Samwise Sportscar & Endurance Newsletter
Sunday, July 26, 2026
BMW Claims Second WEC Win of Season at São Paulo
The No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor won the WEC 6 Hours of São Paulo at Interlagos on July 12, delivering BMW M Team WRT its second Hypercar class victory of the 2026 season. The No. 51 Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen finished second, with the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota third. The sister No. 20 BMW of René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon Van Der Linde received a five-second penalty for contact with the No. 50 Ferrari and was classified eighth. Toyota collected no Hypercar class points in Brazil.
Sources: pitdebrief.com
Middle East Conflict Leaves WEC Season Finale in Doubt as Teams Plan for Two Outcomes
The FIA World Endurance Championship faces end-of-season uncertainty after the Qatar 1812km was postponed from March to October due to the Middle East conflict, putting the Bahrain finale at risk. A backup plan would move both events to Barcelona-Catalunya and Monza. Ferrari AF Corse team manager Batti Pregliasco told Sportscar365 that teams are already running dual logistics plans with duplicate equipment kits. “Of course, it’s a cost, it’s an effort, but we already spoke and work on these two plans to make it happen,” he said. A European conclusion would reduce championship points on offer, as normal six-hour races would replace the extended distance formats planned for the Middle East.
Sources: Sportscar365
McLaren MCL-HY Makes Public Debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed With Norris
Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris gave the McLaren MCL-HY its first public runs at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, making two hillclimb passes in the LMDh prototype on July 13. Development driver Grégoire Saucy took over for Saturday. Built around an ORECA LMDh chassis and powered by a V6 twin-turbo engine delivering up to 520 kW combined, the MCL-HY had previously completed only private testing in Italy. “It’s a big project for McLaren to start to try head to Le Mans,” Norris said. Factory driver Laurens Vanthoor and development driver Mikkel Jensen will lead the program ahead of the planned 2027 WEC and Le Mans campaign.
Sources: Motorsport.com
Ford LMDh Hits Significant Milestone as Coyote V8 Fires Up in ORECA Chassis
Ford Racing reached a “significant milestone” when its 5.4-liter naturally aspirated Coyote V8 fired up for the first time installed in an ORECA LMDh chassis at ORECA’s base in southern France, Sportscar365 reported July 16. The engine, designed and built in-house in Dearborn, Michigan, had previously only run on dynos. “Hearing the Coyote V8 come alive within its intended home confirmed that months of integration work had paid off,” said program manager Dan Sayers. The car is set to roll out August 5 at Le Castellet, with all six drivers — including Matt Campbell, Tom Blomqvist, and Nick Yelloly — part of the testing program.
Sources: Sportscar365
Corvette Z06 GT3.R Evo Confirmed for 2027 Debut at Daytona
Corvette Racing will introduce an Evo kit for its Z06 GT3.R in 2027, targeting reliability and serviceability on the 5.5-liter V8-powered machine, Sportscar365 reported July 17. Program manager Andrea Hidalgo said the changes will be “nothing major” visually but include debris mitigation and gear ratio updates beneath the bodywork. “It’s going to be nice to finally bundle all of these things that we want to improve and get them out there,” Hidalgo said. The car enters its fourth GT3 season in 2027. The Evo will debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, with IMSA customer teams required to adopt the updates either as a kit or a complete new car.
Sources: Sportscar365
54 Entries Confirmed for Inaugural Six-Hour IMSA Race at Road America
Fifty-four cars will contest next weekend’s inaugural Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, the fourth round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, Sportscar365 reported July 22. The Wisconsin circuit previously hosted a 2-hour 40-minute WeatherTech race but has been extended to a six-hour enduro for 2026. Eleven GTP cars return after skipping the last round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, headlined by the championship-leading No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederick Vesti. LMP2 grows to 12 entries, GTD Pro fields 12 cars, and GTD brings 19. Track action starts Friday, July 31, with the race set for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. EST.
Sources: Sportscar365
Championship-Leading Cadillac GTP Hit With 21 kg BoP Increase for Road America
The points-leading Cadillac V-Series.R has been handed a 21 kg weight increase for next weekend’s Road America enduro, moving to 1,053 kg as the third-heaviest GTP car, Sportscar365 reported July 23. The increase follows back-to-back wins for the No. 31 Action Express Racing entry. Championship runner-up Laurin Heinrich’s JDC-Miller Porsche 963 gains 4 kg, while the factory 2026 Porsche Penske entries lose 7 kg but remain the heaviest in class at 1,066 kg. The Aston Martin Valkyrie stays lightest at 1,020 kg — below its homologation minimum for the second straight race. The BMW M Hybrid V8 holds its weight but receives up to a 1.6 percent power increase.
Sources: Sportscar365
WEC Championship Battle: BMW Closes to Within Five Points of Toyota
BMW has moved to within five points of Toyota in the FIA WEC Hypercar Manufacturers’ Championship following the São Paulo result, with BMW M Team WRT drivers René Rast and Robin Frijns drawing level with the No. 7 Toyota crew in the Drivers’ standings, GPKingdom reported July 13. Cadillac moved past Alpine into fourth in the Manufacturers’ standings, with Aston Martin close behind in fifth. The No. 51 Ferrari crew of Fuoco, Molina, and Nielsen climbed to fourth in Drivers’ standings at 57 points. Teammate Sheldon Van Der Linde, who missed the Imola round, sits third in the Drivers’ standings, 10 points behind Rast and Frijns.
Sources: GPKingdom
WEC Hypercar — Drivers
1T. R. Rast / R. Frijns (BMW #20) — tied for lead
1T. No. 7 Toyota GR010 crew — tied with BMW #20
3. S. Van Der Linde (BMW #20) — 10 pts behind
4. Fuoco / Molina / Nielsen (Ferrari #51) — 57 pts
(Leaders’ exact pts appear as images in source)
WEC Hypercar — Manufacturers
1. Toyota GR010 — leads
2. BMW M Hybrid V8 — within 5 pts
3. Cadillac V-Series.R
4. Alpine A424
5. Aston Martin Valkyrie — within 1 pt of Alpine
IMSA GTP — Drivers
1. Jack Aitken (#31 Cadillac) — 2,145 pts
2. Laurin Heinrich (#5 Porsche) — 1,942 pts
3. van der Zande / Yelloly (#93 Acura) — 1,900 pts
4. Andlauer / Nasr (#7 Porsche) — 1,887 pts
5. Earl Bamber (#31 Cadillac) — 1,797 pts
IMSA GTP — Teams
1. #31 Action Express Cadillac — 2,145 pts
2. #93 Meyer Shank Acura — 1,900 pts
3. #7 Porsche Penske — 1,887 pts
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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