The rumors were sadly true: Aston Martin has announced it would not go forward with the plan of racing the Valkyrie in the 2020/2021 season of FIA WEC.

Initially, Aston Martin was supposed to enter the Valkyrie racer in the newly-announced Hypercar class which replaces LMP1 as the top category of sports car endurance racing. However, the carmaker said it decided to cancel those plans because of the decision “to harmonize the Hypercar class with the so-called LMDh prototype category in the WEC from 2021 and the U.S.-based WeatherTech Sportscar Championship from 2022.”

The decision was made by 24 Hours of Le Mans organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the International Motor Sport Association (IMSA), the sanctioning body for sports car competition in North America.

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“This decision means that the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar will not make its WEC debut at Silverstone in August 2020 or compete in the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aston Martin will now pause as it considers whether to continue in any future prototype class,” reads the company’s statement.

This is a big blow to FIA’s reformed World Endurance Championship (WEC), leaving Toyota as the only manufacturer which has confirmed an entry in the new Hypercar class for the 2020/2021 season. The Japanese factory team will be joined by Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus in 2021 and possibly Peugeot from 2022.

“We entered Aston Martin Valkyrie in WEC and at Le Mans with the understanding that we would be competing with similar machinery and like-minded manufacturers. The situation has changed and it makes sense for us to pause and reconsider our options,” explained Aston Martin Lagonda CEO, Andy Palmer. Nevertheless, he added that “Aston Martin’s ambition to compete for the overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans remains undiminished.”

Aston Martin says it remains open to working with both the FIA and Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) “to find a suitable pathway for any future participation.” The sudden change of plans does not affect the Aston Martin Vantage GTE, which will continue to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro and Am categories.

In related news, Aston Martin will re-enter Formula 1 next year as a works team for the first time since 1960, when Racing Point F1 team will be rebranded as Aston Martin F1 works team.

Note: Road-going Aston Martin Valkyrie verification prototypes pictured above