Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Toyota Targets WEC Back-to-Back at Spa as Ferrari Seeks Revenge
Toyota Gazoo Racing arrives at Spa-Francorchamps seeking back-to-back victories to open the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season, while Ferrari is hunting redemption on a circuit where the 499P won in 2025. Toyota’s revised TR010 Hybrid Hypercar, which debuted with a victory at the 6 Hours of Imola in April, excelled in traction and tyre management — the exact areas Ferrari identified as decisive. Spa has historically favoured Toyota, with eight victories from fourteen appearances, but Ferrari’s 499P suits the layout and starts this round as a genuine title contender. The race runs Saturday, May 9 at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Sources: dailysportscar.com
Porsche Confirms Heinrich for Full-Time 2027 IMSA GTP Role as Vanthoor Steps Back
Porsche Penske Motorsport confirmed Wednesday that Laurin Heinrich will hold a full-time factory GTP seat in 2027, while Laurens Vanthoor transitions to an endurance-only role. The 24-year-old German made an exceptional start to 2026, sharing victories at Daytona and Sebring before executing a dramatic last-lap pass on Earl Bamber at Laguna Seca last weekend for JDC-Miller. That win has Heinrich leading the IMSA GTP driver standings. The role swap sees Vanthoor, a former GT World Challenge champion and multiple WEC round winner, move to supporting endurance events as Heinrich takes the full-season sprint commitment at Porsche Penske Motorsport from 2027.
Sources: IMSA
Deletraz to Make WEC Hypercar Debut at Spa Replacing Injured Alex Lynn
Louis Deletraz will make his WEC Hypercar debut this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, joining Will Stevens and Norman Nato in the #12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R in place of Alex Lynn, who is recovering from a planned neck procedure. The four-time ELMS LMP2 champion and regular IMSA GTP co-driver steps into the premier endurance prototype class for the first time outside Le Mans. JOTA came close to a podium at Imola before a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement ended the challenge. Deletraz’s familiarity with the Cadillac from IMSA duty with Wayne Taylor Racing is expected to smooth the transition.
Sources: Sportscar365
BMW Back to Full Strength at Spa as Van der Linde and Vanthoor Make Seasonal WEC Debuts
BMW M Team WRT arrives at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at full factory strength following the seasonal debuts of Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 and Dries Vanthoor in the #15. Both drivers missed the Imola opener to contest the concurrent IMSA race at Long Beach, then competed at Laguna Seca before crossing the Atlantic for Spa. Vanthoor races on home soil at the circuit where WRT is based in nearby Baudour, joined in the Hypercar field by compatriot Stoffel Vandoorne in the Peugeot. The full BMW complement gives Team WRT maximum resources for Le Mans preparation.
Sources: dailysportscar.com
Cadillac JOTA Seeks Spa Redemption After Imola Penalty Ruined Podium Challenge
Hertz Team JOTA enters the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps confident of a strong result after genuine podium pace at Imola ended in a drive-through penalty. Norman Nato qualified fifth and Will Stevens ran as high as third before a yellow-flag infringement dropped the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R from contention. The team returns to the circuit where it won in 2024 as a Porsche customer, now with Cadillac power and a revised aerodynamic package. Alex Lynn remains absent with a neck injury, replaced by Louis Deletraz, while both Stevens and Nato know the Spa layout well from previous WEC campaigns with the squad.
Sources: dailysportscar.com
McLaren MCL-HY Hypercar Completes Successful First Track Test Ahead of WEC Campaign
McLaren’s MCL-HY LMDh Hypercar completed a two-day shakedown test in Italy, with Mikkel Jensen leading initial running before Grégoire Saucy continued the programme. Jensen described the rollout as encouraging, reporting positive technical progress across both days. Built to LMDh regulations with a Dallara carbon-fibre monocoque, an in-house twin-turbocharged V6, and a standard hybrid MGU, the MCL-HY carries a test livery inspired by Bruce McLaren’s championship-winning 1967 Can-Am M6A. The team targets a full WEC programme in 2027 including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, using 2026 to develop the car and build its endurance racing infrastructure.
Sources: FIA WEC
Reigning Supercars Champion Mostert Joins Lexus for Detroit IMSA GTD Pro Sprint
Reigning Supercars champion Chaz Mostert will make his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut for Lexus Vasser Sullivan at the Detroit Grand Prix on May 30, pairing with Aaron Telitz in the #15 Lexus RC F GT3 EVO in the GTD Pro class. The 100-minute sprint races the streets of Detroit, a venue new to Mostert. His record includes the Bathurst 1000, Bathurst 12 Hour, 24 Hours of Spa, and the 2026 Rolex 24 At Daytona. He joins existing factory pair Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat, who continue in the #14 entry, as Vasser Sullivan fields its strongest combined Detroit lineup.
Sources: IMSA
WEC Hypercar Championship: Toyota Leads Into Spa as Porsche Tops Manufacturers Table
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is the second round of the 2026 WEC Hypercar season, with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryô Hirakawa carrying the #8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid into Belgium as championship leaders following their Imola victory. The sister #7 Toyota sits third, sandwiching the #51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and James Calado in second. In the Manufacturers Championship, Porsche leads on 57 points ahead of Toyota on 48, with Ferrari third on 31. Alpine sits fifth and previously earned a rostrum at Spa, making the team a credible dark horse this weekend.
Sources: Autosport
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1. Buemi / Hartley / Hirakawa — P1
2. Pier Guidi / Giovinazzi / Calado — P2
3. Kobayashi / Conway / Lopez — P3
4. Fuoco / Molina / Nielsen — P4
WEC Hypercar — Manufacturers
1. Porsche — 57 pts
2. Toyota — 48 pts
3. Ferrari — 31 pts
4. BMW — 17 pts
5. Alpine — 15 pts
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Laurin Heinrich — leads by 21 pts
2. Jack Aitken
3. Julien Andlauer / Felipe Nasr
5. Frederik Vesti
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. Porsche Penske Motorsport
2. Cadillac Racing
3. BMW M Team RLL
Curated by JD · samwise.agency