Gamble describes Aston Martin WEC Hypercar move as a “pinch yourself moment”

New Aston Martin driver Tom Gamble has described signing for the British marque to race the brand new Valkyrie within the World Endurance Championship as a “pinch your self second”. 

The 2018 McLaren Autosport BRDC Younger Driver of the Yr revealed racing for a producer within the prime class of the WEC had turn into his aspiration after switching to sportscar racing in 2019 with a marketing campaign within the GT World Problem Europe. 

“As quickly as I went into sportscars I used to be desirous about WEC and the Le Mans 24 Hours,” Gamble, 23, advised Autosport.

“After I went into LMP3 with United Autosports and gained the European Le Mans Collection title, that basically focussed my thoughts on what I needed to do. 

“That was round in regards to the time that the producers have been actually beginning to present curiosity in Hypercar, so I feel each sportscar driver’s ambition was to get there.

“To get the prospect to try this with Aston Martin and race at Le Mans is a pinch your self second.”

Gamble, whose full-season partner in the #007 Valkyrie AMR-LMH will be Harry Tincknell, was chosen for The Coronary heart of Racing manufacturing unit Aston squad after being given a check at Jerez late final yr. 

He had beforehand pushed for THOR in three IMSA SportsCar Championship races within the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in 2022, shifting up from the common GT Daytona class entry on the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours to its GTD Professional entry for the Petit Le Mans finale at Highway Atlanta.

“That was fairly essential in my profession as a result of it was type of my first position as a gold-rated driver after getting upgraded,” mentioned Gamble. 

“It went effectively, I bought on effectively with the workforce and I at all times stayed in contact, after which I bought the decision to do the check in Spain. It appeared like all of the laborious work I’ve put in through the years has paid off.”

Gamble strikes into his new position after two years as a McLaren manufacturing unit driver, a stint that culminated in his look with the Optimum Motorsport workforce on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Collection at Sepang in December.

He defined that in two seasons with McLaren he “learnt quite a bit about being a manufacturing unit driver and what the position beholds”. 

#27 Coronary heart of Racing Staff Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Tom Gamble, Casper Stevenson, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi

Photograph by: IMSA

Gamble was introduced as an Aston manufacturing unit driver for the Valkyrie programme on Wednesday, when the liveries of THOR’s WEC and IMSA entries have been additionally revealed. 

He and Tincknell shall be joined by Ross Gunn for chosen WEC rounds, together with the season-opening 10-hour fixture in Qatar on 28 February and Le Mans in June. 

THOR’s second AMR-LMH within the WEC shall be raced by Marco Sorensen and Alex Riberas, with Roman De Angelis doing the longer races. 

Gunn and De Angelis kind the line-up for the workforce’s solo IMSA entry, which is able to race for the primary time at subsequent month’s Sebring 12 Hours.