Welcome to the second part of DSC’s 2026 6 Hours of Imola preview, covering LMGT3. Missed the Hypercar segment? Catch up HERE >>>
Entering its third season of competition, the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 category has now matured significantly, with the strength and depth of the field having consistently risen.
This year’s grid once again features 18 cars, two each from nine manufacturers, with no new marques joining the grid this year.
What is new, however, is several Evo packages. Ferrari, Ford and Porsche are all bringing updated machinery this season.
Also arriving is Garage 59, with the British outfit replacing United Autosports as McLaren’s nominated team.
On the sporting front, the key change to LMGT3 for this season is to the tyre allocation. Teams will now have enough tyres to theoretically single-stint throughout each race. This, in turn, may still open up new strategic options, with the teams’ primary focus now weighing up whether a new set of rubber will offset the time lost from changing.
Accordingly, Goodyear will only utilise its Eagle Medium compound this year, after bringing its Hard tyre to three events last season. This change won’t have an impact at Imola, which has always been a medium event and is traditionally amongst the lightest circuits on its tyres, but could play a crucial role in the championship run-in.
Heart of Racing Team (Aston Martin)
#23 Vantage AMR LMGT3 – Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello/Kobe Pauwels & Jonny Adam
#27 Vantage AMR LMGT3 – Ian James, Zacharie Robichon & Mattia Drudi
For 2026, Aston Martin has elected to follow the suit of all of its LMGT3 rivals, with both Vantage AMR LMGT3s now being run by the same team, Heart of Racing.
Ian James’ operation has been a consistent contender since joining the FIA WEC midway through 2023, with it claiming its maiden victory at COTA in 2024. Last year, a podium finish at Bahrain saw the team finish fourth in the championship, whilst Le Mans pole for factory ace Mattia Drudi was another highlight.
The #27 Vantage AMR LMGT3 features the same line-up as in 2025, as team principal James, Zacharie Robichon, and newly named Hypercar reserve Drudi look to build on the momentum they gained last term.
The sister #23 entry sees factory driver Jonny Adam return to the championship for the first time since 2020, when we won the 24 hours of Le Mans in LMGTE Am with TF Sport. The Scotsman will play a key role in the development of co-driver Gray Newell, who is making the step up from GT World Challenge America.
Newell has climbed SRO’s North American ladder with Heart of Racing, and scored multiple podium finishes alongside Darren Turner in World Challenge competition last season.
Dudu Barrichello is the only driver making the move across from Racing Spirit of Leman, which fielded the second Vantage last season. The Brazilian will be looking to build off a standout debut campaign, during which he claimed two pole positions, including on home turf in Sao Paulo.
A clash with the IMSA Sportscar Championship round at Long Beach means that Barrichello will miss the season opener, however, with AMR Driver Academy winner Kobe Pauwels replacing him.
Team WRT (BMW)
#32 M4 LMGT3 Evo – Darren Leung, Sean Gelael & Augusto Farfus
#69 M4 LMGT3 Evo – Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson & Dan Harper
Team WRT has already likely played a major role in the 2026 season, as, with the BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo traditionally harder on its tyres than many of the other cars in the field. It’s believed that its former driver Valentino Rossi was instrumental in the changes to the tyre regulations before electing to return to GT World Challenge Europe instead of embarking on a third FIA WEC campaign.
The increased allocation should help WRT, after two underwhelming campaigns by its lofty standards, during which it has claimed just one victory. That win came at Imola in 2024, and with the M4 having almost followed it up with another victory last year, the Belgian squad is well-placed to start this season with a strong result.
After a season at United Autosports, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael have returned to the Belgian squad, and the more familiar cockpit of the M4, to reunite with Augusto Farfus and reform the Imola 2024 winning trio. The majority of Leung’s racing success has come behind the wheel of the BMW, having won titles in both British GT and GT World Challenge driving an M4 GT3.
