Four Podiums Across Two Races Signals Strong Start for Vantage GT3 and GT4 Entries
By David Phillips
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aston Martin’s winged logo was a regular presence on the Daytona International Speedway’s podium throughout the opening weekend of the 2026 IMSA schedule. With four podiums, Aston Martin matched Mercedes-AMG and Porsche as the brand with the most podiums coming out of Daytona. Each had four apiece spread across the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races.
First, Rebel Rock Racing’s No. 71 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo scored an improbable Grand Sport (GS) win ahead of the No. 14 Circle H Racing Aston Martin in Friday’s BMW M Endurance Challenge to kick off the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign.
Some 48 hours later, Magnus Racing’s No. 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo scored a runner-up finish in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) category of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, ably backed up by the Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin in third spot. Van der Steur Racing’s No. 19 Aston Martin added an 11th place result in the 21-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD field that had been led to the green flag by Zacharie Robichon in the pole-winning Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
There’s a long way to go to the IMSA season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October, but the iconic British marque is certainly enjoying a rousing start to the 2026 campaign.
Not that the Aston Martin contingent was short on challenges at Daytona. After posting second fastest time in Michelin Pilot Challenge opening practice session, the Rebel Rock Vantage was sidelined by differential problems. The resulting loss of track time ultimately saw Frank DePew qualify an unrepresentative 22nd in the 35-car GS field, and a hectic opening lap made things worse when the Rebel Rock Aston Martin was shuffled back to 33rd spot.
Undaunted and with time on their side in a four-hour race, DePew and co-drivers Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell methodically worked their way through the field to battle the Circle H Racing Aston Martin for the lead in the latter stages.
Rather than trying to save a few seconds by bolting-on just two new tires on their final pit stop, the Rebel Rock crew gave Liddell four fresh Michelins. The resulting boost of grip on all four corners of the Aston Martin enabled the Scotsman to snatch the lead from Circle H’s Thomas Merrill with less than 20 minutes remaining and go on to take the win.
“The Aston Martin was brilliant through my stint and worked so well on the Michelins,” said Liddell, “and everyone throughout the team has done a fantastic job. Frank’s stint was outstanding in how he kept his head after losing out at the start and just gained places, Andrew did a hell of a job and the crew in the pits were flawless. Going for four tires at the last stop was a no-brainer as we could easily fit them in the time it took to fuel, and I’d say it gave us an advantage towards the end to chase down the leaders and pass them. What a day!”
The Circle H result was as impressive if not more so given it was a new team fielding a new car. The David Hampton/Thomas Merrill pairing switched from AR Motorsports and Porsche to an Archangel Motorsports-run Aston and added third driver Martin Sarukanyhan for Daytona.
It was déjà vu all over again for Aston Martin in the opening minutes of the Rolex 24, at least for Magnus Racing. For while the Heart of Racing Vantage was in the thick of the battle for the GTD class lead from the outset, John Potter spent the first two hours of the race patiently working the No.44 Aston Martin up the charts into the top 10 . . . only for an untimely full course caution to put the Magnus Vantage down a lap to the class leaders.
Unphased, Potter, Spencer Pumpelly, Madison Snow, Nicki Thiim and the Magnus crew regained the lead lap and, later, put the Magnus Aston Martin in the lead in the final hour of the race only to come out second best in a fierce battle with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 after the cars traded paint at upwards of 180 mph. It was a bittersweet second-place finish after Thiim’s battle with Philip Ellis came up just 1.367 seconds short. Snow stepped in admirably for Andy Lally for the first time as part of a Magnus lineup.
“How fortunate are we to be disappointed in second,” said Potter. “We’d be lying to say the last few minutes weren’t disappointing, but ultimately, we’re happy to be on the podium knowing the team performed so well. To be leading with such a strong car, and only minutes remaining, is a testament to how everyone executed. The drivers performed well, the crew was faultless, the car was fast, and the strategy put us in the right place at the end.”
Just a few ticks behind that lead battle came the Heart of Racing entry, third in GTD for a second straight year at the Rolex.
“It’s a bit weird to say you’re disappointed with third,” said Robichon, “but looking at how the race looked cold and how my teammates did, I think every single one of us put our best foot forward. We can hold our heads up high, we just didn’t quite have that last little bit today. It wasn’t for a lack of execution and a lack of trying. All you can do is tip your hat to the 57 and 44 cars, they were just a bit better than us today, but we’ll be back.”
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, echoed those sentiments.
“Once again Vantage has proven itself capable of challenging for and winning the biggest races on the planet,” he said. “Vantage has now taken pole position at both Le Mans and Daytona within seven months of each other, which proves the speed of the latest-generation version of the car . . . Vantage is Aston Martin’s most successful race car of all time and this start to the season just serves to make everybody involved even more eager to add more trophies to the car’s ever-growing collection in 2026.”
Heart of Racing Team’s other two cars at Daytona battled well. The all-Hannah lineup of Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier, joined by Mike David Ortmann at Daytona, ended a strong 11th in GS in their Michelin Pilot Challenge debut, just missing the top 10.
The much-hyped Aston Martin THOR Team’s Valkyrie Rolex 24 debut was sonorous as expected as its V12 engine screamed on the Daytona banks, but lost time in the garage due to an electrical issue. Still, finishing its second 24-hour race debut in seven months after also doing so at Le Mans was a healthy achievement.
Based on the first weekend of the IMSA schedule, Aston Martin may well need to build an annex to the Vantage trophy case by year’s end.