Sebring and Lusail International Circuit at Qatar are 'completely different' setup-wise, Aston Martin factory driver Ross Gunn told media in a call prior to next weekend's IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring.
'Setup wise, you're looking for something completely different', Gunn said when asked by Only Endurance how racing the car ar Qatar will impact and effect the race at Sebring.
'They couldn't be two more different tracks. Qatar is very high grip, smooth. I would say has way more longer, faster corners, whereas Sebring is obviously bumpy.
'The temperature will be very different as well. That's a key thing. So there isn't that much of a crossover in terms of actual car setup,' he said.
Phil Oakley
While Lusail's track surface is incredibly smooth, with long, sweeping corners more suited to motorbikes than cars, Sebring is almost the opposite. Its concrete slabs, dating back to the 1950s, have never been replaced, making the track surface very bumpy and uneven. It also features a range of corners, many of them taken at relatively slow speed — a characteristic notably lacking in Lusail.
However, while car setup between the two won't be the same, Gunn did say there is some crossover in other areas.
'But there are lots of things on the electronic side, also on the driving side, how we prepare the car lap to lap.
'There's lots of changes in the car that we can make as drivers. And also just as drivers as well, getting the feeling of the car.
'We're all still very inexperienced with this class, but every time we get in the car is essential for us because we're getting more and more confident, more and more comfortable.'
While he's driven for Aston Martin for many years now, Gunn is typically more familiar with GT cars than prototype machinery. Most of his teammates, including Roman de Angelis, Tom Gamble, Marco Sørensen, and Alex Riberas, are in similar positions.
But, Gunn said, having experience with the Valkyrie in a race environment will help the programme at Sebring, Gunn said.
'I think having very recent race experience is going to help,' said the Briton.
'There is some crossover of staff between the two programs. So there's going to be lots of information helping the two programs throughout the year.
'Everything that we learn from each series is going to have a direct help for the other series and that is really, really important for our progression.'
With Sebring known for its car-breaking abilities over the bumps, the team participated in the IMSA-sanctioned test at the track last month, although unfortunately Gunn himself wasn't able to test as he was overcoming what he described as a 'small injury niggle'.
'Yeah, so I did do two days in Sebring, I think the week after the sanction test', he told reporters on the call.
'I was due to test in Sebring last month, but I had a small injury niggle that I was trying to get over. So I missed that, but I was on board with the team watching everything live every turn of the wheel.
'I think the development curve was still very positive from what I heard, and having driven Sebring at the end of last year, it's an incredibly different track to driving the GT3 car.
'I think your perspective is just completely different. You feel certain bumps that you never knew existed, having driven hundreds of laps in the GT3 car.
'But yeah, as far as I'm aware the test went very well. The test went well at the end of last year as well. It was the first time that we ran the car in its straight pipe configuration. And that was incredible. So yeah, only good memories of that.'
Tim Fullbrook
But Gunn was also realistic, saying that Aston Martin were currently not at the level they needed in order to challenge their competition, who have been racing in GTP in IMSA since 2023.
'We have to be realistic. We're not ready to be competing with the top guys in the class. That takes time.
'We have massive respect for our competitors. I keep saying this, it's definitely something that I don't say lightly, but we're up against some of the best teams, manufacturers and drivers in the world.
'And that's a huge challenge. We are starting from two years behind these guys. We have massive respect for them and we need to work incredibly hard to get to that level.
'This year is really going to be a big learning year for us. We have to find many ways to develop all the areas. And that takes time. But we're ready for that,' he finished.
Aston Martin and the Heart of Racing-run Valkyrie team will make its IMSA Sportscar Championship debut at Sebring, in the classic 12 Hours race, next weekend. The race will take place on March 15th, starting at 10:10am local time, or 14:10 GMT/UTC.
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