Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Monday, May 4, 2026
JDC-Miller Porsche Claims Laguna Seca Victory with Last-Lap Pass
Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm delivered the most dramatic result of the 2026 IMSA GTP season on Sunday, driving the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 from the back of the grid to an outright victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Starting from the rear, Heinrich built relentless pressure on race leader Earl Bamber in the Cadillac Whelen entry over the final stages. On the final lap, Heinrich drew alongside Bamber at Turn 3 and completed the decisive pass out of Turn 4, winning by 0.758 seconds. BMW M Team WRT’s Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng completed the podium in third.
Sources: Daily Sportscar
McLaren Unveils MCL-HY Hypercar in Test Livery Ahead of WEC Debut
McLaren Racing revealed the MCL-HY — its first-ever Hypercar — today in a striking test livery inspired by the iconic 1968 McLaren M6A racing car. The LMDh machine uses a Dallara chassis shared with Cadillac’s V-Series.R and BMW’s M Hybrid V8, powered by a twin-turbo V6 developed in-house by McLaren Technology and McLaren Automotive. The car’s first track rollout was scheduled for May 4, with Finnish driver Mikkel Jensen — McLaren’s first confirmed Hypercar signing — leading the development programme. The entry will be run in partnership with United Autosports, with a competitive Le Mans 24 Hours debut targeted for this year.
Sources: Daily Sportscar
Motorsport Pays Tribute to Alex Zanardi, Racing Legend and Paralympic Champion
Alex Zanardi, the Italian racing driver and Paralympic champion who became one of motorsport’s most inspirational figures after losing both legs in a 2001 IndyCar accident at the Lausitzring, passed away on May 1 at the age of 59. The IMSA paddock paid tribute to Zanardi, who won multiple CART races in North America and later became a four-time Paralympic gold medalist in hand-cycling following his accident. Zanardi had been in fragile health following a severe cycling accident in 2020 that caused significant brain injuries. His story of extraordinary resilience had made him an iconic figure across racing and beyond.
Sources: IMSA
United Autosports Claims Le Castellet Win to Take ELMS Championship Lead
United Autosports claimed a commanding victory at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on Sunday, their #22 ORECA 07 – Gibson leading from the opening lap to claim LMP2 honours in the second round of the 2026 European Le Mans Series. The win moved the British squad to the top of the championship standings by three points over Inter Europol Competition’s #34 crew. Daily Sportscar described the performance as United Autosports being back to their best, following a difficult season-opening round at Barcelona. The ELMS season has four rounds remaining, with the tight title fight heading to Spa next.
Sources: Daily Sportscar
Ford Claims GTD Pro Honours at Laguna Seca as Programme Continues to Evolve
Frédéric Vervisch and Christopher Mies delivered Ford Racing’s GTD Pro class win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, underlining the manufacturer’s continued progress in IMSA competition. IMSA described the result as reflecting Ford’s evolution in both car performance and programme development, as the Blue Oval advances its motorsport ambitions in parallel with a planned Hypercar future. The GTD Pro victory came on a day of extraordinary drama in the GTP class, where a last-lap overtake dominated overall headlines. Ford’s Laguna Seca win reinforces its credentials as a serious GTD Pro contender heading into the summer rounds of the 2026 WeatherTech championship.
Sources: IMSA
Porsche Star Heinrich Confirmed for Le Mans LMP2 Debut with CrowdStrike APR
Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich will make his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in LMP2 Pro/Am, joining CrowdStrike Racing by APR in the #4 ORECA 07 – Gibson for the French classic in June. The German-Swiss driver will share the car with 2023 LMP2 class winner George Kurtz and Peugeot development driver Alex Quinn. Heinickh, who competes as a Porsche factory driver across IMSA and WEC, steps outside his regular GTP machinery for Le Mans while continuing his full-season IMSA programme. The CrowdStrike APR entry joins one of 19 LMP2 crews on the 62-car 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours grid.
Sources: Daily Sportscar
Hawksworth Takes Poignant Lexus Pole at Laguna Seca for Vasser Sullivan
Jack Hawksworth claimed GTD Pro pole position for Vasser Sullivan Racing’s #14 Lexus RC F GT3 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, his first pole at the circuit and his 16th career pole. IMSA described the achievement as poignant in the context of the weekend’s emotional atmosphere following news of Alex Zanardi’s passing. The Vasser Sullivan team has strong connections to GT racing at the California circuit. Hawksworth’s lap put the Lexus at the head of the GTD Pro field ahead of Sunday’s race, where Lorenzo Patrese’s Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO had taken the separate GTD class pole with a 1m21.441s lap.
Sources: IMSA
Porsche Runs Iconic Apple Computer Throwback Livery at Laguna Seca
Several IMSA competitors ran historic throwback liveries at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with Porsche’s entry in the legendary Apple Computer design drawing the widest attention. The distinctive rainbow-striped scheme, originally carried by the Andial Porsche 935 at Laguna Seca in 1983, returned to the circuit that hosted the original car more than four decades later. The annual throwback tradition at Laguna Seca celebrates IMSA’s deep roots at the California venue, giving fans a rare opportunity to see period-correct liveries competing at speed. Additional manufacturers and teams also fielded historically-inspired designs across the GTD and GTD Pro classes throughout the weekend.
Sources: IMSA
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1. S. Buemi / R. Hirakawa / B. Hartley — 25 pts
2. A. Giovinazzi / J. Calado / A. Pier Guidi — 19 pts
3. K. Kobayashi / M. Conway / N. de Vries — 15 pts
4. A. F. da Costa / C. Milesi / F. Habsburg — 12 pts
5. R. Rast / R. Frijns — 10 pts
6. A. Fuoco / M. Molina / N. Nielsen — 8 pts
7. K. Magnussen / R. Marciello — 6 pts
8. E. Bamber / S. Bourdais — 4 pts
9. H. Tincknell / T. Gamble — 2 pts
10. P. Hanson / R. Kubica / Y. Ye — 1 pts
WEC Hypercar — Teams
1. Toyota — 40 pts
2. Ferrari — 27 pts
3. BMW — 16 pts
4. Alpine — 13 pts
5. Cadillac — 4 pts
6. Aston Martin — 2 pts
7. Peugeot — 0 pts
8. Genesis — 0 pts
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. J. Andlauer / F. Nasr — 1061 pts
2. L. Heinrich / T. van der Helm — 1026 pts
3. J. Aitken / F. Vesti — 1023 pts
4. K. Estre — 977 pts
Pre-Laguna Seca standings — updated after results processing
IMSA team standings unavailable at time of publication
Curated by JD · samwise.agency