Aston Martin Vantage, the most successful racing car in the history of Aston Martin, claimed its first victory of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) when Aston Martin partner team the Heart of Racing Team won the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) with Ian James, Mattia Drudi and Zach Robichon.

The US-based team finished first and third – its first double podium in WEC – with the pole-setting #23 Vantage GT3 of Gray Newell, Dudu Barrichello and Jonny Adam claiming the final podium place. It was the trio’s second podium in three races, following third place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

LMGT3 start — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. LMGT3 Lone Star Le Mans about to start with both Aston Martin Vantage in front after a front-row lockout during Saturday’s Hyperpole.

It was a sparkling weekend for Vantage, which also included its first WEC front-row lockout.

#27 Vantage GT3

From second place on the grid, James held his nerve in a challenging first hour, staying out of trouble while remaining in contention throughout. He handed the #27 Vantage GT3 over to Robichon in second place. The Canadian then converted that into the lead of the class in the second hour, passing the front-running Porsche. His competitive stint complete, Robichon made way for Drudi to complete the job. The Italian soaked up the pressure of a late-race Safety Car before pulling clear of the Porsche during the final 45 minutes, ensuring the #27 Vantage claimed its second victory at COTA in three years.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Robichon in the lead ahead of Porsche #91

“That was probably one of the toughest stints of my life,” Drudi said after taking the chequered flag. “The team did a very good job with the strategy, undercutting the cars in front when Zach and I swapped. After one and a half seasons trying to get this win, we’ve always been tripped up by something that stopped us from achieving our goal. Now, finally, it feels good to get our first win, and to have the #23 in third position. I’m really happy.”

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. #27 Aston Martin Vantage

Fellow first-time WEC winner Robichon said: “Relief is the prevailing feeling right now. We’ve been so close so many times, and we’ve done so much to deserve this over the past two years. It just goes to show what we can do when we have a clean race. Right now we can be proud of ourselves and enjoy the moment.”

“It feels like we have finally got the monkey off our back,” added James, who is also the THOR team principal. “We’ve been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all around and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do.”

First podium finish in the FIA WEC for Manthey DK Engineering

Manthey DK Engineering celebrated its first podium finish of the season at the FIA WEC round at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas, with James Cottingham, Timur Boguslavskiy and Ayhancan Güven finishing second. The Bend Manthey sister car, driven by Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz, crossed the finish line in 15th place following a technical setback caused by a collision.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 #91

Starting from third on the grid, the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R began the six-hour race with James Cottingham who held his own in the leading group during the early stages and. after his double stint, Cottingham handed over the Porsche – which he had taken to the front – to Timur Boguslavskiy. At the front of the field, Ayhancan Güven, having taken over the car from Timur Boguslavskiy, battled consistently for the lead in the LMGT3 class. Despite a five-second time penalty, Porsche 911 GT3.R #91 held on to second place until the finish, securing Manthey DK Engineering’s first joint podium finish of the current FIA WEC season. In addition, James Cottingham was presented with the Goodyear Wingfoot Award, which is given by spectators to honour the outstanding LMGT3 driver of the race.

Following their strong points haul in Texas, Cottingham, Boguslavskiy and Güven (#91) have moved up from tenth to fifth place (48 points).

James Cottingham, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: “I’m obviously absolutely delighted with the podium finish. We had the chance to win the race, which shows our potential and also how much our performance has improved since the start of the season. I’m also really pleased to have won the Wingfoot Award, which the spectators voted for me. It’s a great honour and I’m very proud of it – it was a special day in Austin.”

Timur Boguslavskiy, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: “I’m almost more delighted for the whole team, James and Ayhancan than I am for myself. We’ve finally achieved what they all deserve. We’ve finally made it onto the podium, and in such a difficult race with the temperatures and the occasional light rain. I’m really pleased with the many points we’ve scored for the championship. We’re now in the fight for the lead and will be aiming to secure our first race win at Fuji.”

Ayhancan Güven, Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: “The first podium for Manthey DK Engineering. A superb performance by the whole team. We’ve been improving steadily since Imola and it’s now paid off. We were in contention for the win throughout today, and James and Timur really delivered. We’ve certainly got the most out of our package. In the end, I’d obviously have liked to have been in the running for the win, but second place is very satisfying and we’ll be heading to Fuji soon, feeling motivated.” Source: Manthey Racing

#23 Vantage GT3 third

The #23 Vantage GT3 ran consistently inside the top six throughout a closely contested event, thanks to strong stints from Newell and Adam. After that final Safety Car period ended, the #23 found itself in a fierce fight for third position, with the promising young Barrichello claiming his second podium in three races, following third place at Le Mans in June..

