Gray Newell, the eldest son of Valve president Gabe Newell, is preparing to compete in the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race on June 13. This marks Newell's debut season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the premier international series for endurance racing.
Newell has been associated with The Heart of Racing team since 2021. This team was co-founded by racer Ian James, businessman Yahn Bernier, and Gabe Newell himself. Prior to this year's championship, Gray Newell had experience in series such as the GT4 and GT America Series, and the GT World Challenge America.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the world's oldest and most renowned sports car races, with a history dating back to 1923. The event has been held annually since 1949, with a brief interruption during World War II. The race format involves teams of three drivers who typically alternate every two to four hours, completing as many laps as possible within the 24-hour timeframe on a set course. The 2010 race saw a record distance of 3,360 miles covered.
For the upcoming Le Mans event, Gray Newell will share driving duties in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo with fellow racers Jonny Adam from the UK and Eduardo Barrichello of Brazil. The Heart of Racing will also field a second car at the race, piloted by team co-founder Ian James.
While Gray Newell has shifted his focus to professional racing, he has a past connection to the games industry, having previously pursued a career in game development and shared his thoughts on Valve's direction in 2018. Notably, both Gabe and Gray Newell were previously reported to be fans of Final Fantasy 14 on the Steam Deck.
Gabe Newell has been in the news recently for other reasons, including reports of his stance against stricter content moderation on Steam and his step back from game design during the development of Portal 2. He also famously resides on a superyacht.