The FIA World Endurance Championship will race again into motion at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas in Texas this weekend for spherical 5 of the eight-event season. The Lone Star Le Mans race has a repute for producing spectacular motion and picture finishes, and with the Drivers’ Standings presently tied on factors, it’s more likely to be one other epic showdown this weekend.
COTA first welcomed FIA WEC in 2013 and is the most recent venue on the calendar. The monitor shortly established itself as a favorite amongst drivers and followers alike for its dramatic elevation adjustments, sweeping high-speed corners, gradual technical sections, infamous bumps, a signature uphill climb into Flip 1 – generally known as ‘Large Crimson’ – and the triple-apex right-hander that makes up Turns 16, 17 and 18.
It additionally has a behavior of manufacturing memorable moments and breathtaking battles. The 2017 occasion delivered the collection’ closest-ever outright end below green-flag circumstances, with simply 0.276 seconds separating the highest two. Final summer season, an excellent narrower 0.256-second profitable margin in LMGT3 marked the category’ closest end up to now and the closest between two producers in any class.
Run in an anticlockwise route, the 5.5-kilometre, 20-turn lap is famously powerful on tyres and brakes, with Hypercars reaching speeds in extra of 305km/h. What’s extra, whereas all 35 entries took the chequered flag two months in the past in São Paulo, COTA has developed a repute as a little bit of a car-breaker lately, with eight crews failing to finish the 2024 race, and 7 in 2025, underscoring the circuit’s demanding nature.
HYPERCAR HONOURS EVEN AT MID-SEASONThe 2026 version of Lone Star Le Mans marks FIA WEC’s fifteenth journey to North America, seventy fifth six-hour race and fortieth contest within the headlining Hypercar class – and the hunt for honours might scarcely be extra finely-poised, with a tie on the high of the Drivers’ World Championship desk and a mere 5 factors separating a number of title-holder Toyota from breakthrough model BMW within the Producers’ standings.
Each automotive icons have triumphed twice this season, however neither has ever prevailed at COTA. Certainly, the monitor is one among simply 4 in FIA WEC historical past that Toyota has by no means conquered, although #8 driver Brendon Hartley gained there three years in a row with Porsche from 2015 to 2017. Group-mate Sébastien Buemi and #7 stablemate Mike Conway, furthermore, are the one drivers to have participated in each one of many collection’ earlier races on the circuit.
There may be robust prior type within the BMW camp, too, with Sheldon van der Linde – who companions present championship leaders René Rast and Robin Frijns within the #20 M Hybrid V8 – setting the quickest lap of the 2025 race weekend in Austin, throughout FP2.
Cadillac arrives on residence soil keen to take care of the optimistic momentum of its first podium end in 12 months final day out at Interlagos, with the JOTA-run V-Sequence.R having confirmed a potent package deal in each spherical to date this yr. Norman Nato and Earl Bamber are former total winners at COTA – the New Zealander on his technique to clinching the coveted world championship crown in 2017 – whereas two-time IMSA champion Ricky Taylor will bolster the Anglo-American alliance’s line-up this weekend.
Elsewhere within the fiercely-disputed Hypercar area, Peugeot reached the podium for the primary time in 2025 in Texas, with the Lions’ group chief Loïc Duval a part of the triumphant crew within the race’s inaugural operating with Audi. The Frenchman has held the official lap report on the monitor since 2016.
The six-hour race has by no means been gained outright from decrease than fourth on the grid, and 6 of the eight outings have yielded a single-marque entrance row lockout. In each 2024 and 2025, that marque was Ferrari, and the Prancing Horse will likely be concentrating on an identical efficiency once more because it bids to haul itself again onto phrases within the title struggle.
At what has historically been a powerful circuit for the 499P – with the Italian prototype boasting a powerful 50 per cent podium strike charge within the occasion, higher than any of its Hypercar rivals – the defending world champions will likely be aiming to finish their longest-ever winless streak in FIA WEC, all classes mixed.
‚VETTE CHASING THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORYCorvette leads the way in which in LMGT3, with the #33 Z06 having prevailed within the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the sister #34 entry then doing likewise in Brazil – marking the primary time an American carmaker has entered its residence spherical off the again of consecutive victories. The model, nonetheless, has but to win on US soil, and has registered a solitary rostrum end at COTA in FIA WEC, again in 2016.
Native hero Ben Keating – who hails from simply exterior of Houston – will assume the report for many FIA WEC begins by an American driver when he makes his forty fifth look this weekend. Solely France and the UK have produced extra opponents within the championship than the USA’s complete of 95, with eight on the entry listing for Lone Star Le Mans, together with ex-Components 1 racer Logan Sargeant at Proton Competitors. 5 of them are already podium-visitors this yr.
Each LMGT3 contests at COTA up to now have gone the way in which of British producers, with McLaren celebrating its maiden win final season. Twelve months earlier, Coronary heart of Racing Group had triumphed in Texas – a outcome that continues to be Aston Martin’s sole success within the class up to now.
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LONE STAR LE MANSThe on-track classes will start with free observe on Friday, 4 September. Qualifying, and the Hyperpole top-ten shootout, begins at 15:00 native time (GMT-5) on Saturday, with the six-hour race getting underway at 13:00 native time (GMT-5) on Sunday.
Try all of the key info concerning Lone Star Le Mans, together with the total occasion timetable and entry listing.