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Aston Martin Vantage #23

The result elevates the #23 Heart of Racing Team entry to fourth in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams, level on 49 points with the third-placed #92 Porsche and 27 points behind the championship leader. Source: Aston Martin Racing

Fourth Place for 296 LMGT3 Evo at COTA

Starting eighth on the grid, Hériau delivered a disciplined drive in the #21 car during the opening two hours of the race. The start was delayed by water on the track, and several interruptions kept the field tightly bunched. Silver-rated driver Simon Mann drove the middle stints, staying near the front and in contention for a top-five finish. He then handed over to Rovera, who put his speed and experience to good use to finish fourth, half a second off the podium.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo #21

This result, combined with the points their direct rivals failed to score, moves the #21 crew of Hériau-Mann-Rovera back up to third in the championship standings, on 56 points, 20 off the lead.

Ford Mustang LMGT3 crossed the line in fifth

Proton Competition’s potential to challenge for a podium was evident in Saturday’s Qualifying session. Rapid laps from Stefano Gattuso and Eric Powell saw both the #77 and #88 cars progress to Hyperpole. Gattuso continued his impressive qualifying form, taking the Mustang he shares with Giammarco Levorato and Logan Sargeant into the shoot-out for the fifth time this season. In Hyperpole, Ben Tuck and Levorato secured fourth and tenth positions on the starting grid.

Both crews built on this strong qualifying performance in Sunday’s race. Powell made an impressive start in the #77, moving into the lead on the opening lap. However, the crew of Powell, Tuck and Sebastian Priaulx suffered a setback after around 40 minutes when a drive-through penalty dropped them down the order. Undeterred, the trio fought their way back through the field, making up ground with consistently strong pace. As the race entered its closing stages, Tuck delivered a series of committed overtakes to bring the #77 back into contention. He ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth, securing the crew’s best result of the season so far.

The sister car also made a promising start, running inside the top five before losing ground around 45 minutes into the race. Contact in the opening stages caused damage to the front of the Ford Mustang LMGT3, forcing the crew to make an additional pit stop for repairs. Despite the delay, Sargeant, Levorato and Gattuso showed strong pace throughout, setting consistently fast lap times and making a series of convincing overtakes to fight their way back up the order. The trio ultimately finished ninth at Ford’s home race in Austin, Texas.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Ford Mustang GT3 M

“That was certainly a tough day for us,” said Sargeant. “We picked up some damage early and had to do some repairs, and it was incredibly hot out there too. But we recovered well and made the best out of the situation. I think we can be happy that we picked up some points.” Source: Ford Racing

PENALTIES COST #61 CREW A POTENTIAL WIN

Iron Lynx ended the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship with a double top-seven finish on a day of what-ifs for the Italian squad. It was the team's best result of the season in terms of points achieved, and the Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 performed exceptionally well in high tyre-degradation conditions, but there is some regret due to losing the chance of a possible win.
After making it into Hyperpole, the #61 car shared by Martin Berry, Rui Andrade and Maxime Martin was in contention throughout, despite early penalties for contact and race incidents.
The torrid heat at the Circuit of the Americas forced the team to opt for single stints. Following a strong start from Martin Berry, he and Rui Andrade kept the car inside the top five. Unfortunately, Andrade was later handed two drive-through penalties for Full Course Yellow infringements, and although Maxime Martin fought back hard, he could only recover to sixth, missing out on fifth by less than half a second.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. #61 Mercedes-AMG GT3

Maxime Martin – Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver, car #61
"Not the greatest result for us in the Austin heat; we got P6 in the end. I think we definitely had more potential, but we picked up some penalties and it was difficult to recover from them. We will try to recover as much as we can and get back strong in Fuji."

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. #79 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The #79 crew of Johannes Zelger, Matteo Cressoni and Lin Hodenius secured its maiden points finish in seventh to cap a largely trouble-free run. A challenging qualifying session left Zelger starting from the back of the grid, but he soon began to make up ground with a steady rhythm. Cressoni and Hodenius continued the progress, working their way up the order, and the Dutchman battled to seventh at the flag despite slight contact late on.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Both Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3

Lin Hodenius – Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver, car #79
"We finished P7 in the end, which was quite good, and we also got zero penalties, which was one of our goals. I had a small contact near the end and unfortunately it was on me, but we made a good recovery and ended up in the same position. It's a good day to look back on, and we go again in Fuji."
Johannes Zelger – Driver, car #79
"It was a great race and we secured our first points of the season. I couldn't have asked for much more. Finishing P7, we could maybe have fought for fifth place, but we'll take this result, which is very important for us." Source: Iron Lynx