Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Porsche Gains Biggest GTP Weight Reductions in IMSA Watkins Glen BoP
IMSA has issued the Balance of Performance adjustments for this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, with both Porsche 963 specifications receiving the largest weight reductions in the GTP field. The 2025-specification JDC-Miller Motorsports entry drops 24 kilograms to 1,058 kg, while the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport 2026-spec cars fall 27 kilograms to 1,073 kg since the Detroit round. The Aston Martin Valkyrie receives a 10-kilogram cut to 1,020 kg, the first time an LMH-based prototype has raced below the 1,030-kilogram platform baseline. Cadillac and Acura receive power increases, while BMW emerges as the strongest car on the revised numbers heading into the six-hour race.
Sources: Sportscar365, Motorsport.com
Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen Brings IMSA’s Biggest Endurance Round of the Summer
Watkins Glen International hosts the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen from June 25 to 28, the sixth round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the third event on the Michelin Endurance Cup calendar. The 54-car field spans four classes: 11 GTP prototypes, 11 LMP2 entries, 12 GTD PRO cars, and 20 GTD competitors. Unlike shorter sprint events, the six-hour format awards championship points at both the three-hour mark and the finish, adding strategic complexity to fuel and tyre management. Championship leader Jack Aitken’s No. 31 Cadillac heads the GTP entry as the 2026 season reaches its halfway point.
CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa Opens This Week with 70-Car Field
The 79th CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa begins at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps this week as the centrepiece of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup season and the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge. A 70-car grid confirmed across five classes includes 18 Pro-class entries from ten manufacturers. A revamped knockout Superpole qualifying format introduced for 2026 determines the starting order after initial group sessions, with four cars earning single flying laps to set the front rows. Three practice sessions open the event on Thursday, with the race launching on Saturday. Defending champions Grasser Racing and returning headliners from recent endurance events headline a high-quality entry.
Sources: CrowdStrike 24H Spa, GPKingdom
Lamborghini Temerario GT3 Makes Its First 24-Hour Race Start at Spa
The Lamborghini Temerario GT3 will make its first start in a 24-hour race when two cars take the grid at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa this weekend. Powered by a twin-turbocharged V8 and the first competition car designed and built entirely in-house by Lamborghini, the Temerario has competed in shorter events since its 2026 season debut at the Sebring 12 Hours but has not previously entered a full-distance 24-hour race. Grasser Racing, the reigning Spa champions, field one of the Temerario entries in a title defence. The car completed more than 15,000 kilometres of pre-season development before entering competition.
Sources: GPKingdom, Dailysportscar
Aitken Holds 144-Point GTP Lead as IMSA Season Reaches its Midpoint
Jack Aitken carries a 144-point advantage into Watkins Glen as the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTP championship reaches its midpoint. Driving the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac, Aitken leads with 1,760 points ahead of Laurin Heinrich on 1,616 and Julien Andlauer paired with Felipe Nasr, tied on 1,606 points in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry. In the Manufacturers’ standings, Cadillac holds a 25-point advantage over Porsche, 1,797 to 1,772, with Acura third on 1,676. Watkins Glen is the sixth of eleven race weekends in 2026, and performance here will shape the second half of the season title fight.
Sources: IMSA
Valentino Rossi, Gounon and Leclerc Headline the 2026 Spa 24 Hours Entry
The 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa draws a star-studded Pro class as the race opens this week at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi returns to the event in the No. 46 BMW M4 GT3 of Team WRT alongside Max Hesse and Daniel Harper. Two-time Spa winner Jules Gounon races for Verstappen Racing, while Arthur Leclerc and Raffaele Marciello are among the high-profile entries. Maxime Martin, Luca Stolz, Maro Engel, and Fabian Schiller — who claimed last weekend’s Nürburgring 24 Hours — have been split across separate entries for the Belgian race, adding competitive depth throughout the Pro field.
Sources: GPKingdom
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1. Kobayashi / Conway / de Vries — 75 pts
2. Rast / Frijns — 71 pts
3. van der Linde — 61 pts
4. Hartley / Hirakawa / Buemi — 56 pts
WEC Hypercar — Manufacturers
1. Toyota — leads by 36 pts
2. BMW — 2nd
3. Ferrari — 3rd
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Aitken — 1,760 pts
2. Heinrich — 1,616 pts
3. Andlauer / Nasr — 1,606 pts
4. Braun / Blomqvist — 1,391 pts
5. Vanthoor / van der Linde — 1,385 pts
6. Wittmann / Eng — 1,383 pts
7. van der Helm — 1,379 pts
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. No. 31 Cadillac Whelen — 1,760 pts
2. No. 7 Porsche Penske — 1,606 pts
3. No. 93 Acura — 1,552 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency