The works Aston Martin THOR Team, and drivers Marco Sørensen (DEN) and Alex Riberas (ESP) finished fifth in the 6 Hours of Fuji, marking a new high in the programme, having delivered front-running pace throughout the weekend in Japan. Aston Martin is one of three manufacturers to have competed in every WEC race since the series’ inception in 2012. Having claimed 53 class victories and 11 world championship titles in that time, it was fitting that the brand should achieve its best result so far for the Hypercar programme at the series’ centennial event. “While finishing fifth in the 6 Hours of Fuji is a commendable result, given the fact the programme is still so young, the highly competitive performance delivered by the Aston Martin THOR Team, Valkyrie, and both the drivers, was hugely encouraging,” said Aston Martin Head of Endurance, Adam Carter. “Just as in the Lone Star Le Mans at The Circuit of The Americas earlier in the month, Valkyrie was able to race near the front of the field. And in Fuji it demonstrated enough pace to make it a genuine podium contender. Had we not witnessed such an eventful race, I don’t believe it is unrealistic to think we could have claimed one of the top positions in the race. That is a huge testament to the team and another example of the positive momentum we are building within the programme.” Never out of the top five in all three free practice sessions, three-time GT world champion Sørensen qualified fastest for Saturday’s prestigious Hyperpole session before ultimately securing a place on the inside of the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race. The Dane was tasked with starting what proved to be a chaotic race neutralised no less than six times because of lengthy full course yellow [FCY] periods. The #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie ran a comfortable third initially, shadowing the leaders with pace in hand until the first of those FCYs. He then dropped to the back of the Hypercar Class pack with a drive-through penalty, before unleashing a breathtaking charge to rise again through the order.

Riberas was faced with a similar task as frequent FCYs put the Valkyrie out of track position through no fault of the team, but the Spaniard delivered an exceptional performance to calmly navigate all the drama and climb as high as fourth. When Sørensen returned to the car for his final stint, he was often the fastest driver/car combination on track, but a final stop to take on four fresh tyres while those around him settled for two, ultimately put a maiden podium tantalisingly out of reach as he raced past the #7 Toyota and the 6 Hours of São Paulo-winning Cadillac to finish sixth on the road. The #009 was then promoted to fifth in the official updated results which took into account race penalties for rivals. “When you look back to Qatar at the start of the season a result like this would have seemed like a dream,” said Aston Martin THOR Team principal Ian James. “Now we’re a little frustrated not to have achieved a podium finish. We have become increasingly competitive, and we will keep pushing. We are racing against the best sportscar teams in the world, and we can hold our heads high after that performance.” The result meant that Sørensen and Riberas became the first Aston Martin drivers to claim world championship points in WEC’s top class. It was the second points finish for the team, which scored two points for finishing 12th in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. “That was one crazy race,” said Sørensen. “There was so much going on, with so many FCYs and Safety Cars, it made the race very difficult to manage in a lot of areas. I think we did the most we could in the circumstances. We made a few mistakes, but in the end, we had good pace and it kind of feels like we were fast enough to be on the podium. I think the pace we showed today, where we were fighting right at the front, just showed how far the whole programme has come since Qatar. I’m sure that we’re going to keep building on this, as we have all season and we will try again in Bahrain.” Riberas added: “This does feel a little bittersweet, as crazy as it sounds. Firstly, huge congratulations to the team. To say we are not completely happy to have finished fifth, when you think back to where we were at the beginning of the programme, is definitely a very good sign. But today was one of those races where everything was just so unpredictable, when all we needed was just a clean run to have a shot at the podium!” The unique 6.5-litre, V12-powered Valkyrie is the first ‘Le Mans Hypercar’ (LMH) to be produced by Aston Martin. Raced by the works Aston Martin THOR Team, Valkyrie is the only car in WEC’s premier category derived from a road-legal hypercar and made its global debut in the Qatar 1812km in February. It is also the only one to also race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America. Developed from the Valkyrie production car by Aston Martin and THOR, the competition version blends a race-optimised carbon fibre chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000rpm and produces over 1000bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kw (680bhp) power limit as per regulations. The final round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship will take place in Bahrain, on Saturday, 8 November, 2025.