A handful of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams will take the start at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, as they’ll seek to fly the flag for IMSA in the flagship event of the FIA World Endurance Championship season at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Cadillac WTR Joins Hypercar Field as Part of Seven-Car GM Entry
A single additional Cadillac V-Series.R will join the two full-season Cadillacs fielded by Cadillac Hertz Team Jota. Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing returns for its second straight appearance after making its return to the race last year, with the unchanged-from-2025 lineup of Jordan and Ricky Taylor alongside Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R. It’s the single extra entry in the 18-car Hypercar class joining the 17 full-season entries.
Cadillac Whelen won’t make the trip itself, but its two primary full-season IMSA drivers – Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken – will be part of Jota’s No. 38 entry with Sebastien Bourdais.
The three Cadillacs in Hypercar and four Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.Rs in LMGT3 – including from IMSA regulars 13 Autosport – make for a total of seven General Motors entries in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“General Motors has the broadest and most diverse motorsports presence of any automaker in the world,” General Motors President Mark Reuss said. “Fielding seven cars at Le Mans reflects not only our competitive ambition, but our relentless drive to advance endurance, innovation and performance on a global stage.”
Hyett, Fidani Take Up Jim Trueman Award, Bob Akin Award Invitations
After winning the Jim Trueman Award and Bob Akin Awards in 2025, PJ Hyett and Orey Fidani, respectively, head back to Le Mans with their AO by TF and 13 Autosport programs. The Jim Trueman Award and Bob Akin Award are awarded to the top-scoring Bronze-rated drivers in the WeatherTech Championship Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes, with invitations awarded to Le Mans.
Hyett, last year’s WeatherTech Championship LMP2 champion, won the LMP2 Pro/Am class at Le Mans last year with full-season IMSA teammate Dane Cameron and Louis Deletraz. The same trio is set to return in the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07 to seek to defend their victory.
“It’s fantastic to be able to head back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the same program and drivers that we won the race with in 2025," said AO Racing Team Principal Gunnar Jeannette. "PJ, Dane, and Louis are all very eager to see if they can make it two in a row!”
“When I joined the program and knew obviously Le Mans was likely to be a part of it and doing the stuff in Europe also, right from the get-go I believed that having Louis and I and PJ was something,” Cameron added, reflecting when he and Hyett won the LMP2 title last year. “I was eyeing that straight away that I thought we could win Le Mans.
“It's obviously a bit of a dream until you get there, and it was kind of a dream week for us. That was, yeah, more than I would have expected. I would love to do it again, for sure. It seems to be a little bit better luck race for me than Daytona.”
The Bob Akin Award battle came down to a one-on-one battle between 13 Autosport – then racing as AWA – and Inception Racing at the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans.
As the Fidani/Matt Bell/Lars Kern No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R emerged ahead at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, that secured Fidani’s second consecutive Le Mans entry. The same trio will race at Le Mans this summer.
“We knew from the get-go that we wanted to go back to Le Mans, and we knew we would have to work incredibly hard to achieve it, but that’s exactly what we set out to do,” Fidani said after clinching the Bob Akin Award at Motul Petit Le Mans. “We all have an immense amount of respect for everyone at Inception Racing, and we had a great time going up against them this season. I’m thrilled that we’re going back to France, and now with some extra knowledge and experience on our side, we’ll be ready to put up a good fight with Chevy.”
Bell noted the learnings the 13 Autosport team took from their 2025 Le Mans experience should pay off in 2026.
“Last year we got the result at the Rolex 24-hour race in Daytona, but we didn’t get the result at that 24-hour race in Le Mans,” he explained. “But it was everyone’s first go around, and everyone loves the event. The Monday afterwards, everyone wanted to do it again straightaway. We know what we left on the table and where we left it. We want to be more competitive and we’re charging for the podium there, as we really want to win it. It’s a real motivator to perfect everything here more and then take it there.”
Bevy Of Other IMSA Programs Present Throughout Field
Teams with an IMSA presence that traditionally compete in other global championships are also part of the Le Mans entry list.
BMW M Team WRT, new to IMSA’s Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class in 2026, has its two full-season FIA WEC entries. Team WRT also has two BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO entries.
The Heart of Racing Team’s four-car approach continues in the FIA WEC, with two Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries in Hypercar and two Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3s in LMGT3.
CrowdStrike Racing by APR – the 2026 Rolex 24 At Daytona winners in LMP2 – have earned an automatic invitation by way of its Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 title this month. George Kurtz and Alex Quinn are the first two named drivers of the No. 4 ORECA LMP2 07.
TDS Racing adds Tobi Lutke and Mathias Beche to its No. 14 ORECA; Lutke and Beche joined TDS’ IMSA LMP2 program in 2026.
United Autosports – which won the 2025 Rolex 24 in LMP2 – has two entries confirmed as well, with Rasmus Lindh, Gregoire Saucy and Mikkel Jensen in the No. 22 ORECA and Daniel Schneider, Ben Hanley and Oliver Jarvis in the No. 222 (LMP2 Pro/Am).
“We’re elated to be returning to the most legendary race in the world of motorsport,” said Richard Dean, United Autosports Team Principal and CEO. “The confirmation today from the ACO is great news, and more poignant than ever. Competing once at Le Mans is an achievement, but this is our tenth – a huge success in its own right for the team at United. Planning for the 24 Hours is a collective effort from everyone back at base in Yorkshire, preparations are well underway.”
Inter Europol Competition, last year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 winners, have two cars entered as well. The same trio of Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly are back in the No. 43 ORECA with Bijoy Garg the first named driver in the No. 343 car.
Af Corse’s consistent presence remains, with entries across all three classes (Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3). Manthey, new to IMSA’s Michelin Endurance Cup this year, has two LMGT3 Porsches.
The 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place from June 10-14, 2026.
Image: Chris duMond at 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans
