Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Weerts and Van der Linde Dominate Misano Sprint Cup Race 1 as Rossi Penalty Decides Outcome
Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde won GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Race 1 at Misano on Saturday, dominating by 19.65 seconds for WRT BMW. Pole-sitter Valentino Rossi — the nine-time MotoGP world champion making his Sprint Cup debut — claimed his first-ever Sprint Cup pole before receiving a 10-second penalty for being outside the grid hatchings, dropping the #46 WRT BMW of Rossi and Max Hesse to sixth. Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus brought the Lionspeed Porsche home second, with the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari fourth. Race 2 is set for Sunday morning at Misano.
Sources: Sportscar365 Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Ford’s WEC Hypercar Programme Fires V8 Engine in LMDh Chassis for First Time
Ford’s World Endurance Championship programme reached a significant milestone this week, firing its 5.4-litre Coyote V8 engine inside an LMDh chassis for the first time. The integration test marks the transition from standalone bench development to full vehicle operation for the American manufacturer’s long-awaited Hypercar project, which is targeting a 2027 WEC debut. Ford’s naturally-aspirated V8 is being adapted to work alongside the standardised Bosch motor-generator unit mandated under LMDh regulations. On-track shakedown running is expected later this year, with a Le Mans campaign representing the programme’s ultimate long-term ambition.
WEC Calendar Overhaul Looms as Barcelona and Monza Set to Replace Qatar and Bahrain
The FIA World Endurance Championship is poised for a major calendar revision, with Barcelona and Monza set to replace the traditional season-closing rounds at Qatar and Bahrain. The switch would deliver a European finale to the 2027 campaign, reversing the recent pattern of Middle Eastern double-headers that closed recent seasons. Ferrari, currently third in the Manufacturers’ standings, has acknowledged the uncertainty added considerable cost and effort to its programme. The calendar change would also reduce the number of high-scoring extended-distance events, making each standard six-hour race more critical to championship outcomes.
Sources: Motorsport Week Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Corvette Z06 GT3.R Evo Confirmed for 2027 with Reliability and Serviceability Focus
Corvette Racing will introduce an Evo upgrade kit for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ahead of the 2027 season, entering its fourth year of competition with a package focused on reliability and serviceability. Programme manager Andrea Hidalgo confirmed the updates — including debris mitigation, gear ratio adjustments, and drivability enhancements — as “nothing major” visually but a meaningful bundle of changes blocked by regulations during the standard homologation period. The updated car debuts at January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, with all IMSA customer teams required to run the Evo kit or purchase a complete new car.
Sources: Sportscar365 Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Record 44-Car Sprint Cup Field Set for Misano as Lionspeed Porsche Headlines Entry
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup round at Misano drew a record 44-car entry, with the Lionspeed Porsche of Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus heading a stacked field. WRT fields its full complement of BMW M4 GT3 EVO machinery, including championship contenders Charles Weerts, Kelvin van der Linde, and nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi — making his GTWCE Sprint Cup debut alongside Max Hesse. The record grid, spanning Pro, Silver, and Pro-Am categories, underlines continued strong manufacturer and team demand for GT3 competition in Europe entering the second half of the season.
Sources: Sportscar365 Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
WEC Title Fight Blown Wide Open After Toyota’s Pointless São Paulo Weekend
Toyota left Interlagos with its Manufacturers’ Championship lead intact but drastically reduced, after both TR010 HYBRID Hypercars failed to score in round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship. BMW’s No. 15 entry of Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor claimed victory, pulling BMW to 127 points — just five behind Toyota’s 132 — with Ferrari third on 88. In the Drivers’ Championship, BMW #20’s René Rast and Robin Frijns now sit level with Toyota #7’s Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and Nyck de Vries on 75 points, setting up a fiercely competitive second half of the season.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Shifts to All-Endurance Format with Revised 2027 Schedule
IMSA’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will adopt an all-endurance format for 2027, abandoning its sprint-race structure in favour of a seven-event calendar with races ranging from 90 minutes to three hours at Sebring, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Road America, Road Atlanta, and Lime Rock Park. GT3 machinery and second-generation LMP3 cars are out; Toyota-powered gen-3 LMP3, GSX-specification GT4, and the BMW M2 Racing Cup car are in. Platinum-rated drivers are prohibited, with Gold drivers required to pair with a Bronze co-driver. IMSA President John Doonan confirmed the overhaul, with Toney Driver Development the first team to commit.
Sources: Sportscar365 Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
McLaren MCL-HY LMDh Makes Public Debut at Goodwood with Norris and Vanthoor Behind the Wheel
McLaren’s WEC Hypercar programme made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with the MCL-HY LMDh prototype driven by reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris and WEC regular Laurens Vanthoor. The Dallara-based machine, which has already completed test programmes at Imola and Magny-Cours, ran demonstration laps before large crowds at the famous West Sussex hillclimb. Team principal James Barclay described the weekend as a key opportunity to showcase the programme’s progress. Vanthoor and Mikkel Jensen are confirmed as the team’s WEC drivers, with development drivers Gregoire Saucy, Richard Verschoor, and Ben Hanley also contributing to car development.
Sources: Sportscar365 Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
FIA WEC Standings — After Round 4, São Paulo
Manufacturers
| 1 | Toyota GR Racing | 132 |
| 2 | BMW M Motorsport | 127 |
| 3 | Ferrari AF Corse | 88 |
Hypercar Drivers (Full-Season)
| 1 | Rast / Frijns (BMW #20) | 75 |
| = | Kobayashi / Conway / de Vries (Toyota #7) | 75 |
| 3 | Pier Guidi / Calado / Giovinazzi (Ferrari #51) | 57 |
Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter — Sunday, July 19, 2026
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Racing data sourced from Sportscar365, RACER, and Motorsport Week. Published for informational purposes.