The sister entry features three FIA WEC rookies, who raced together in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter as preparation for this season. Anthony McIntosh is entering his first full season, having impressed during a three-race run with Racing Spirit of Leman last year, headlined by a podium finish on his debut in Brazil.
The American is joined by BMW M factory driver Dan Harper and Parker Thompson, with the trio having made a strong start in Asia as they finished second in the GT drivers’ championship with two race wins to their names. With its novel idea to run a different livery, at each event, the #69 BMW will almost certainly be a fan favourite.
TF Sport (Corvette)
#33 Z06 LMGT3.R – Ben Keating/Blake McDonald, Jonny Edgar & Nicky Catsburg
#34 Z06 LMGT3.R – Peter Dempsey, Salih Yoluc & Charlie Eastwood
A quick glance at the championship table doesn’t tell the true story of TF Sport’s 2025 campaign. It’s pair of Z06 GT3.Rs may have finished fifth and sixth in the championship, but each car won a race, and its #81 Corvette in particular was in the thick of the battle until Bahrain.
In the #33 ZO6 GT3.R, Daniel Juncadella’s move to Genesis means that Nicky Catsburg is making his FIA WEC return. The Dutchman last competed in the series in 2023, when he dominated the final season of LMGTE Am alongside Ben Keating and Nico Varrone.
Keating is entering his second season in LMGT3, and will be aiming to re-find his GTE qualifying form, after often struggling to deliver over one-lap last year, whilst Edgar returns to TF Sport despite a chaotic off-season, which saw him provisionally upgraded to Gold by the FIA before eventually keeping his Silver rating.
The reunification of the Catsburg-Keating combination has been put on hold, however, with an elbow injury forcing Keating out of the first two races. FIA WEC rookie Blake McDonald, who is racing for TF in the European Le Mans Series, is stepping up to replace him.
For the sister car, TF Sport is resuming its partnership with Salih Yoluç’s Racing Team Turkey entity, as Yoluç returns to the FIA WEC for the first time since his Le Mans-winning 2019/20 campaign. The Turkish driver, now upgraded to Silver, is reuniting with his long-time mentor Charlie Eastwood, the only driver returning from last year’s #81 crew.
The #34 car is completed by Peter Dempsey, who has not had the career path of a typical Bronze-rated driver. The Irishman found success on the Road to Indy at the start of the 2010s, including a win at the Indianapolis 500-supporting Freedom 100 in 2013. That season, however, was the last time that the 40-year-old raced full-time.
Vista AF Corse (Ferrari)
#21 296 LMGT3 Evo – Francois Heriau, Simon Mann & Alessio Rovera
#54 296 LMGT3 Evo – Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci & Davide Rigon
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, appears to be AF Corse’s approach to its LMGT3 line-up, as it enters its third consecutive season with an unchanged sextet of drivers.
It’s a reflection on the quality of all involved that the team is able to keep such remarkable consistency – Flohr and Castellacci are entering their 60th consecutive FIA WEC race together, the longest such streak in the field, and have spent all of them at AF Corse.
Both crews have won races in the LMGT3 era, with the #21 Ferrari finishing last year as the runner-up in the championship. This car led the LMGT3 field in top-five finishes, but three costly non-scores, including a retirement at Imola after Mann had an incident with Valentino Rossi whilst fighting for the win last year, blunted their title challenge.
Their pace here last year, however, should give the Italian squad confidence that it can challenge for victory on home soil, with this only furthered by a competitive showing during Tuesday’s Prologue test.
What is new at Vista AF Corse this year is an Evo kit for its 296 LMGT3. This, in theory, should help the car to follow others more easily, and also bring the LMGT3 version closer in line with the standard GT3-spec 296.
Proton Competition (Ford)
#77 Mustang LMGT3 Evo – Eric Powell, Ben Tuck & Sebastian Priaulx
#88 Mustang LMGT3 Evo – Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato & Logan Sargeant
Following its involuntary step away from Hypercar, Proton Competition’s Ford LMGT3 programme will be the German team’s primary focus in the FIA WEC this season.
