Blake McDonald’s long-held ambition to race in the FIA World Endurance Championship becomes reality this weekend, as the American makes his debut with TF Sport’s Corvette squad at Imola—albeit earlier than anyone expected.
Drafted in as a late replacement for the injured Ben Keating, McDonald steps into the #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R for the opening rounds of the 2026 season, marking a significant milestone in his career. While the call came at short notice, the opportunity aligns perfectly with his broader racing plans and existing commitments with the team.
“It was an immediate ‘yes’. I’m extremely excited,” McDonald, who over the past 12 months competed in GT World Challenge America and the Asian Le Mans Series with the Z06 GT3.R, explains to DSC.
“It’s come together very late, but because of my ELMS programme, I was in Europe at this time anyway, so I’ll now just stay out here for five weeks (to compete in the first two WEC and ELMS races at Barcelona, Imola, Paul Ricard and Spa)
“It’s been a dream of mine to do WEC; I just didn’t think it’d happen early. It’s going to be valuable for me; it fits perfectly into my whole grand plan of racing and gives me track time at ELMS circuits I will visit later in the season.
“And I’m thankful it’s all with TF, as they’re a very good race team from top to bottom, and the Corvette is a car I fell in love with immediately when I first drove it. I feel comfortable with it and take a lot of pride in driving an American race car. It means a lot to my family and me.”
McDonald’s arrival comes amid a broader sense that TF Sport and Corvette have unfinished business in the championship.
In 2025, the British outfit showed strong pace with its LMGT3 entries but ultimately fell short of title success. The #33 claimed victory in Qatar and remained in contention deep into the season, while the #81— the winner at Fuji —also carried championship hopes into the Bahrain finale. In the end, however, the team had to settle for fifth and sixth in the standings, aware that more was possible.
For 2026, team boss Tom Ferrier has reshaped his line-ups for a third global campaign in LMGT3, but the objective remains unchanged: fight for the title.
Originally, Keating was set to return alongside Jonny Edgar and Corvette factory driver Nicky Catsburg in the #33. However, an elbow injury sustained in a mountain biking accident forced a late rethink ahead of Imola and Spa. While Keating remains on-site this weekend in a supporting capacity, his absence has opened the door for McDonald—though it also effectively ends his own Drivers’ title hopes before the season begins.
Despite the disruption, McDonald’s familiarity with both the Corvette machinery and TF Sport operation offers reassurance that the #33’s competitiveness will not suffer.
Alongside that entry, TF Sport’s second car — now running as the #34 as Racing Team Turkey — features Charlie Eastwood as the sole returning driver, joined by WEC debutant Peter Dempsey and returning Turkish racer Salih Yoluc.
“The budgets are huge, there aren’t many people in the world who can afford it, but the demand is somehow high,” Ferrier tells DSC about the challenge of putting together a line-up. “It’s all about putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.”
Even with the late change, Ferrier is confident both crews are capable of delivering strong results this season.
“Last year, I don’t think we were a million miles away from winning the championship. Both cars were evenly matched but had issues,” he continues. “We gave up a lot of points. If the #81 finished Qatar and the #33 dug out one more result somewhere, it could have been a different story.
“Ben moved forward a lot last year, I think, over the season. The second half of his season was much, much stronger than the first half. Yes, they won Qatar, but his own personal performances were a lot stronger, so when he’s back, I believe we’ll see him on a different level. Jonnny, I think the second year will be really strong. Everyone knows how good he is. And Nicky, I’ve not yet worked with, but I’m looking forward to it.
“Then, in the Team Turkey car, it’s lovely to have Salih back. He first joined us at the end of 2015, and he’s been with us solidly until 2024; now he’s back. It’s no secret he’s not a ‘Super Silver’, but he can do a good job, and Mr Dempsey is very strong. He’s done a bit of testing in Bahrain, Dubai in January, Qatar in February and Spa in March. He’s still got bits to learn; there will be tracks he doesn’t know, but he’ll get on with it really well. I think we should be at the sharp end.”
Another factor boosting optimism within the team is Goodyear’s tyre strategy shift for 2026, with the Hard compound retired in favour of the Medium all season in the wake of the increase in tyre allocation for LMGT3 teams at each round. The Medium, Ferrier believes, better suits the Corvette package.
“I’m not sad to see the hard tyre go, to be honest. I just hope that the strategic elements of the formula we love so much remain,” he says. “There’s a fear from a lot of teams that we don’t want it to be like GT World Challenge, where you run to the fuel light and change four tyres each time.
“The beauty of the WEC has always been strategy and teams making a difference. It’ll depend on stint lengths. We’ll have to see how it plays out and see what strategic options remain on the table.”
The season begins this weekend at Imola, a circuit that holds fond memories for TF Sport after class victories there in last year’s European Le Mans Series campaign helped launch its double title push.
“I’m happy we’re starting the season this week, and with a Prologue,” Ferrier says. “The Qatar delay has wiped out a lot of European testing opportunities. So having a Prologue squeezed in is really useful because it’s a track you can’t get to easily. It’s also a track I love, not just because of the wine and pasta. We’ve got a lot of trophies from there!”
