The 2026 Lone Star Le Mans produced one of the most dramatic finishes of the recent FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) seasons. Toyota #7 appeared certain to win at Circuit of The Americas before a hydraulic problem forced Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway to retire with just 10 minutes remaining, handing victory to Ferrari #50.
Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco completed the six-hour race at the front after Ferrari benefited from an offset strategy and kept the pressure on Toyota throughout the final stages. The victory was Ferrari’s first of the 2026 WEC season.
The Alpine #35 of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and António Félix da Costa crossed the line second but was handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe pit-stop release. The sanction dropped the car to third and promoted Cadillac #38, driven by Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken, to second.
The result also delivered Alpine’s first podium of the season, while Cadillac secured its second-place finish after remaining in contention throughout the race.
Derani and Genesis score another top-eight finish
Pipo Derani’s Genesis #17 had a strong opening stint at COTA. André Lotterer made an impressive start and climbed as high as fourth overall before spinning while battling Molina for third.
The incident dropped the Genesis to 15th, but the GMR-001 recovered throughout the race. Derani, Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert eventually crossed the line eighth, adding more points to Genesis’ first season in the WEC.
Genesis had shown strong pace throughout the weekend. The #17 was third-fastest in FP2 and qualified eighth, just 0.561s off pole.
Aston Martin dominates LMGT3 finale
Aston Martin also celebrated in LMGT3, with the #27 of Mattia Drudi, Ian James and Zacharie Robichon controlling the closing stages to take victory.
The Porsche #91 of Ayhancan Güven, Timur Boguslavskiy and James Cottingham finished second, while the Aston Martin #23 of Dudu Barrichello, Gray Newell and Jonny Adam completed the podium.
The result was particularly important for Heart of Racing Team, which repeated Aston Martin’s previous COTA success and saw its #23 car join the #27 on the podium.
Barrichello’s third-place finish capped a strong recovery after the Brazilian’s Aston Martin spent much of the race outside the top three. The #23 ultimately finished 7.732s behind the winning sister car.
How the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans unfolded
Opening hour: Giovinazzi leads the Hypercars as LMGT3 turns chaotic
The race began under difficult conditions at COTA. The main straight was dry, while much of the rest of the circuit remained wet after rain shortly before the start, creating uncertainty over tyre choice.
The start was delayed by two additional formation laps, with the race clock beginning at the end of the first lap behind the safety car.
Marco Sørensen had a brief excursion in the Aston Martin #009 before the race got properly underway. Once the green flag flew, Ferrari #51’s Antonio Giovinazzi held the lead into Turn 1, ahead of Jack Aitken and Ferdinand Habsburg.
In LMGT3, Eric Powell moved the Ford #77 into first, with Gray Newell’s Aston Martin #23 initially following closely.
Ferrari had already shown strong pace earlier in the weekend, with Giovinazzi securing pole for the #51 after setting exactly the same Hyperpole time as Aitken but winning the tiebreak by setting his lap first.
After another sequence of stops, Earl Bamber emerged at the front in Cadillac #38, with Milesi’s Alpine #35 close behind.
Pipo Derani continued his recovery in Genesis #17, moving past Ricky Taylor to gain another position before a Virtual Safety Car neutralised the action.
Five hours gone: Toyota #7 takes control
With less than three hours remaining, the race entered another crucial phase. Antonio Fuoco moved ahead of James Calado in the Ferrari battle, while Bamber continued to lead the Hypercars.
Dudu Barrichello briefly dropped to fifth in LMGT3 but recovered fourth after passing Sebastian Priaulx.
The Porsche #91 of Ayhancan Güven also received a five-second penalty as the battle at the front continued.
Toyota #7 began to come alive in the second half of the race. Nyck de Vries attacked Bamber for the lead and eventually moved the Toyota into first place.
The other Toyota, #8, suffered a major setback when it was handed a drive-through for speeding in the pit lane. The penalty pushed the car out of contention for the victory.
Toyota #7, meanwhile, continued to extend its advantage. With Kamui Kobayashi taking over, the Japanese manufacturer appeared increasingly likely to finally secure its first victory at COTA.
At the same time, Dudu Barrichello moved into the LMGT3 top three after a drive-through penalty for the Mercedes #61 of Rui Andrade.
Final hour: Toyota heartbreak hands Ferrari the win
The final hour began with Toyota #7 firmly in control. Kobayashi and then de Vries kept the car ahead of Alpine #35 and Ferrari #50 as the leaders entered the closing stages.
The fight in LMGT3 also remained intense, but Mattia Drudi maintained control of the Aston Martin #27 at the front, with Güven’s Porsche #91 and Barrichello’s #23 completing the podium positions.
With 34 minutes remaining, Genesis #19 made a pit stop after running inside the fight for fourth in Hypercar, handing the position to Aitken’s Cadillac #38.
Then came the decisive moment.
With approximately 10 minutes left on the clock, de Vries slowed in the Toyota #7 after suffering a hydraulic pressure problem. The car went off track and was eventually forced into retirement, ending what had looked like a dominant victory.
Ferrari #50 suddenly inherited the lead. Nielsen brought the car home to complete a remarkable turnaround and give Ferrari its first WEC victory of 2026.
