The Heart of Racing Finishes Fifth at Imola

Imola, Italy (22 April 2024) – The Heart of Racing scored a fifth place finish in the FIA World Endurance Championship debut weekend at Imola Circuit after having a strong start in the six hour race.

Alex Riberas and Ian James made their first start at Imola Circuit this weekend along with Italian racer Daniel Mancinelli, who has previous racing experience at Imola.

Friday featured two practice sessions before Saturday’s final practice and qualifying. James qualified the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with the ninth fastest lap securing a spot in the Hyperpole session. The Heart of Racing Team Principal set a 1:43.058 second lap time securing a second place start for the Aston Martin Vantage.

James took the wheel for the opening two stints, keeping the No. 27 Heart of Racing entry at the front of the LMGT3 field. Mancinelli was next behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Vantage where he battled for fourth place for the remainder of his three stints.

As the Italian driver clinched the fourth place position on lap 132 a light rain started. Riberas was handed the No. 27 Aston Martin for the final hour of the six hour race as he managed the pace through changing conditions to come home fifth after six hours of racing.

“I think the race was good,but we expected a better result,” said Mancinelli. “Podium was our target, but we had tricky weather which threw us off strategy. We were happy to finish the race in fifth position and it was a good day for points for the championship. The Heart of Racing was great and Alex and Ian did a great job. We will go to Spa with a good car, a strong line up, and a strong team and I think we can score a better result at Spa-Francorchamp.”

The Heart of Racing’s WEC team will be back in action on May 10-12 at Spa-Francorchamps before the 24 hours of Le Mans in June.