Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Monday, July 7, 2026
GetSpeed JR286 Wins Inaugural 12H Nürburgring
The #286 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO — shared by Americans Tanner Harvey and Patrick Liddy alongside Jonathan Hirshberg and Luxembourg’s Steve Jans — claimed overall and GT3-AM honours at the inaugural 12H Nürburgring, winning by a full lap in the opening round of the 24H Series European Series. Running over the Fourth of July weekend, Harvey noted the symbolic timing on the 250th anniversary of the United States. The victory puts GetSpeed 10 points clear at the head of the GT3 championship, with the #18 Audi squad in second and the #11 HOFOR Mercedes a further four points adrift.
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Thiim Dominates Norisring Double to Seize DTM Lead
Nicki Thiim delivered a dominant Norisring double to seize the DTM championship lead at the halfway point of the season. Driving the #007 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, Thiim secured Race 1 for Aston Martin’s first-ever DTM series victory, then followed it with a second win from pole in Race 2. The Dane’s maximum 56-point haul — a feat achieved only once before in the GT3 era by Thomas Preining at Hockenheim in 2023 — lifts him to 117 points, nine clear of Maro Engel, with Maximilian Auer a further two points back.
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ELMS Imola: Gibson Tribute, Disqualifications & United Autosports Extends Lead
Imola’s round three of the ELMS delivered drama beyond the race result, with Forestier Racing by Panis claiming LMP2 honours. The paddock paused to honour Bill Gibson, co-founder of Gibson Technology, with a minute of reflection on the grid and an onboard tribute lap soundtracked by his iconic GK428 engine. Post-race, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari and #13 Inter Europol Ligier both lost their points for failing minimum drive times, while the #10 Vector Sport LMP2 entry was disqualified for not proceeding directly to Parc Fermé. United Autosports leads LMP2 by six points heading to Spa.
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Emson/Lebbon Retain Int’l GT Open Lead After Hungaroring Split
Emilio de Castro Emson and Tom Lebbon arrived at the Hungaroring facing a difficult weekend, retiring the #17 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO from Race 1 with an engine sensor fault, ceding the class win to ZRS Motorsport’s Pietro Armanni and Alex Fontana in the #911 Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO. But the title leaders bounced back emphatically in Race 2, converting pole to win from the front for their third victory of the season. Emson and Lebbon leave Hungary with 87 points, 13 clear of Mansell and Götz of Team Motopark, with the International GT Open season past its halfway point.
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GTWC Asia Fields Season-High 25 Cars at Fuji
GT World Challenge Asia’s Fuji round will field a season-high 25 cars, three more than the Mandalika opener. Absolute Racing expands with two guest Porsches: the #20 Am crew of Lim Say Joon and Zairel Oh, and the Silver-Am #32 pairing of Benjamin Sargent and Ben Washington. Vermeulen and Tan switch from Ferrari to an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, LM Corsa debuts with a Ferrari 296 GT3 for Ogawa and Wakisaka, and Laurin Heinrich — fresh from his GTP campaign — makes his GTWC Asia debut in the Absolute #11 Porsche alongside Lu Wei.
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GTWC Asia Heads to Fuji with Absolute Racing Defending 20-Point Lead
Absolute Racing arrives at Fuji defending a 20-point championship advantage, with Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti atop the standings following their Mandalika weekend. The GTWC Asia Japan Cup remains even tighter: Ukyo Sasahara and Shinji Takei hold the lead with just two points covering the top three crews. With the Lamborghini team in its final season, success-penalty adjustments and Porsche’s historically strong record at Fuji will factor into the weekend’s balance of performance picture. Meanwhile, Akash Nandy competes in the Silver class, adding another dimension to Absolute’s multi-car strategy heading into the mid-season sprint.
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Dirickx Leads Prototype Cup Europe at Season Midpoint
Belgian driver Maxim Dirickx leads the Prototype Cup Europe standings at the season’s midpoint, his #3 Aust Motorsport Ligier JS P325 Toyota having banked 86 points across four events at Mugello and the Nürburgring. Dirickx tops both the overall and Junior classifications, with a 14-point gap over Valentino Catalano in the GMS Team #11 Ligier. Third-placed is the #8 BWT Mücke Duqueine D09 Toyota crew of Pluschkell and Bille Clausen on 62 points, while Emil Hellberg of Allay Racing leads the Trophy class. Aust Motorsport paces the Teams’ standings. The series heads to Monza on July 31–August 2.
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ORECA: Two-OEM Maximum Likely for 2030 Hypercar Launch
ORECA technical director Rémi Taffin has cast doubt on the French constructor’s ability to support more than two manufacturers simultaneously in the launch year of the converged 2030 WEC/IMSA regulations. Having built LMDh-based prototypes for four OEMs across the current cycle, Taffin described the incoming cars as essentially all-new: new safety cell, new monocoque, new aerodynamic freedoms and likely a new or updated hybrid system. He emphasised that teams must confirm their 2030 solutions before the end of 2026, with testing required through 2029, and that any OEMs wishing to use unique or modified spines would compound the engineering challenge further.
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PMNA: GT4’s Rising Benchmark Led to Porsche 911 GT4 R
Porsche Motorsport North America president Volker Holzmeyer has explained that rising GT4 competitiveness — and customer demand for proper motorsport electronics and sequential gearboxes — drove the decision to replace the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with the 911 GT4 R. Built on the same 4.0-litre six-cylinder boxer platform as the new-for-2026 992.2 Cup car, the GT4 R shares roughly 98 percent of its parts with the single-make machine. Priced at $375,000 USD including import and delivery, the car delivers to IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams in October, makes its race debut at Daytona in January, and renders the Cayman ineligible for Pilot Challenge from 2027.
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WEC Hypercar — Drivers (thru Le Mans)
1. Conway / Kobayashi / de Vries (Toyota #7) — 75 pts
2. Rast / Frijns (BMW #20) — 71 pts
3. van der Linde / crew (BMW) — 61 pts
4. Buemi / Hartley / Hirakawa (Toyota #8) — 56 pts
5. Pier Guidi / Giovinazzi / Calado (Ferrari #51) — 39 pts
WEC Hypercar — Teams
1. Toyota — 132 pts
2. BMW — 96 pts
3. Ferrari — 62 pts
4. Alpine — 38 pts
5. Cadillac — 32 pts
IMSA GTP — Drivers (thru Watkins Glen)
1. Aitken / Bamber / Vesti (#31 Cadillac) — 2,145 pts
2. Heinrich / van der Helm / Frederick (#5 JDC) — 1,942 pts
3. Andlauer / Nasr (#7 Porsche Penske) — 1,606 pts
4. van der Zande / Yelloly / Ohta (#93 Acura) — 1,552 pts
5. Estre / Vanthoor (#6 Porsche Penske) — 1,501 pts
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. #31 Cadillac Whelen Engineering
2. #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing
3. #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport
4. #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport
Curated by JD · samwise.agency