News summary
- Ferrari opened the Lone Star Le Mans with a 1-2 in Hypercar, led by the #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
- The #36 Alpine finished third, with Toyota’s #8 and the #35 Alpine completing the top 5 in the Hypercar field.
- McLaren topped LMGT3, with the #10 Garage 59 entry finishing ahead of the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes and sister #58 McLaren.
Ferrari showed its strength immediately at the Lone Star Le Mans, opening the fifth round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship with a 1-2 in Hypercar at Circuit of The Americas. The #51 Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi set the pace with a 1m53.824s lap, while the sister #50, shared by Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco, finished 0.205s behind.
The result gives Ferrari an early boost at an important point in the WEC season. The Italian manufacturer arrived in Texas third in the manufacturers’ standings on 88 points, behind Toyota on 132 and BMW on 127.
The #36 Alpine followed in third with Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Victor Martins, 0.399s off the leading Ferrari. The #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley, Ryō Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi was fourth, while the #35 Alpine completed the top 5.
Brazilian Pipo Derani finished 14th in the #17 Genesis alongside André Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert.
The official FIA WEC timing confirmed Ferrari’s #51 and #50 at the top of the Hypercar order, with the #8 Toyota third in the provisional classification before the session was completed.
McLaren leads LMGT3
McLaren also emerged on top in LMGT3, where Thomas Fleming put the #10 Garage 59 McLaren shared with Antares Au and Marvin Kirchhöfer at the front with a 2m06.016s lap.
The #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes of Martin Berry, Rui Andrade and Maxime Martin was second, 0.277s behind, while the #58 Garage 59 McLaren of Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz and Benjamin Goethe completed the top 3.
Brazilian Dudu Barrichello was fifth in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin alongside Gray Newell and Jonny Adam. Augusto Farfus finished 17th with Darren Leung and Sean Gelael in the #32 Team WRT BMW.
The official WEC timing initially showed the #61 Mercedes at the top of the LMGT3 classification, with the #21 Ferrari and #23 Aston Martin immediately behind, before the final times reshuffled the order.
How Lone Star Le Mans FP1 unfolded
Ferrari took control early in the 90-minute session, with Giovinazzi setting the initial benchmark in the #51. Makowiecki briefly moved the #36 Alpine into second, while Marco Sørensen put the #009 Aston Martin into the top 3.
With just over 10 minutes gone, race control introduced the first Full Course Yellow of the weekend. The session resumed roughly 7 minutes later, with Giovinazzi still holding the fastest time.
In LMGT3, the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari initially led the way after Davide Rigon posted a 2m07.470s lap. The #27 Aston Martin and #87 Lexus followed before the times began to tumble.
The Mercedes #61 subsequently moved to the front with a 2m06.569s lap before Fleming took the LMGT3 lead for McLaren late in the session.
In Hypercar, Ferrari’s #50 joined its sister car at the front after Fuoco moved into second, while Toyota’s #8 and #7 occupied the following positions during the session.
The order then remained relatively stable in the closing stages, allowing Ferrari to secure the first 1-2 of the Lone Star Le Mans weekend.
The FIA WEC returns to the track for FP2 later on Friday, continuing preparations for the 6-hour race at COTA. The Lone Star Le Mans runs from September 4-6, with the race scheduled for Sunday.
WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans FP1 results — Hypercar
| Pos. | No. | Drivers | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | A. Pier Guidi / J. Calado / A. Giovinazzi | Ferrari | 1:53.824 | — |
| 2 | 50 | A. Fuoco / M. Molina / N. Nielsen | Ferrari | 1:54.029 | +0.205 |
| 3 | 36 | F. Makowiecki / V. Martins / J. Gounon | Alpine | 1:54.223 | +0.399 |
| 4 | 8 | B. Hartley / Ryō Hirakawa / S. Buemi | Toyota | 1:54.321 | +0.497 |
| 5 | 007 | H. Tincknell / T. Gamble | Aston Martin | 1:54.334 | +0.510 |
| 6 | 35 | A. F. da Costa / F. Habsburg / C. Milesi | Alpine | 1:54.336 | +0.512 |
| 7 | 7 | M. Conway / K. Kobayashi / N. de Vries | Toyota | 1:54.395 | +0.571 |
| 8 | 38 | E. Bamber / S. Bourdais / J. Aitken | Jota Cadillac | 1:54.427 | +0.603 |
| 9 | 009 | A. Riberas / M. Sørensen | Aston Martin | 1:54.571 | +0.747 |
| 10 | 19 | M. Jaminet / P.-L. Chatin / D. Juncadella | Genesis | 1:54.590 | +0.766 |
| 11 | 94 | M. Jakobsen / L. Duval / T. Pourchaire | Peugeot | 1:54.704 | +0.880 |
| 12 | 83 | R. Kubica / P. Hanson / Y. Ye | AF Corse | 1:54.773 | +0.949 |
| 13 | 93 | S. Vandoorne / P. di Resta / N. Cassidy | Peugeot | 1:54.899 | +1.075 |
| 14 | 17 | A. Lotterer / P. Derani / M. Jaubert | Genesis | 1:55.125 | +1.301 |
| 15 | 15 | R. Marciello / K. Magnussen / D. Vanthoor | BMW | 1:55.131 | +1.307 |
| 16 | 12 | W. Stevens / N. Nato / R. Taylor | Jota Cadillac | 1:55.669 | +1.845 |
| 17 | 20 | R. Frijns / R. Rast / S. van der Linde | BMW | 1:55.700 | +1.876 |
WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans FP1 results — LMGT3
| Pos. | No. | Drivers | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | A. Au / T. Fleming / M. Kirchhöfer | Garage 59 McLaren | 2:06.016 | — |
| 2 | 61 | M. Berry / R. Andrade / M. Martin | Iron Lynx Mercedes | 2:06.293 | +0.277 |
| 3 | 58 | A. West / F. Gehrsitz / B. Goethe | Garage 59 McLaren | 2:06.327 | +0.311 |
| 4 | 21 | F. H. Hériau / S. Mann / A. Rovera | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | 2:06.556 | +0.540 |
| 5 | 23 | G. Newell / D. Barrichello / J. Adam | Heart of Racing Aston Martin | 2:06.584 | +0.568 |
| 6 | 88 | S. Gattuso / G. Levorato / L. Sargeant | Proton Competition Ford | 2:06.778 | +0.762 |
| 7 | 77 | E. Powell / B. Tuck / S. Priaulx | Proton Competition Ford | 2:07.257 | +1.241 |
| 8 | 27 | I. James / M. Drudi / Z. Robichon | Heart of Racing Aston Martin | 2:07.284 | +1.268 |
| 9 | 87 | P. Umbrarescu / J. María López / C. Schmid | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | 2:07.410 | +1.394 |
| 10 | 79 | J. Zelger / M. Cressoni / L. Hodenius | Iron Lynx Mercedes | 2:07.421 | +1.405 |
| 11 | 54 | T. Flohr / F. Castellacci / D. Rigon | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | 2:07.470 | +1.454 |
| 12 | 78 | T. van Rompuy / H. David / E. Masson | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | 2:07.680 | +1.664 |
| 13 | 91 | J. Cottingham / T. Boguslavskiy / A. Güven | Manthey DK Engineering Porsche | 2:07.823 | +1.807 |
| 14 | 92 | Y. Shahin / R. Pera / R. Lietz | The Bend Manthey Porsche | 2:07.856 | +1.840 |
| 15 | 69 | A. McIntosh / P. Thompson / D. Harper | Team WRT BMW | 2:07.910 | +1.894 |
| 16 | 33 | B. Keating / J. Edgar / N. Catsburg | TF Sport Corvette | 2:08.045 | +2.029 |
| 17 | 32 | D. Leung / S. Gelael / A. Farfus | Team WRT BMW | 2:08.569 | +2.553 |
| 18 | 34 | P. Dempsey / S. Yoluç / C. Eastwood | Racing Team Turkey by TF Sport Corvette | 2:08.746 | +2.730 |
FAQ
1. Who leads the Lone Star Le Mans after FP1?
Ferrari leads the Hypercar field, with the #51 ahead of the sister #50. Alpine’s #36 completed the top 3.
2. Who is leading the 2026 WEC manufacturers’ championship?
Toyota entered the Lone Star Le Mans as the championship leader with 132 points, followed by BMW with 127 and Ferrari with 88. The Austin race is the fifth round of the 8-round 2026 WEC season.
3. When is the Lone Star Le Mans race?
The 6-hour Lone Star Le Mans takes place Sunday, September 6, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
