Daytona, FL
Roman De Angelis and The Heart of Racing team won the Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD category on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Marco Sorenson, Darren Turner, and Ian James joined De Angelis for the historic first victory at Daytona for both The Heart of Racing and Aston Martin, the latter having competed in races at Daytona since 1964. The team also received the Michelin Endurance Cup for having the best-in-class position at the six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four-hour marks.The victory was a total team effort with fast pit stops and great driving, allowing the team to lead 176 laps in the race and finish with over a five-second margin while also holding the fastest lap. The team also had the distinction of completing the 729-lap race ahead of all GT cars in both the GTD and GTD PRO classes.The Heart of Racing and De Angelis will look to recreate their magic at Daytona when they travel to Sebring International Raceway for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.“I’m just so happy to be here with this team in victory lane. The whole Heart of Racing family is great, they executed pit stops perfectly. The 24-hour race in Daytona is the one I have always wanted to win since I was a kid, so this feels pretty unreal. I first raced at Daytona with Ian five years ago, so winning this alongside him makes this even more special. I’m just going to embrace it. Every year we climb the success ladder a little more. Sebring is next, so we will see what we can do there.”