Entering year three, it’s an effort which is still looking to find its footing in the category, following two difficult years categorised by major highs, such as a 1-2 lockout on the grid at COTA last year, not being achieved consistently enough. In 2025, the team failed to finish in the top five outside of the 6 Hours of Spa, where the #88 Mustang scored a podium.
Ford Racing factory drivers Priaulx and Sargeant have joined the team, as they build towards the debut of Ford’s Hypercar programme in 2027. For Priaulx, it’s his first FIA WEC campaign since he raced with Proton in 2022, whilst Sergeant is a debutant.
As the season progresses, both drivers will find their focus increasingly turning towards the Hypercar, with the Mustang LMGT3 programme very much in a transitional phase as the ‘Blue Oval’ prepares for its top-class effort.
Joining Sergeant in the rookie ranks is Powell, who is making the step up from GT World Challenge America following a successful Rookie Test appearance last year. Tuck, Levorato and Gattuso, meanwhile, all return from 2025, providing a stable core after the German squad only retained its Pro drivers between ’24 and ’25.
Proton Competition will also need to adapt to the Mustang LMGT3’s new Evo kit. Unlike AF Corse and Manthey, the others teams with updated machinery this year, Proton only races the Mustang in the FIA WEC, meaning it doesn’t already have direct racing experience with the kit to provide a strong baseline entering this weekend.
Akkodis ASP Team (Lexus)
#78 RC F LMGT3 – Tom Van Rompuy, Hadrien David & Esteban Masson
#87 RC F LMGT3 – Razvan Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid & Jose Maria Lopez
2025 proved to be a breakthrough year for Akkodis ASP Team with Lexus, winning two races after a disappointing debut season for the multi-time GT World Challenge Europe champion in 2024.
The #87 trio of Umbrarescu, Schmid and Lopez, which scored both victories, finished third in last year’s drivers’ championship despite three costly retirements. If the team can eliminate those – several of which were down to mechanical woes – then on paper the trio should be fighting for the championship this year.
The sister car sees Van Rompuy joining the team after two years at TF Sport, with whom he won at Fuji and mounted a title challenge. If the Belgian can adapt to the front-engined Lexus, the #78 RC F LMGT3 should be expected to join the sister car challenging for race wins, especially with a pair of rising stars joining him.
David won last year’s Le Mans Cup title with R-ace GP, and also finished second in the GT4 European Series whilst driving for Akkodis’ sister squad Matmut Evolution. Masson, meanwhile, returns to Akkodis after one season away as the reigning European Le Mans Series LMP2 champion and Toyota’s Hypercar development driver.
At Le Mans, Masson is set to prioritise his LMP2 duties, with Jack Hawksworth taking his place.
On paper, Akkodis is the biggest loser under the changing tyre regulations. Both of its wins last year came at Hard tyre venues, with it finding it much easier to maintain second stint pace on the more durable Goodyear Eagles. Conversely, the increased allocation means that looking after its tyres is less important, which should help.
Garage 59 (McLaren)
#10 LMGT3 Evo – Antares Au, Tom Fleming & Marvin Kirchhofer
#58 LMGT3 Evo – Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz & Benjamin Goethe
Garage 59 is the only new team to LMGT3 this year, with the British outfit stepping up as United Autosports focuses on the development of McLaren’s incoming Hypercar challenger.
The team enters LMGT3 on the crest of a wave, following a breakthrough GT World Challenge Europe campaign last year. It won three races and challenged for multiple titles, with its trio of McLarens often proving to be the class of the field on pure pace.
Three of its GT World Challenge drivers, Fleming, Kirchhöfer and Goethe, are making the step with Garage 59, as the team has elected to prioritise its current talent over pilots with FIA WEC experience. All there, however, with Kirchhöfer in particular a world-class talent.
