Tom Gamble from Epperstone to become factory race driver for Aston Martin Racing
By Paul Horton
Epperstone’s Tom Gamble has decided to become a factory race driver for Aston Martin Racing.
The 23-year-old will make his Hypercar debut in the 2025 season driving the Valkyrie ARM-LMH for Aston Martin.
Gamble has described signing for the British marque to race the new Valkyrie in the World Endurance Championship as a “pinch yourself moment”. He was handed the deal after being given a test at Jerez late last year.
The 2018 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year revealed racing for a manufacturer in the top class of the WEC had become his aspiration. He switched to sportscar racing in 2019 with a campaign in the GT World Challenge Europe.
Gamble has been confirmed for the full World Endurance Championship season, shared in an all-British #007 entry with Harry Tincknell, run by the manufacturer’s works backed The Heart of Racing team.
Ross Gunn will join the pair for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
The pair will be team-mates at the French endurance classic, driving the brand-new Valkyrie Hypercar machine.
For the last two years, Gamble has been a Team Factory Driver for McLaren Automotive. a stint that culminated in his appearance with the Optimum Motorsport team at the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series at Sepang in December.
He described it as “a role that I have learnt a lot about being a factory driver and what the role beholds”.
The Heart of Racing team will be no stranger to Gamble. He had previously driven for them in three IMSA Sports Car Championship races in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in 2022, moving up from the regular GT Daytona class entry at the Daytona 24 Hours and the Sebring 12 Hours to its GTD Pro entry for the Petit Le Mans finale at Road Atlanta.
“That was quite important in my career because it was kind of my first role as a gold-rated driver after getting upgraded,” said Gamble.
“It went well, I got on well with the team and I always stayed in touch, and then I got the call to do the test in Spain. It seemed like all the hard work I’ve put in over the years has paid off.”
Two weeks ago, he took a third-place GTD class podium with the team in the Rolex 24hrs of Daytona.
Gamble’s CV of motorsport goes from strength to strength each season, he is one exceptional racing driver that never fails to achieve in what he competes in, ever since his early days in karting.
The Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James said: “I rate him very highly as a natural talent and he deserves a chance in the spotlight at the highest level of sports car racing.”
All the action of the World Endurance Championship starts soon, the first of the eight-round series is the 10-hour fixture in Qatar on February 28.
