Heart of Racing Team Bio
The Heart of Racing Team is an American motorsports team established in 2014 by Ian James, Gabe Newell, and Yahn Bernier and based in Seattle, Washington. The squad competes primarily in sports car and endurance racing with factory support from Aston Martin and maintains a public philanthropic link to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Early Life and Background
The Heart of Racing name traces its roots to a fundraising campaign created by Team Seattle in 1997 to benefit Seattle Children’s Hospital. That sustained charitable association informed the identity of the racing operation that Ian James later founded with partners Gabe Newell and Yahn Bernier in 2014.
From its Seattle base, the organization built an operational footprint that combined competition and community support. Early activity blended collaboration with established operations including Team Seattle and Alex Job Racing, producing an initial IMSA programme and regional racing campaigns that established the team’s profile.
Path to MotorSports
Heart of Racing entered sports car competition with Porsche 911 GT3 machinery during its earliest seasons and expanded across multiple GT categories. The team contested IMSA’s GT Daytona class and supported entries in regional series such as Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, the D1NZ drifting series, and the North Island Enduro Series in New Zealand.
Development through these varied programmes allowed Heart of Racing to cultivate driver lineups and technical partnerships while building a reputation for endurance racing performance. The team’s growing relationship with Aston Martin culminated in factory support that reshaped its programme for international endurance competition.
Heart of Racing Team Career
Early Career (2014–2016)
During its first three seasons, Heart of Racing campaigned Porsche 911 GT3 cars in IMSA competition and finished inside the top five of the GT Daytona class in two of those seasons. The initial operation combined resources from Team Seattle and Alex Job Racing and established the team’s presence in North American sports car racing.
Those formative years provided experience with multi-driver endurance formats, race operations and logistics, and partnerships that later supported moves into factory-backed programmes. The early results laid the groundwork for the team’s subsequent expansion into multiple series and vehicle platforms.
IMSA Breakthrough (2020–2023)
After a hiatus, Heart of Racing returned to the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2020 with factory support from Aston Martin. The 2020 line-up featured drivers including Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas, Ian James, Nicki Thiim, and Darren Turner, and the team recorded a season highlight with a runner-up finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
The team’s first IMSA race victory followed in 2021 at the Detroit SportsCar Classic when Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn were promoted to first place following a disqualification of the initial winner. De Angelis and Gunn added further wins that season, including at the Northeast Grand Prix and Petit Le Mans, and the No. 23 Aston Martin finished third in the GTD standings.
Heart of Racing expanded its IMSA programme for 2022 into GTD Pro and GTD entries, with Alex Riberas and Ross Gunn contesting the full GTD Pro season and Roman De Angelis returning to the No. 27 GTD entry. Both cars secured multiple victories in 2022, and De Angelis and the No. 27 car captured the GTD class championship that year.
The 2023 season delivered a marquee milestone when the No. 27 GTD entry won its class at the 24 Hours of Daytona, driven by Roman De Angelis, Marco Sørensen, Ian James, and Darren Turner. The team also added multiple wins in both classes during the year and assumed responsibility for the NorthWest AMR WEC entry mid-season, providing driver lineups and operational continuity in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Current Team Era (2023–Present)
In 2023 and 2024 Heart of Racing deepened its role with Aston Martin, operating at both IMSA and WEC levels and leading Aston Martin’s revived Valkyrie AMR Pro programme ahead of the 2025 season. The team partnered with Multimatic to support technical and operational aspects of the Hypercar project and prepared to field Valkyrie AMR‑LMH prototypes for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Across the 2024 campaigns, Heart of Racing ran full programmes in the FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 and the IMSA SportsCar Championship while continuing entries in GT4 America. The squad secured pole position and an LMGT3 class victory at Lone Star Le Mans and collected multiple podiums en route to competitive championship finishes.
Driving Style and Strengths
Heart of Racing Team has built strengths in endurance race management, multi-class strategy and factory collaboration. The operation’s success stems from consistent driver pairings and a technical relationship with Aston Martin and Multimatic that supports rapid adaptation between GT4, GT3 and prototype programmes.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones include multiple national and regional championships in D1NZ and the North Island Enduro Series, an IMSA GTD class championship, a class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the selection to lead Aston Martin’s Valkyrie AMR Pro programme beginning with the 2025 Hypercar effort.
Heart of Racing Team Career Wins
The Heart of Racing Team’s competition record spans national drift championships, regional endurance series and international sports car events. Verified titles include D1NZ championships in 2019 and 2021, the 2021 North Island Enduro Series title, and the 2022 IMSA GTD class title, alongside multiple race victories in IMSA, GT4 America and WEC competition.
IMSA SportsCar Championship Highlights
IMSA highlights include the team’s first IMSA victories in 2021, a GTD class championship in 2022 for the No. 27 entry and the breakthrough class win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2023. Across 2022 and 2023 the team achieved multiple race wins and delivered a rare double-class success at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in 2022.
Other Wins & Perfromances
Beyond IMSA, Heart of Racing drivers secured victories in GT4 America, including a Watkins Glen win for Ian James and Gray Newell in Pro-Am, and captured regional titles and notable results in the D1NZ drift championship with Darren Kelly. The team’s diverse programme has produced success across several categories and racing disciplines.
Heart of Racing Team Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
The team was founded and is owned by Ian James, Gabe Newell, and Yahn Bernier, with Ian James serving as general manager and team principal. The operation draws on a combination of professional racing experience and private investment to support a multi-series competitive structure.
Personal Life
Heart of Racing maintains a long-standing charitable association with Seattle Children’s Hospital, directing proceeds from racing activities to support the institution. The team is based in Seattle, Washington, and publicly promotes its community links alongside its sporting objectives.
2025 Season Performance
For 2025 Heart of Racing Team is preparing to lead Aston Martin’s Valkyrie AMR Pro programme in the Hypercar class, planning to field two Valkyrie AMR‑LMH prototypes for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The programme is being developed in partnership with Multimatic and draws on the team’s recent WEC participation and factory relationship with Aston Martin.
The 2025 campaign will mark Heart of Racing’s transition into top-class prototype endurance competition, building on its IMSA and GT programmes and on-track experience with multi-class strategy, driver management and long-distance race operations.