Aston Martin has announced the suspension of its “Hypercar” program, the new category running at Le Mans from 2021, leaving Peugeot and Toyota, the only manufacturers interested at the moment.
By Luxus Plus
The future of the new “Hypercar” category, which will race at Le Mans 24 Hours from 2021, has been hit hard by the announcement by Aston Martin of the suspension of the development program for its “Valkyrie” car .
“The decision announced by Aston Martin is very regrettable but perhaps not unexpected, following persistent rumors over the past six months about the fragility of the brand’s visibility in a rapidly changing car market, in parallel with its decision to enter Formula One as a factory team in 2021” said the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), organizer of the famous motorsport event, in a statement yesterday.
The company said it had made its decision following a recent agreement between the ACO and the IMSA, which organizes endurance races in the United States, authorizing cars meeting IMSA standards to race at Le Mans from the year 2021.
“This decision implies that the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar will not make its WEC championship debut in September 2020 and will not participate in Le Mans 24 Hours in 2021. Aston Martin will now think about its future participation in the prototype category and remains open to any discussion with the two organizations to find an arrangement on its future participation” said the British brand in a statement.
Aston Martin was one of three brands, with Toyota and Peugeot, to have expressed interest in this new Hypercar category intended to replace the current LMP1. They must be based on series super-sports cars produced in a minimum of 20 copies over two years or else be prototypes dressed in a super-sports body with lines reminiscent of the manufacturer’s style.
Aston Martin had announced at the end of January its arrival in Formula 1 from 2021 under its own name following the entry into its capital of the Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, current owner of the team of F1 Racing Point.
In fact, the association that continues today in F1 between Aston Martin and Red Bull, which is also associated with the Valkyrie program, will end.
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