The bulk of the team’s FIA WEC experience comes from Gehristz, who had an impressive debut campaign with Akkodis ASP last year, during which the 21-year-old claimed a pair of pole positions.
In the #10 McLaren, 2024/25 Asian Le Mans Series drivers’ champion Antares Au is making the step up to FIA WEC full-time, after making his debut at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. A regular in Porsche machinery, the 47-year-old will have to adapt to racing the McLaren for the first time.
The major question mark in the line-up comes in the form of team co-owner West, who last raced regularly in 2023, and has only made sporadic appearances in the likes of the International GT Open and Gulf 12 Hours since. How quickly he adapts to the step up in competition, and the quirks of LMGT3, will prove critical for the #58 car’s prospects.
Iron Lynx (Mercedes-AMG)
#61 LMGT3 – Martin Berry, Rui Andrade & Maxime Martin
#79 LMGT3 – Johannes Zelger, Matteo Cressoni & Lin Hodenius
A podium at last year’s Bahrain finale saved what was otherwise a forgettable first season with Mercedes-AMG for Iron Lynx. The Italian team had spent the majority of the year rooted to the bottom of the championship table, as a combination of factors, including a late-starting programme, revolving driver line-up and adapting the AMG to a torque sensor formula, limited its performance.
The Bahrain podium trio of Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius and Martin Berry has been separated for this year, with Hodenius switching to the sister car and making way for Rui Andrade. The 2023 LMP2 drivers’ champion is new to the AMG, but through a dual-programme across ELMS and the FIA WEC, has plenty of time to get up to speed with the car.
In the #79 AMG LMGT3, FIA WEC rookie Johannes Zelger provides the major question mark, as he steps up from International GT Open competition. Veteran Matteo Cressoni returns after losing his seat after two races last year, whilst 19-year-old Hodenius faces the next challenge on his ascent through the Mercedes-AMG ranks, as he shoulders the responsibility of leading a car.
Manthey (Porsche)
#91 911 GT3 R (992.2) LMGT3 – James Cottingham, Timur Boguslavskiy & Ayhancan Güven
#92 911 GT3 R (99.2) LMGT3 – Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera & Richard Lietz
So far in the LMGT3 era, Manthey has swept all of the major silverware, with two Le Mans victories and two titles. This is therefore very much a case of last but not least, with the German squad providing the benchmark that its rivals are aspiring to beat in 2026.
With the Iron Dames and 1st Phorm making way for DK Engineering and The Bend, it’s a pair of Porsches that will have a very different look this season, whilst the team will also need to contend with the arrival of an Evo package for the 992-spec Porsche. In ‘standard’ GT3 form, at least, it didn’t take long for Manthey to get up to speed with the new car, though, as it won in just its second start at the 12 Hours of Sebring in IMSA GTD Pro.
From last year’s triumph, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz both return, but Ryan Hardwick has elected to focus on the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup instead this year. In his place, Yasser Shahin returns to the team after one year at WRT. Shahin previously teamed up with Lietz at Manthey in 2024, where the pair won two races, including Le Mans.
Three new signings make up the DK Engineering-backed #91 Porsche’s roster, headlined by the addition of reigning DTM drivers’ champion Ayhancan Güven for his FIA WEC debut. Having mainly competed in all-Pro competition during his rise through Porsche’s ranks, competing in a Pro/Am formula will provide the Turkish driver with a very different experience this year.
Boguslavskiy raced with Shahin at WRT last year, and is joining his third team in as many years as he looks to find the success in the WEC that he experienced during his previous, title-winning spell in GT World Challenge Europe.
Cottingham, meanwhile, has switched to Manthey after two years spent at United Autosports. The Briton showed plenty of pace last season, progressing his car to Hyperpole on all but one occasion, and if his speed transitions to the Porsche he will be hoping that a first win is not too far away.
