Aston Martin’s endurance racing momentum continued to gather force in California as the Vantage GT3 delivered another statement result in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, securing a hard-fought GTD class podium at Laguna Seca during the StubHub Monterey Sportscar Championship.
The result marked the fourth podium finish in as many IMSA races this season for the British marque’s most successful modern competition car, reinforcing its reputation as a benchmark in global GT3 racing. The performance came courtesy of the Heart of Racing Team entry, where Dudu Barrichello and Aston Martin works driver Tom Gamble executed a measured and composed drive across a demanding two-hour, forty-minute sprint at one of North America’s most technically unforgiving circuits.
Barrichello’s qualifying effort placed the Vantage GT3 third in class, immediately setting the tone for a weekend built on precision and consistency. From there, the duo remained firmly embedded within the leading group, rarely slipping outside the top three and demonstrating the car’s balance through Laguna Seca’s flowing elevation changes and heavy braking zones. Their second-place finish not only added another podium to the team’s growing tally but also strengthened their position in the highly competitive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD standings.
For Barrichello, the result carried additional significance. The Brazilian rookie continues to emerge as one of the season’s standout performers, collecting his third GTD podium in his debut IMSA campaign while extending his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship. His season has also included a class pole at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, underlining a rapid adaptation to North America’s premier sportscar series and the demands of endurance racing at the highest level.
The Heart of Racing outfit also strengthened its grip on the GTD Teams’ Championship, building on a season defined by consistency and execution. The Vantage platform has now delivered podium finishes across multiple circuits and race formats in 2026, including success at Daytona earlier in the year, reinforcing the depth of competitiveness within the Aston Martin customer racing ecosystem.
Further down the field, the second Aston Martin entry from Van Der Steur Racing showcased resilience in the face of early adversity. After qualifying strongly in sixth, the Vantage GT3 suffered first-lap damage that forced an early unscheduled pit stop for repairs. Despite the setback, Rory van der Steur and Scott Andrews mounted a determined recovery, executing an alternative fuel strategy that briefly propelled them as high as second in class during the race’s mid-stages.
With no Full-Course Yellow interruptions to assist strategic conservation, the team ultimately required a late splash-and-dash stop to reach the finish, crossing the line in tenth place. While the result did not reflect their underlying pace, the recovery drive highlighted both strategic ingenuity and the inherent competitiveness of the Vantage package even under compromised conditions.
The Laguna Seca event represented the first traditional road course test of the 2026 IMSA season following a diverse opening stretch that included Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach. According to Aston Martin’s endurance leadership, the performance profile of the Vantage GT3 at Laguna Seca signals strong adaptability across the remaining calendar, particularly as the championship transitions toward more conventional circuits.
As Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, noted, the combination of technical execution and racecraft demonstrated by both customer teams points toward sustained competitiveness in the months ahead. With more than a third of the season now complete, the Vantage GT3 continues to position itself as a decisive force in the GTD title fight, carrying both momentum and confidence into the next rounds.
Attention now turns to Watkins Glen for the Sahlen’s Six Hours, where the next chapter of the endurance campaign will unfold in one of IMSA’s most storied venues, with championship battles intensifying and margins continuing to narrow.
