Aston Martin Vantage Extends Championship Lead with Fourth Podium of 2026
Aston Martin's Vantage secured its fourth consecutive podium finish of 2026, placing second in the GTD class at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca. This result further extended Dudu Barrichello's and The Heart of Racing team's championship leads.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 02:54
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 18:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 19:59 (1h 27m after Collected)
Laguna Seca, USA: The Aston Martin Vantage secured a GTD class podium at the StubHub Monterey Sports Car Championship, the pinnacle of the North American IMSA series held at Laguna Seca.
Dudu Barrichello, partnered with works driver Tom Gamble, achieved his third podium finish of his debut IMSA season with The Heart of Racing's Vantage GT3.
Barrichello extended his advantage in the IMSA GTD class driver championship, while The Heart of Racing team also increased its GTD class team points.
Van der Steur Racing faced early misfortune but fought back to finish in the top 10.
May 4, 2026, Laguna Seca (USA):
Aston Martin's championship-winning Vantage achieved its fourth consecutive podium finish in four races at the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held on Sunday at Laguna Seca, California.
The second-place finish by Aston Martin's most successful racing car, the Vantage, from the ultra-luxury British brand, allowed The Heart of Racing (THOR) team to solidify its advantage by extending its points lead in both driver and team categories, more than one-third of the way through the season.
The StubHub Monterey Sports Car Championship was the first sprint race of the 2026 IMSA season, typically lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes. Throughout the weekend, THOR's Dudu Barrichello (Brazil) and Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble (UK) demonstrated fast and consistent performance.
Barrichello qualified third in the GTD class, and in the main race, Barrichello and Gamble maintained a position within the top three throughout, ultimately securing second place. For Barrichello, this marks his third GTD podium finish in his promising debut IMSA season, which includes a class pole position at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Combined with the magnificent second place achieved by Magnus Racing's John Potter (USA), Spencer Pumpelly (USA), Madison Snow (USA), and Nicki Thiim (Denmark) at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Vantage has now achieved four IMSA podiums in 2026.
Barrichello, from Brazil, further doubled his lead over second place in the Drivers' Championship, and The Heart of Racing is similarly making strides in the team title race.
Aston Martin's other partner team, Van der Steur Racing (VDSR), saw Rory Van der Steur (USA) secure a solid sixth-place start in the No. 19 Vantage during Saturday's qualifying. With works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot (France) competing in the European Le Mans Series in France, Van der Steur partnered with Scott Andrews (Australia) at Laguna Seca.
VDSR was forced into an unscheduled early pit stop for repairs due to damage incurred on the first lap. They then made a brilliant comeback to rejoin the leading lap and, thanks to a different fuel strategy than most other teams, temporarily climbed to second place. However, in the latter half of the race, without a full course yellow to save fuel, they needed a late splash-and-go to reach the finish, crossing the finish line in 10th place.
Since the upcoming Detroit Grand Prix does not feature the GTD class, the next IMSA appearance for the Vantage will be at the Watkins Glen 6 Hours race, held from June 25-28.
Victorious at the 2024 Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours, the world's most prestigious GT3 race, the Vantage GT3 adopts the same mechanical architecture as the ultra-luxury road car Vantage. It is built around Aston Martin's proven bonded aluminum chassis and powered by a potent 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo engine.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, commented: "Laguna Seca is a challenging circuit for any type of racing car. We have experienced various tracks including Daytona, Sebring, and Long Beach, and for the Vantage, Laguna Seca this year...
Dudu Barrichello, partnered with works driver Tom Gamble, achieved his third podium finish of his debut IMSA season with The Heart of Racing's Vantage GT3.
Barrichello extended his advantage in the IMSA GTD class driver championship, while The Heart of Racing team also increased its GTD class team points.
Van der Steur Racing faced early misfortune but fought back to finish in the top 10.
May 4, 2026, Laguna Seca (USA):
Aston Martin's championship-winning Vantage achieved its fourth consecutive podium finish in four races at the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held on Sunday at Laguna Seca, California.
The second-place finish by Aston Martin's most successful racing car, the Vantage, from the ultra-luxury British brand, allowed The Heart of Racing (THOR) team to solidify its advantage by extending its points lead in both driver and team categories, more than one-third of the way through the season.
The StubHub Monterey Sports Car Championship was the first sprint race of the 2026 IMSA season, typically lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes. Throughout the weekend, THOR's Dudu Barrichello (Brazil) and Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble (UK) demonstrated fast and consistent performance.
Barrichello qualified third in the GTD class, and in the main race, Barrichello and Gamble maintained a position within the top three throughout, ultimately securing second place. For Barrichello, this marks his third GTD podium finish in his promising debut IMSA season, which includes a class pole position at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Combined with the magnificent second place achieved by Magnus Racing's John Potter (USA), Spencer Pumpelly (USA), Madison Snow (USA), and Nicki Thiim (Denmark) at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Vantage has now achieved four IMSA podiums in 2026.
Barrichello, from Brazil, further doubled his lead over second place in the Drivers' Championship, and The Heart of Racing is similarly making strides in the team title race.
Aston Martin's other partner team, Van der Steur Racing (VDSR), saw Rory Van der Steur (USA) secure a solid sixth-place start in the No. 19 Vantage during Saturday's qualifying. With works driver Valentin Hasse-Clot (France) competing in the European Le Mans Series in France, Van der Steur partnered with Scott Andrews (Australia) at Laguna Seca.
VDSR was forced into an unscheduled early pit stop for repairs due to damage incurred on the first lap. They then made a brilliant comeback to rejoin the leading lap and, thanks to a different fuel strategy than most other teams, temporarily climbed to second place. However, in the latter half of the race, without a full course yellow to save fuel, they needed a late splash-and-go to reach the finish, crossing the finish line in 10th place.
Since the upcoming Detroit Grand Prix does not feature the GTD class, the next IMSA appearance for the Vantage will be at the Watkins Glen 6 Hours race, held from June 25-28.
Victorious at the 2024 Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours, the world's most prestigious GT3 race, the Vantage GT3 adopts the same mechanical architecture as the ultra-luxury road car Vantage. It is built around Aston Martin's proven bonded aluminum chassis and powered by a potent 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo engine.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, commented: "Laguna Seca is a challenging circuit for any type of racing car. We have experienced various tracks including Daytona, Sebring, and Long Beach, and for the Vantage, Laguna Seca this year...