Surprise decision represents a recalibration of racing priorities at Aston Martin.
With the Hypercar class being introduced next season for the World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Aston Martin Valkyrie, which was due to participate, will not participate after all. And that surprising outcome represents a challenge for the series.
Courtesy: Slashgear
Aston Martin’s reason was the decline in the luxury brand of its cars, which has been a problem for the company over the past several years. In addition, the team has had 20% of its stock taken over by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who’ll use his cash to put Aston Martin into the Formula 1 World Championship, taking over the Racing Point team. The team will also continue participating in WEC GTE Pro class racing.
The French-based Automobile Club de l’quest (ACO), which runs the Lemans 24-Hour Race and North America’s IMSA, is planning to use the hypercar series to participate together in the 2021-22 series. At this time, only Toyota and Peugeot have entered hypercars for this series.
Astin Martin’s decision came as no surprise to ACO officials. “It was perhaps not unexpected in light of the persistent rumors over the last six months concerning the fragility of the brand’s exposure in the rapidly evolving automotive market,” read an ACO statement.
At Astin Martin, Chief Executive Andy Palmer feels that the company will always make Lemans their chief objective, but also feels that some changes needed to be made. “Aston Martin’s ambition in the 24-Hours of Le Mans remains undiminished, but it is also only right that we reassess our position in light of a significant change in the landscape that was not anticipated when we committed last year,” Palmer said.
And in that regard, a company statement declared change:
“The Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar will not make its WEC debut at Silverstone in August 2020 or compete in the 2021 24-Hours of Le Mans. We entered Aston Martin Valkyrie in WEC and at Le Mans with the understanding that we would be competing with similar machinery and like-minded manufacturers.”
The Valkyrie was created by both Aston Martin and Red Bull, two companies that are still in business together for the 2020 Formula 1 season. However, with Stroll’s purchase of the team, both parties will disband at the end of the year. That means the idea of having a hypercar is on hold at least for the time being.