The win also ended Ferrari’s longest winless streak in the championship, while the #50 crew secured its third consecutive podium at COTA after finishing third in 2024 and second in 2025.
WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans results — Hypercar
| Pos. | No. | Drivers | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | A FUOCO / M MOLINA / N NIELSEN | Ferrari | 167 laps |
| 2 | 38 | E BAMBER / S BOURDAIS / J AITKEN | Cadillac JOTA | +4.471s |
| 3 | 35 | A F DA COSTA / F HABSBURG / C MILESI | Alpine | +6.116s (+5s) |
| 4 | 007 | H TINCKNELL / T GAMBLE | Aston Martin | +9.045s |
| 5 | 36 | F MAKOWIECKI / V MARTINS / J GOUNON | Alpine | +10.885s |
| 6 | 8 | S BUEMI / B HARTLEY / RYŌ HIRAKAWA | Toyota | +21.389s |
| 7 | 12 | W STEVENS / N NATO / R TAYLOR | Cadillac JOTA | +34.631s |
| 8 | 17 | A LOTTERER / P DERANI / M JAUBERT | Genesis | +35.975s |
| 9 | 15 | K MAGNUSSEN / R MARCIELLO / D VANTHOOR | BMW | +37.470s |
| 10 | 94 | L DUVAL / M JAKOBSEN / T POURCHAIRE | Peugeot | +40.000s |
| 11 | 51 | A PIER GUIDI / J CALADO / A GIOVINAZZI | Ferrari | +40.739s |
| 12 | 20 | R FRIJNS / R RAST / S VAN DER LINDE | BMW | +41.840s |
| 13 | 83 | R KUBICA / P HANSON / Y YE | AF Corse | +44.830s |
| 14 | 009 | A RIBERAS / M SØRENSEN | Aston Martin | +45.703s |
| 15 | 19 | M JAMINET / P L CHATIN / D JUNCADELLA | Genesis | +1:45.214 |
| 16 | 93 | N CASSIDY / P DI RESTA / S VANDOORNE | Peugeot | +2 laps |
| 17 | 7 | M CONWAY / K KOBAYASHI / N DE VRIES | Toyota | DNF |
WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans results — LMGT3
| Pos. | No. | Drivers | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | I JAMES / Z ROBICHON / M DRUDI | Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin | 154 laps |
| 2 | 91 | J COTTINGHAM / T BOGUSLAVSKIY / A GÜVEN | Manthey DK Engineering Porsche | +5.007s |
| 3 | 23 | G NEWELL / D BARRICHELLO / J ADAM | Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin | +7.732s |
| 4 | 21 | F HÉRIAU / S MANN / A ROVERA | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | +8.235s |
| 5 | 77 | E POWELL / B TUCK / S PRIAULX | Proton Competition Ford | +28.878s |
| 6 | 61 | M BERRY / R ANDRADE / M MARTIN | Iron Lynx Mercedes | +29.292s |
| 7 | 79 | J ZELGER / M CRESSONI / L HODENIUS | Iron Lynx Mercedes | +32.250s |
| 8 | 58 | A WEST / F GEHRSITZ / B GOETHE | Garage 59 McLaren | +44.944s |
| 9 | 88 | S GATTUSO / G LEVORATO / L SARGEANT | Proton Competition Ford | +1 lap |
| 10 | 54 | T FLOHR / F CASTELLACCI / D RIGON | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 11 | 69 | A MCINTOSH / P THOMPSON / D HARPER | Team WRT BMW | +1 lap |
| 12 | 33 | B KEATING / J EDGAR / N CATSBURG | TF Sport Corvette | +1 lap |
| 13 | 87 | R UMBRĂRESCU / C SCHMID / J M LÓPEZ | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | +1 lap |
| 14 | 34 | P DEMPSEY / S YOLUÇ / C EASTWOOD | Racing Team Turkey Corvette | +3 laps |
| 15 | 92 | Y SHAHIN / R PERA / R LIETZ | Manthey Porsche | +7 laps |
| 16 | 32 | D LEUNG / S GELAEL / A FARFUS | Team WRT BMW | +12 laps |
| 17 | 10 | A AU / T FLEMING / M KIRCHHÖFER | Garage 59 McLaren | +14 laps |
| 18 | 78 | T VAN ROMPUY / H DAVID / E MASSON | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | +32 laps |
The WEC now heads to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji, the sixth round of the 2026 championship, scheduled for September 25-27. GRANDE PRÊMIO will provide full coverage of the event.
FAQ
Why did Toyota #7 retire from the Lone Star Le Mans?
Toyota #7 was forced to retire with around 10 minutes remaining after Nyck de Vries encountered a hydraulic pressure problem while leading the race. The failure handed the victory to Ferrari #50.
What happened to Pipo Derani at the Lone Star Le Mans?
Pipo Derani, André Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert finished eighth in Genesis #17. Lotterer initially climbed to fourth before spinning while battling Miguel Molina for third, but the car recovered to score another top-eight result for Genesis.
When is the next WEC race?
The next FIA WEC round is the 6 Hours of Fuji in Japan, which takes place from September 25-27, 2026.
