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FIA WEC Heads to COTA for Lone Star Le Mans Clash
The FIA World Endurance Championship resumes in Texas with the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-09-02T15:56:00.000Z - 3 min read
The FIA World Endurance Championship resumes its calendar this weekend with the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. Marking the championship's fifteenth trip to North America, the six-hour race serves as the opening round of the second half of the season and the fortieth contest in the Hypercar category. COTA first joined the schedule in 2013 and has established a reputation for dramatic elevation changes, a signature uphill climb known as Big Red at Turn 1, and technical demands that challenge both machinery and tyre wear.
The battle for Hypercar honours arrives in Texas with a tie at the top of the Drivers World Championship standings and a five-point gap between Toyota and BMW in the Manufacturers standings. Both automotive brands have secured two victories apiece this season, though neither manufacturer has previously won an event at COTA. Toyota enters the weekend without a victory at the venue in series history, while BMW looks to build upon competitive form demonstrated by Sheldon van der Linde during practice sessions last year.
Cadillac arrives at its home event carrying momentum from a podium finish at the previous round in São Paulo. The JOTA-operated V-Series.R line-up features former overall COTA winners Norman Nato and Earl Bamber alongside IMSA champion Ricky Taylor. Peugeot also returns to the circuit where the team previously achieved a podium finish, with Loïc Duval holding the official track lap record established in 2016.
Ferrari targets a return to winning form to close the gap in the championship fight, having secured front-row lockouts at the Texas venue in both 2024 and 2025. The Italian manufacturer holds a strong podium strike rate at the circuit with the 499P prototype, though the team currently defends its longest winless streak across all categories in the endurance championship. Historical records show that the six-hour race has never been won outright from lower than fourth position on the starting grid.
In the LMGT3 class, Corvette leads the standings following consecutive victories at Le Mans and Brazil, though the manufacturer has yet to secure a victory on home soil in the championship. Local driver Ben Keating prepares to set a record for the most series starts by an American competitor, reaching his forty-fifth appearance this weekend. Other notable entrants include former Formula One driver Logan Sargeant competing with Proton Competition.
British manufacturers have claimed victory in both previous LMGT3 races held at the circuit, with McLaren taking a maiden win last season and Aston Martin securing success in the category previously. The event schedule begins with practice sessions on Friday, September 4, followed by qualifying and the Hyperpole top-ten shootout on Saturday afternoon, and concludes with the six-hour race starting on Sunday.