WEC rookie McIntosh, who finished second in the Silver Am class of the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa last month, started the race and led initially before holding his own in second place until the first pitstops. Emerging sixth for the second part of his double stint, he stayed in contention near the front of the pack until a small mistake dropped the car out of the top ten before the American handed the car over to Barrichello.

The 23-year-old then put on an outstanding double-stint, racing the car back into the fight for the podium. Another strong double-stint from Hasse Clot followed, meaning that Barrichello found himself in fifth in the final hour of the race. Once again, he went on the attack, passing two cars in the final 15 minutes and claiming third position with just three laps to go.

“It was crazy,” said Barrichello. “I had to put all my faith in the engineers who were telling me how hard to push the tyres at the end of the race because I couldn’t drive them too hard or I would have gone to zero very quickly. But we were able to manage it and thankfully everything worked out and we had enough in the car to take third position at the end.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have finished on the podium in my home race, and it was so incredible to experience that special reception from the fans. I’m not sure I deserved it, but I enjoyed it anyway! It is an honour to race an Aston Martin here at Interlagos, and it has been such an incredible weekend – one of the best of my life.”

The podium marked the first for all three drivers, as well as the best result for RSL in only its fifth WEC start. In the five occasions that Interlagos has appeared on the WEC schedule since 2012, Vantage has now taken three class wins and five further podiums. This was the second time the latest iteration of the Vantage GT3, which was introduced in 2024, has finished on the podium. The Heart of Racing (THOR) finished second in last year’s event. RSL’s pole position was also the second consecutive one for Vantage in WEC, with THOR having claimed the accolade in June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Vantage recorded another strong result in Round 6 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) as North America’s leading GT series headed north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). With the top GTP class not contesting the Canadian event, Valkyrie Hypercar racer Roman De Angelis (CDN) stood in for Tom Gamble (GBR) - who was on WEC duty in Brazil – alongside Casper Stevenson (GBR) in THOR’s #27 Vantage GT3, which had triumphed in the GTD class at the previous race at Watkins Glen International two weeks previously.

De Angelis, the 2022 GTD class champion and Stevenson set competitive times all weekend and turned a fourth place start into sixth at the chequered flag; the leading pack often covered by just a handful of seconds during the two-hour, forty-minute race. The result keeps Stevenson and THOR in the thick of the hunt for the GTD Drivers’ and Teams’ titles; both holding third place in their respective battles.

Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter said: “We congratulate Racing Spirit of Léman on an outstanding performance throughout the weekend. The team maximised the potential of Vantage in qualifying at Interlagos and then delivered with an exceptional podium in the race. Eduardo Barrichello’s performance was highly encouraging in only his fifth WEC start, while Ian McIntosh enjoyed an excellent debut and Valentin Hasse Clot, just like the team, thoroughly enjoyed this podium. The result once again emphasises the versality and competitiveness of Vantage GT3, key components to success in customer racing. The Heart of Racing ran strongly once again in IMSA at CTMP, and, once again is in contention for the title as we move into the final third of the season.”

Sharing the mechanical architecture of the ultra-luxury performance brand’s most focused sportscar, the Vantage GT3 is built around Aston Martin’s proven bonded aluminium chassis and powered by its fearsome twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. As well as victory in IMSA at Watkins Glen, the car recorded multiple class victories in the 2025 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as well as a class podium in the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring, last month.

WEC now takes a summer break before reconvening at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for 6-hour Lone Star Le Mans on 5-7 September. Meanwhile IMSA continues at Road America on August 1-3.