​Vale-based Ross Gunn all set for US challenge

After a somewhat disappointing start to the 2023 IMSA season at Daytona in January, Gunn is relishing the prospect of returning to competition at Sebring with the Heart of Racing Aston Martin team.

The Vale-based racer will once again team-up with David Pittard and Alex Riberas in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, and the trio will contest the GTD Pro class of the IMSA championship.

Gunn says: "I am really looking forward to racing at Sebring, and I know that the whole team have been working really hard for this event."

The Sebring 12 Hours has its roots set back to the 1950s, when the race first took place at a track marked out around the former airfield in Florida.

The race quickly established itself as one of the premier motor races in the United States, attracting such drivers as Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Juan Manuel Fangio to compete. The track's layout is known to be very bumpy, and offer a strong test to the reliability of any competing car, with Gunn saying, "Everyone knows that Sebring can be really difficult, but it has such history and really does offer a challenge of endurance."

The Heart of Racing team also have a GTD class Aston Martin entered for the race. The squad are aiming to follow up with another strong showing following class victory at Daytona in January for Ian James, Roman De Angelis, Marco Sorensen and Darren Turner, while the Meyer Shank Acura team will arrive for the start of qualifying next week as the overall series leaders. The Sebring race event will also host the opening round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance (WEC) Championship.

*A number of Vale-based motorcycle racers will start their season of competition at Brands Hatch this weekend, when the Kent track hosts its first race event of the 2023 season.

The BMCRC (British Motorcycle Racing Club) will organise a two-day race meeting, which will see action take place around the track's 1.2-mile Indy Circuit.