Round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship took place at the world-famous Circuit de Spa‑Francorchamps, as the championship headed to the iconic Ardennes forest venue for the latest running of the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
EDGE Sporting Management driver Tom Gamble arrived looking to continue the encouraging momentum shown by the factory Aston Martin Hypercar programme, with the British manufacturer continuing to make significant progress with the development of the spectacular Aston Martin Valkyrie run by the Thor race team.
That progress was immediately evident in qualifying, where the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie secured an impressive P10 result to progress into the Hyperpole shootout. With only the top 10 Hypercars advancing into the final phase of qualifying, simply reaching Hyperpole represented another strong step forward for the developing programme.
However, the team was not finished there.
In the Hyperpole session itself, Gambles team mate Harry Tinknell and the Aston Martin squad delivered an even stronger performance, climbing to P7 on the grid and ending the session just four tenths of a second away from pole position around one of the longest and most demanding circuits on the calendar. The result further underlined the rapid development being made by Aston Martin’s Hypercar project against some of the world’s biggest manufacturers.
The opening phases of the six-hour race proved more challenging, however, with the #007 machine spending much of the first four hours circulating just outside the points-paying positions in P11. Despite the strong qualifying pace, Gamble admitted the race initially felt frustrating as the team struggled to fully convert that speed into race position.
With two hours remaining, though, the complexion of the race changed dramatically.
A safety car period reshuffled the field and suddenly brought the Aston Martin Valkyrie firmly back into contention for a major result. Gamble climbed aboard the car for the final phase of the race and quickly found himself battling inside the top six.
Then came one of the defining moments of the weekend.
As the field charged up the legendary Eau Rouge and Raidillon section, the factory Alpine Hypercar spun directly in front of Gamble at high speed, leaving the EDGE Sporting Management driver with virtually no time to react. Displaying exceptional reactions and composure, Gamble somehow avoided major contact in what could easily have been a huge accident for both cars.
Watching the onboard footage afterwards highlighted just how close the incident had been, with Gamble later admitting it felt as though his “life flashed before his eyes” for a brief moment as he narrowly avoided the spinning Alpine.
After regathering himself from the near miss, Gamble resumed the charge and soon found himself running in fifth position with around half an hour remaining.
From there, the British driver hunted down former Formula One drive, Kamui Kobayashi, in the factory Toyota Hypercar, relentlessly closing the gap before eventually making the decisive pass to elevate the Aston Martin into fourth place.
That ultimately proved to be the finishing position, but the pace of the Valkyrie in the closing stages was hugely encouraging. Gamble crossed the line just three seconds behind the third-placed factory Ferrari and only five seconds behind the race-winning BMW after six hours of racing — a remarkable turnaround and a significant statement of intent from Aston Martin’s Hypercar programme.
The result also marked back-to-back points finishes for the team and provided a major morale boost heading into the next round of the championship at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Following the race, Gamble commented:
“I really didn’t expect that, especially when we were running P11 with two hours to go. Honestly, I was probably only inches away from a monumental accident at Eau Rouge when the Alpine spun in front of me, and for a moment it was pretty scary. Once everything settled down, though, I managed to really focus and put together some strong laps. To come away with P4 is an incredible result for everyone involved and a huge morale boost going into Le Mans. Massive thanks as always to Aston Martin, the Thor team and EDGE Sporting Management for all of their support.”