“The Aston is very pure, shall we say, and ultimately less complicated. Potentially more natural but at the same time you have that bit more weight compared to the LMDh cars and you feel that in the corners. You also have less adjustability [without a hybrid system].
“These cars are quite sensitive and obviously in endurance racing the conditions are always changing, as you go into the cold of the night, then the sun comes out and it warms up. Having less adjustability is something we have to get used to.
“But that doesn’t mean LMDh is better. Sometimes you are managing issues caused by the complexity of the hybrid system rather than necessarily using it to your advantage. It’s difficult to compare to the Porsche but I very much like the feel of the Aston, and from the moment I drove it I knew this is the car I want to be in.”
Team-mate Alex Ribeiras is no less emphatic in his experience of driving the Valkyrie.
He describes it as “the most brutal piece of equipment you can imagine driving around a race track with four wheels attached to it. It is a raw design: V12 naturally aspirated with no hybrid. The electronics play a much smaller role than in most race cars and even most road cars.
“It gives you immediate feedback on everything you do and at the same time you also feel that you can never underestimate how powerful it is and you always have to respect it. As soon as you think you are over the learning curve and you have it under control that’s when it bites you back.”
Its drivers will be hoping to tame the monster in Brazil this weekend on one of the most iconic tracks in world motor sport.