Keating set for final full-time start
TF Sport’s Ben Keating is set to participate in his final race as part of a full-season programme today, as the Texan aims to help his #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R to the LMGT3 Teams’ title from second on the grid.
Keating is hoping for a reversal of fortunes from his previous outings with TF Sport at Monza, with probable victories having slipped through his fingers in both 2021 and 2022 after damage from a high-speed tyre failure and a dramatic brake failure for co-driver Henrique Chaves respectively.
“I’ve had unbelievably bad luck here,” he said. “I love this place, but I don’t think I’ve ever been on the podium.”
From next season, Keating is set to focus his racing efforts on “fun races”, including returns to some of the world’s biggest sportscar events.
“I’m looking forward to the future,” he said. “I will be at the Daytona 24, I’ll be at Le Mans 24. I’ll be at the Sebring 12 Hours. I enjoy coming to Monza, I really like this track, but I have other ways I want to spend my time, so I’m excited about a little freedom too.”
This fun will also include racing in machinery slightly different to the LMP2 and GT cars Keating has become a regular in, with planned outfits in the grassroots ChampCar Endurance Series (formerly known as ChumpCar) and off-road competition.
Fitting with his preference for major events, the bulk of Keating’s favourite FIA WEC memories are attached to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I have a bunch of [standout moments],” he said.
“I would say the last hour of Le Mans in 2019 in the Ford was a major standout memory for me. I had Jörg Bergmeister chasing me down in the Porsche, and every Bronze driver dreams of finishing that race and it all being on your shoulders and being able to pull it out, and we did, which I loved.
“Then in ’23, the last Le Mans for the GTE cars and the 100th anniversary, to win driving an American car for an American team. That year they had the Bronze’s qualifying, so qualifying on the pole was special too.”
Before he can focus on 2027, however, Keating still has one final six-hour race to tackle. Although he cannot go down in the history books as the 2026 LMGT3 Drivers’ Champion, the 55-year-old is approaching co-driver Jonny Edgar’s title prospects as if they were his own.
“Even though I had to miss the first two races with my elbow, I still feel like it’s my championship to win,” he said. “I put the team together. I got everybody sorted out. So it’s still very much my team.”
Conway to take the start in final race
Miguel Molina and Daniel Juncadella are set to share the front row of the grid for the season finale, aboard the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P and #19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 respectively.
Multiple Hypercar teams have change their starting driver compared to the previous round at Barcelona. Jack Aitken will run the opening stint in the #38 Cadillac, with Antonio Giovinazzi aboard the #51 Ferrari and Alex Riberas in the #009 Aston Martin. Aboard the #7 Toyota, Mike Conway will take the start in his final professional race.
Notably, the seventh row matches the front row from Barcelona, with André Lotterer heading Sebastien Buemi. Buemi’s #8 Toyota has gained one grid position, after the #007 Aston Martin received a one-place grid penalty after Harry Tincknell impeded Theo Pourchaire’s #94 Peugeot during qualifying.
In LMGT3, Tom van Rompuy will take the start aboard the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. The #10 Garage 59 McLaren and #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari both failed to record any qualifying times, due to a pit lane speeding penalty and an accident respectively, and as such Marvin Kirchhöfer and Simon Mann will be required to take the start as their fastest drivers across Free Practice.
Top six finishes required for championship leaders
With the point for pole position no longer available, the championship scenarios have altered slightly.
In Hypercar, a top-six finish would guarantee the #8 Toyota crew the Drivers’ Championship, even if the #7 Toyota wins. If the #7 Toyota finishes in second, the #8 Toyota needs to finish in the top 10, and if the #7 Toyota fails to finish in the top two then the #8 Toyota is guaranteed the title.
In LMGT3, the #33 TF Sport Corvette needs a top six finish to hold onto the crown should the #92 The Bend Manthey Porsche win. If the #92 Porsche finishes second, the #33 Corvette needs to finish in the top 10, with the #92 Porsche requiring a top-two finish to factor in the championship equation.
The #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF requires a race victory to win the title, with the #33 Corvette finishing outside of the top eight.
The #69 Team WRT BMW can no longer win the LMGT3 title after failing to claim pole position.
Milesi selects best Alpine memories
Today marks the 24th and final race for the Alpine A424. The programme winding down, unfortunately, puts Charles Milesi’s five-year relationship with Alpine service provider Signatech on hold.
“I think my best memory in a way was Fuji [2025],” he said. “Being able to win the 100th WEC race and as a French manufacturer with this car was amazing.
“Another one which was a quite memorable was the first time I drove the car in Le Castellet. It was an honour because after being in LMP2 for two years, having Philippe [Sinault, team principal] trust me to drive this car on the first test was definitely something I enjoyed.”
Au expecting Safety Cars to factor
Garage 59’s Antares Au is optimistic that his #10 McLaren LMGT3 Evo could be competitive in today’s race, despite the rookie ending his maiden FIA WEC campaign with a difficult qualifying session.
Au initially qualified 17th in LMGT3, before losing his lap times due to speeding on pit entry. As such, co-driver Marvin Kirchhöfer will be required to take the start in the 6 Hours of Spa-winning machine.
“We have more challenges because of my lap cancellations,” he told DSC.
“However, statistically in this race both the ELMS and WEC have thrown no less than three Safety Cars over the course of a race, so I think we’re starting on the back foot but we’ll work our way back.
“Marvin’s the right hand to take us forward, but obviously I’ll need to minimise my loss to the other Silvers when we’re in the middle of your race. I’ll rely on my good teammates to warm-up the tyres for me and take it one step at a time.”
The third driver of the #10 McLaren, fellow rookie Tom Fleming, spoke to DSC about the season, which featured a podium at Barcelona and a breakthrough Spa victory, but no title push due to a lack of other major results.
“2026 has definitely been a very big rollercoaster,” he reflected.
“We’ve had some tremendous highs and some pretty gut-wrenching lows across the season, which I think are all part of the process of building up into a first full season of WEC for not only myself but also the team.
“I think there has been so many difficult areas where some others may have struggled, whereas we as a collective have excelled under a lot of pressure. There’s been a lot of tough lessons that we’ve had to learn during the course of this year, and we’re still getting stronger every round, even though we’re pretty frequently at the front.”
Dempsey “not bitter” about Silver upgrade
Peter Dempsey is set to participate in his final FIA WEC round as a Bronze-rated driver, having earned an upgrade to Silver for 2027.
Unlike most drivers upgraded from Bronze to Silver, Dempsey is content with his upgrade, given the unique nature of his ‘Super Bronze’ role this season with Racing Team Turkey by TF.
“It’s been an incredible year of making memories, and it was always the plan to be one and done,” he told DSC.
“If I stayed Bronze, it means I did a s**t job, so thankfully I got upgraded. It means I’ve done something right this year, so I’m not bitter about the upgrade at all, and now it’s just about trying to see what opportunities we get for next year.”
Dempsey also confirmed that he doesn’t have any plans locked in beyond his Asian Le Mans Series campaign with AF Corse over the winter.
“I’m a free agent,” he stated. “Obviously it’s more difficult as a Silver, but I’ll jump at any opportunity that I can. I’d love to try and stay in WEC or do GT World Challenge or something like that.”
Images courtesy of DPPI, Dailysportscar and Andrew Lofthouse
