The Aston Martin Valkyrie is a 'really, really extreme race car' said Mattia Drudi, after driving it for the first time at Bahrain.
Drudi is an Aston Martin factory driver for the Vantage GT3 programme. He was selected by the British manufacturer to drive the Valkyrie Hypercar at the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test, which traditionally takes place the day after the season finale at Bahrain International Circuit.
'It's a really, really extreme race car,' said the Italian after climbing out of the car.
'The biggest differences [to the Vantage GT3] – I mean it's more an aerodynamic car, so you have to use the downforce of the car way more. Of course you don't have the ABS braking, so it's quite easy to lock up. You need to manage the braking yourself.
'Way more power, so even the throttle application, the power down, it's quite an important phase of the driving. And in general, you know, it's a more physical. I mean, you're more tired after driving it. You feel everything more, so actually it's really different.'
Drudi's regular full-time season drive in 2025 has been racing in the WEC in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 programme. They didn't take any wins during the year, but did record a podium at Bahrain just yesterday to cap the season off.
He also made appearances for Aston Martin in GT World Challenge and in the IMSA Sportscar Championship throughout the year.
Driving the Valkyrie, though, is another step up on his motorsport journey – one that required specific training to ready his body for the extra forces from the Valkyrie.
'I tried to to train my neck more, I would say, because it's something that's in the GT – I mean you should train, but actually driving the GT car, it's enough.
'With those cars [the Valkyrie] they are really hard on the neck. Luckily this track is not too hard because it's quite low grip, so actually physically, even though I drove almost 100 laps, it's quite a lot for one day test, I'm still alright. I've been in the car for almost 3 hours this afternoon and feel nice. So actually I've been more training.
'But it's been quite a busy schedule lately, so I couldn't have a proper SIM session, but still actually, as I said, luckily I got used to the car nicely.'
Drudi drove the car in both the morning and afternoon sessions, with regular race driver and fellow Aston Martin factory teammate Martco Sorensen on hand to help the Italian get accustomed to the car.
He set a fastest lap of 1:50.747, in the afternoon session, to go seventh-quickest, 1.533 slower than pacesetter Antonio Felix da Costa in the Alpine A424, which he'll race in the championship next year.
Phil Oakley
Sorensen set a best lap of 1:49.638, meaning Drudi was 1.1 seconds off the Dane's pace.
'Really happy, actually because we tested a bit shorter, and longer run as well this afternoon, so we did quite a different job and program between the morning and the afternoon session,' said the 27-year old when asked how the sessions themselves went.
'Of course I can still find of course the limit of the car, especially under braking. Combined braking is not super easy without ABS, but I'm happy about how I felt in the car. That's the most important thing.
'And I'm really happy that, of course there are many things I can improve and get better, but I felt really, really well in the car and that's important.'
Phil Oakley
And what of the future? Could we see the popular Italian in a Valkyrie more in the years to come? Drudi couldn't say, but he's keen to drive the Valkyrie again.
'When you drive this car, you actually want to drive more! The Vantage GT3 is a super nice car to drive, but I really really like the way I could drive [the Valkyrie], the speed of the car, the downforce.
'You can really feel the vibration. You can "feel" the sound. So actually driving this car is special. I mean when you drive the car it's always nice, of course you are not focusing too much on that, but for sure it's something that keeps you awake when driving.
'For sure, my target for the future is try and be a Hypercar driver.'
Feature image: Aston Martin
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