Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Thursday, July 23, 2026
54-Car Grid Confirmed for IMSA Road America Debut as Six-Hour
The Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America has drawn a 54-car entry list for the July 30–02 event, one of the largest fields in recent WeatherTech SportsCar Championship history for a non-Daytona round. The grid comprises 11 GTP prototypes, 12 LMP2 cars, 12 GTD Pro machines, and 19 GTD entries. Road America is hosting IMSA in a six-hour endurance format for the first time; previous Road America rounds used shorter sprint formats. GTP championship leader Jack Aitken heads the class in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, while Paul Miller Racing enters from the front of the GTD Pro standings.
Points-Leading Cadillac Takes 21 kg BoP Penalty for Road America
IMSA’s Balance of Performance update for Road America loads the points-leading #31 Cadillac V-Series.R with an additional 21 kilograms, while JDC-Miller Motorsports’ 2025-spec Porsche 963 adds 4 kg. Factory Porsche entries shed 7 kg, making the Porsche Penske machines the field’s heaviest GTP cars at 1,066 kg; the Aston Martin Valkyrie runs lightest at 1,020 kg. BMW’s M Hybrid V8 receives a two-stage power boost. In GT classes, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R Evo gains 15 kg, Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage drops 15 kg alongside the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 — which also earns a power increase — and Ferrari’s 296 GT3 Evo takes a 3.6 percent first-stage power boost.
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Only 40 Points Cover Top Three in Michelin Pilot Challenge GS With Four Rounds Left
Four rounds remain in the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class, and just 40 points separate the top three championship contenders. The #13 McCumbee McAleer Ford Mustang GT4 of Cicero and Noaker leads overall, 30 points clear of the #44 Ibiza Farm McLaren Artura GT4 shared by Cooper and Uretsky, and 40 ahead of the #27 Auto Technic BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Krainz and McAleer. The full top five is covered by 190 points, keeping the #95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (Machavern/Mars) and #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 (Ward) mathematically alive heading into Road America.
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BMW M Motorsport to Skip Suzuka 1000km Factory Campaign in Budget Rethink
BMW M Motorsport is set to forgo factory-supported entries at the Suzuka 1000 Kilometres, the next round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, with team director Roos citing a “strategic decision” on budget. The German manufacturer also expects to skip September’s Indianapolis 8 Hours under the same rationale. BMW customer team WRT is in discussions about a potential Suzuka entry, and South Korean outfit KRC is also expected to compete independently. Max Hesse leads BMW’s factory contingent in the IGTC standings, sitting 30 points behind championship leader Maro Engel of Mercedes-AMG.
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Gulf 12H Organizers Confirm GT Grand Finals Sprint Event at Istanbul for November
The organizers of the Gulf 12 Hours have confirmed a new sprint race event, the ‘GT Grand Finals/Istanbul’, at Istanbul Park on November 6–8. The event features three one-hour races on Sunday, preceded by practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Open to all FIA GT3-homologated machinery, the event imposes no mandatory refueling or tire changes, reducing operational costs. Driving Force Events announced the event following the cancellation of January 2027’s Gulf 12 Hours due to ongoing Middle East conflict. The November dates clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship’s season finale, then expected at either Bahrain or Monza.
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Michelotto Partners With Isotta Fraschini to Target Le Mans Hypercar Debut From 2030
Italian motorsport constructor Michelotto has announced a partnership with automaker Isotta Fraschini targeting a Le Mans Hypercar program from 2030. The project is structured around the FIA’s planned convergence of LMH and LMDh technical regulations, which is expected to unify top-class endurance racing under a single framework from that year. Michelotto will lead technical development of the Hypercar. The 2030 entry target coincides with the anticipated introduction of updated convergence regulations, which championship stakeholders have identified as a mechanism for broadening manufacturer participation across both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
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Creventic Maintains ‘Full Focus’ on Middle East Trophy Rounds While Plotting Kyalami Backup
Creventic has confirmed its Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy — comprising rounds at Yas Marina Circuit and the Dubai Autodrome from December through January — remains the organization’s “full focus” despite escalating regional conflict. A letter sent to teams Wednesday stated the Dutch organizer is nonetheless preparing a contingency plan, with Kyalami in South Africa identified as a potential alternative venue for the complete winter season. Teams were invited to provide feedback on the Kyalami option. Creventic noted transport to Dubai does not require passage through the Strait of Hormuz and that daily international flights to the UAE continue to operate normally.
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WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1. Kobayashi / Conway / de Vries — 75 pts
2. Rast / Frijns — 71 pts
3. Van der Linde — 61 pts
4. Ferrari #51 crew — 57 pts
5. Buemi / Hartley / Hirakawa — 56 pts
WEC Hypercar — Manufacturers
1. Toyota — 132 pts
2. BMW — 96 pts
3. Ferrari — 62 pts
4. Alpine — 38 pts
5. Cadillac — 32 pts
6. Aston Martin — 26 pts
7. Peugeot — 15 pts
8. Genesis — 6 pts
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Jack Aitken — 2,145 pts
2. Laurin Heinrich — 1,942 pts
3. Yelloly / van der Zande — 1,900 pts
4. Andlauer / Nasr — 1,887 pts
5. Earl Bamber — 1,797 pts
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. #31 Whelen Cadillac — 2,145 pts
2. #93 Acura MSR — 1,900 pts
3. #7 Porsche Penske — 1,887 pts
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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