New look for Iron Lynx
Iron Lynx’s #79 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 EVO is sporting a new livery this weekend, with the car now sporting a red and black flame design, compared to the blue and yellow scheme it ran at Imola, to celebrate the home race of its sponsor Flow Traders.
Briggs to make Legends of Le Mans debut
Alfie Briggs will race the #33 BBM Sport-entered ex-Level Five Lola in the pair of Legends of Le Mans races, as a replacement for Michael Jensen. As Briggs is a Silver-ranked driver, the car will switch to being an invitational entry.
Hartley: 2026 Spa race tougher to predict
Toyota’s Brendon Hartley, who won the season opener with Toyota in the #8 TR010, believes that, unlike last year, this year’s result at Spa will be tough to predict. Clearly, though everyone remains tight-lipped when it comes to BoP chatter by regulation, the folks at Toyota feel encouraged by the 2026 process and its execution so far.
“It’s really difficult to say where we’ll be,” he told DSC. “It’s a completely different track to Imola, we’ve been very good on tracks that are bumpy, with kerb rides, these are some of our strong points, and the last few years have been tough for us at Spa.
“It’s hard to call who will have the upper hand. I think Cadillac showed big pace at Imola. Maybe Aston Martin will be a factor, as this is a completely different circuit type. I almost don’t want to single anyone out because coming here, it’s not clear who will be the favourite.
“That’s the ultimate truth. There were times last year when, before we arrived, we knew who the winner would be, if I’m perfectly honest with you, which was disappointing, but I feel now it’s not clear, and it seems more even, which is a really good step.
“If you asked me last year, I could have told you the winners of the first few races. It was obvious. Now it’s a different situation, it’s very tight, very competitive.”
Motorsport to return to Switzerland
Some 70 years after the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, Switzerland will revise its Road Traffic Act and lift the ban on circuit racing from July 1st. Up to this point, the only exceptions made were for electric vehicles when they hosted Formula E.
Nielsen expecting “very tight” race
Ferrari AF Corse’s Nicklas Nielsen is cautiously optimistic ahead of Saturday’s race, with degradation to Michelin’s 2026-spec Hypercar tyre set to be a major factor in the FIA WEC for the first time.
The new rubber was also in use at Imola, but the Italian venue is famously kind on tyres, with tyre management therefore not a significant factor in determining the outcome.
“I think here will be the first time that we really see the deg,” he said.
“Imola is a bit different, because there is not really any degradation there. Obviously, when you have new tyres, you have a bit of a peak, but it’s not like you drop three to four seconds, like we’ve seen here sometimes.”
The unknown of the new tyre, where Ferrari is at a disadvantage compared to its Hypercar rivals which also compete in IMSA’s GTP category, is counteracted by the underlying pace of the 499P around Spa. The car has finished on the podium during all three of its visits here, and could easily have added at least one more win to its 2025 triumph.
“We’ve seen basically all the years we’ve been coming here with the car, and it’s a good track for us,” he stated.
“Our car is good in high-speed corners as well. We struggle a bit more in low speed and rotation, so that’s why I say this is quite a strong track for us.
“Not saying that it’s not a strong track for Toyota, because I think they’re going to be there as well. We also saw last year that Alpine and BMW were really fast, so I think it’s going to be very tight.”
Genesis launches esports team
Genesis Magma Racing has entered the realm of sim racing for the first time with the launch of GMR Esports. The expansion into esports is part of Genesis’ goal to increase awareness of the brand and Genesis Magma Racing among a diverse audience, including raising the team’s profile in South Korea.
The team will compete in official events organised on Le Mans Ultimate, with its initial seven-driver roster made up of a mix of European and Korean talent, including multiple names familiar to those who followed Le Mans Virtual.
Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Genesis Magma Racing is a large project and we want to be successful everywhere we compete, including with GMR Esports. The creation of GMR Esports makes the team, GMR-001 Hypercar and Genesis brand more accessible to a wider audience, and the success of our drivers in online competition will complement the work of the race team on track.
“Esports is increasingly becoming an entry point to motorsport, so it is very important to have Genesis and Genesis Magma Racing represented there. If GMR Esports and our work with Le Mans Ultimate can provide a route for new drivers and fans, then we can certainly take that as a positive, on top of any event results.”
WATCH: 10 Dramatic Moments
To get fans in the mood for this weekend, the FIA WEC has released a video on YouTube, compiling 10 dramatic moments from the series’ previous visits to Spa-Francorchamps.
Images courtesy of Frozenspeed & Andrew Lofthouse
