The Heart of Racing announced their 2026 driver lineups for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Tuesday (Dec. 2). The team will continue to field the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie in the GTP class and the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO in the GTD class on a full-time basis.
In the Valkyrie, the duo of Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn will continue in the car full-time, including the car’s first start at Daytona in January (the Valkyrie debuted in IMSA at Sebring). They’ll be joined at Daytona, Sebring and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta by Alex Riberas (pictured above). Marco Sorensen will be the fourth driver in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“I’m incredibly excited to be returning with the Heart of Racing and Aston Martin for our second year in the hypercar class,” De Angelis said in the press release. “Last year was a huge year of growth for the whole team, and ending it with the first podium of the program was just amazing. Heading into 2026, we’ve got a lot of momentum, and I couldn’t be happier to be back alongside my teammate and good friend, Ross Gunn. We’re ready to take on the new season together and keep pushing forward.”
The listed quartet raced together in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTD Pro class, an interim effort with the Valkyrie not being ready to go at the time. They ended up finishing 14th in class after dropping out early due to mechanical issues.
In the Valkyrie, 2025 was a development year for the first hypercar to race in IMSA. The team struggled early on to find pace, but improved as the season continued on. The best run of the year was the season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where De Angelis, Gunn and Riberas finished second in October. At the end of the year, De Angelis and Gunn ended up 12th in GTP points.
In GTD, the team will welcome Eduardo Barrichello, son of former Formula 1 racer Rubens Barrichello, to the fold. He’ll drive the No. 27 Aston Martin full-time. In Daytona, Barrichello will be joined by Mattia Drudi, Tom Gamble and Zacharie Robichon.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to race in IMSA,” Barrichello stated. “I’ve seen my dad compete in the series on multiple occasions, and since then, it has become a personal goal. To get to do it with such an iconic team is something I never thought possible. I’m extremely happy and grateful to be doing it with the great group at The Heart of Racing, and I can’t wait to get started. Bring on 2026!”
Barrichello made his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September for van der Steur Racing alongside Valentin Hasse-Clot and Anthony McIntosh. The race resulted in a DNF due to mechanical issues at the halfway point.
Barrichello is coming off of his debut season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Racing Spirit of Leman. Teamed up with Hasse-Clot full-time (the third seat was split between McIntosh and Derek DeBoer), the duo finished 15th in LMGT3 points with a third-place finish at Interlagos in July.
Barrichello will replace Casper Stevenson with the team. Last month, he was announced as the third driver for DragonSpeed.
Stevenson ultimately shared the No. 27 with five different teammates this year (Drudi, De Angelis, Gamble, Robichon and Darren Turner). Running solo for the title, he finished third in points with a victory at Watkins Glen and three third-place finishes (Daytona, Sebring and VIR).
For now, Barrichello is the only confirmed full-time driver in the No. 27. Gamble, Robichon and Drudi all race in the WEC. There are two conflicts (Long Beach-Imola and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park-Interlagos) between the two series in 2026 that could prevent a second driver from going for the GTD championship with Barrichello. As a result, there could be a number of driver changes in the sprint races.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the Frontstretch Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.