, The Heart of Racing confirmed that they would field two Aston Martin Valkyries for both the Hypercar class and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2025,[20] [21] following an announcement at a press conference from organizers of the FIA World Endurance Championship that a Hypercar team would be required to field two cars to participate.[22] The team completed a shakedown with the Valkyrie at Silverstone Circuit and Donington Park in July, with Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner, Multimatic driver Harry Tincknell, and Heart of Racing's Mario Farnbacher present at the test.[23] [24]
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Drivers | Class | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NorthWest AMR | 98 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas | LMGTE Am | 310 | 33rd | 6th | |
| 2024 | Heart of Racing Team | 27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas | LMGT3 | 196 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Entrant | Class | No | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NorthWest AMR | LMGTE Am | 98 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Aston Martin M177 4.0 L Turbo V8 | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas | SEB | POR | SPA | LMS | MZA | FUJ | BHR | 9th | 51 | ||
| 2024 | Heart of Racing Team | LMGT3 | 27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo | Aston Martin M177 4.0 L Turbo V8 | Ian James Daniel Mancinelli Alex Riberas | QAT | ITA | SPA | LMS | SAP | COTA | FUJ | BHR | 4th* | 55* |