How a Seattle hospital fundraising campaign evolved into a global elite racing powerhouse

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born from a 1997 initiative to support Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Heart of Racing team has transformed from a charitable effort into a factory-backed Aston Martin powerhouse. Today, they compete at the highest levels of international endurance racing, proving that philanthropic roots can fuel championship-winning performance on the global stage.

The Heart of Racing began as a fundraising project by Team Seattle in 1997, designed to generate proceeds for Seattle Children’s Hospital. This mission remains central to the team's identity, with donations continuing from every race they enter. The transition into a professional racing entity was led by founder Ian James, alongside partners Gabe Newell and Yahn Bernier. After an initial run in the IMSA SportsCar Championship ending in 2016, the team returned in 2020 with factory support from Aston Martin, marking the start of a rapid ascent in sports car competition.

The team's competitive success is marked by significant milestones, including a 2022 double-class victory at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and a class win at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona. Their expansion has been both technical and geographical, moving from IMSA GTD and GTD Pro classes into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). In 2023, they took over the NorthWest AMR entry, and by 2024, they were competing under their own name in the WEC, securing their first LMGT3 victory at the Lone Star Le Mans.

Looking toward the future, the team is spearheading Aston Martin’s return to top-class endurance racing. In 2025, they will field two Valkyrie AMR-LMH prototypes in the Hypercar class for the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Partnering with Multimatic for technical operations, this project represents a major shift for the manufacturer, which had previously paused its top-tier endurance efforts in 2020. With a history of success in drifting, GT4, and endurance racing, the team is now positioned at the pinnacle of global prototype competition.

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