What prompted Marco Sorensen’s heavy WEC Prologue crash for Aston Martin?

Marco Sorensen says tyre warm-up points led to his dramatic crash throughout Tuesday’s Prologue check for the 2026 World Endurance Championship at Imola.

The manufacturing unit Aston Martin driver was on an outlap with round 90 minutes remaining within the morning session when he went off-track at Tamburello and smashed closely into the wall.

Though the Dane climbed out of the automotive unaided and was cleared of accidents after a go to to the medical centre, the #009 Valkyrie he shared with Alex Riberas suffered important harm within the incident.

It left the manufacturing unit Coronary heart of Racing crew with only one automotive for the rest of the Prologue, through which it completed twelfth among the many 17 Hypercar entries.

Aston Martin and HoR ultimately elected to vary the chassis on the #009, with the rebuild accomplished on Thursday morning forward of Friday’s opening apply session.

Explaining the incident, Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Sorensen joked that he “ran out of expertise”, earlier than pointing to tyre warm-up as a wider situation throughout the grid.

“It is clearly annoying that it occurred, nevertheless it’s type of one among these easy ones,” he advised Motorsport.com. “One of many efficiency areas that we have to work on as an entire crew is to get faster on the outlaps, heat up the tyres and discover ways in which we are able to push – and I mainly overdid it.

“So it is one among these outlap issues, the place you attempt to predict what is going on to occur, however when you might have a lot horsepower and the tyres should not heat, it is very unpredictable.

“The entire paddock will say the identical factor about tyre warm-up and all the things. It’s simply tough and everyone knows that.

“I believe it is caught us all out in some unspecified time in the future the place you could be spinning or you are going to gravel or no matter. I believe the entire paddock has been there on the brand new tyres, if I am trustworthy.

“We’re slightly bit exterior of the window. So it was in the direction of the colder aspect for the mediums. We clearly wished to attempt to push to have the temperature up on the mediums to see if we might make them work.

“We by no means actually acquired to that time as a result of then I ran out of expertise [laughs]. However it’s type of what occurs.”

#009 Aston Martin Thor Staff Aston Martin Valkyrie: Marco Sorensen, Roman De Angelis

Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Photos

Michelin has launched new tyre compounds for each the Hypercar and IMSA Sports activities Championship’s GTP class this yr, incorporating 50% renewable and sustainable supplies.

Whereas Sorensen sampled the brand new 2026-spec tyres through the Daytona 24 Hours in January, groups and drivers nonetheless have restricted information about their behaviour.

Nevertheless, the 35-year-old refused to level fingers elsewhere, having already taken full accountability for the shunt.

“It’s going to at all times be on the driving force,” he stated. “If we’re going to begin blaming folks for… I’d in all probability not crash if I went slower, however that is at all times straightforward to say.

“I would not say something. They did change the kerbs this yr, the place they type of moved some portray up on the kerb, which is a bit unusual. However once more, it is the identical for everybody. So I do not actually see any must attempt to blame anybody.”

The #009 Aston had accomplished 53 laps previous to Sorensen’s crash at Tamburello, along with his earlier better of 1m33.710s leaving it final within the remaining Prologue standings.

Sorensen, a three-time GT champion with Aston Martin and a Le Mans class winner in 2022, is assured his expertise will assist him bounce again from the crash.

Requested whether or not it might take him just a few outlaps to seek out confidence once more, he stated: “100%. The nice factor is that I am pretty skilled by now. I’ve raced vehicles for a few years. So it should not hurt the boldness an excessive amount of.”

“No motive” Aston Martin can’t problem on the entrance
#007 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble

#007 Aston Martin Thor Staff Aston Martin Valkyrie: Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble

Photograph by: FIA WEC / DPPI

Aston Martin is coming into the second yr of its Hypercar programme, having stepped as much as the WEC’s prime class in 2025 with the V12-powered Valkyrie.

After operating reliably on its Le Mans debut in June, the British producer emerged as a a lot stronger contender within the second half of 2025, difficult for podiums at each Fuji and Bahrain. It additionally completed second behind the profitable Porsche in IMSA’s season-ending Petit Le Mans.

Tom Gamble, who shares the #007 Aston with Harry Tincknell, stated the crew can construct on that progress and struggle on the entrance this yr.

“For this yr, it is positively about making an attempt to persistently be scoring factors with each vehicles and hopefully getting on the rostrum and possibly even chasing some wins,” he stated.

“We’re just a few years behind our rivals, so it is not going to be a simple activity, and the championships often get extra aggressive each season, so it is a bit simpler stated than achieved, however I do not see any motive why we will not be on the entrance, difficult.

“The crew has put in loads of laborious work over winter. Final yr, it was about looking for the large positive factors, whereas this yr, it is the small little issues which are actually going to make the distinction to us now. The mechanics shaving half a second or a second off a pit cease goes to make in all probability a distinction to our race.

“We’ve got to be on our A recreation now as effectively to attempt to get the very best out of the automotive, and I believe we must always definitely be difficult for some podiums.”

Images from Imola Prologue

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