Strong Volume of Drivers, Teams Cross Over to French Endurance Classic
The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans will once again feature a strong volume of IMSA full-season competitors in action. And those who race predominately in IMSA among their global commitments have, in recent years, achieved moderate success at Circuit de la Sarthe.
Last year in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), both in the full category and LMP2 Pro/Am subclass, IMSA regulars scaled the top of the podium. Inter Europol Competition won LMP2 with the trio of Nick Yelloly, Tom Dillmann and Jakub Smiechowski while in LMP2 Pro/Am, AO Racing by TF scored the win with PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron and Louis Deletraz.
That followed on from United Autosports’ 2024 LMP2 win that included Bijoy Garg, Nolan Siegel and Oliver Jarvis, while Ben Barnicoat was part of the LMP2 Pro/Am winning entry with AF Corse.
In 2023, IMSA made global waves with the Garage 56 NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 innovative entry. It also saw George Kurtz and Colin Braun share the winning LMP2 Pro/Am car for Algarve Pro Racing with James Allen, and Corvette Racing capture the last LMGTE AM win with Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone in a Corvette C8.R.
Linear distribution is available on MotorTrend and TruTV with digital distribution available via Max, FIAWEC+ and HBO MAX, with radio coverage all week via Radio Le Mans. The race starts at 4 p.m. local and Central European Time (CET) on Saturday, June 13 (10 a.m. ET).
More than half of the 186 drivers across 62 cars in three classes (Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3) have made at least one IMSA start in 2026, predominately at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
But for simplicity’s sake, here’s a quick breakdown of what to look for among full-season IMSA drivers and teams racing at this year’s Le Mans.
Cadillac WTR Joins Aston Martin THOR, BMW M WRT Crossovers in Hypercar
Three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) teams also have 24 Hours of Le Mans programs. Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing is the lone “IMSA only” addition to the field of 17 full-time Hypercar entries in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but that group does include two teams that run GTP programs in both series: Aston Martin THOR Team and BMW M Team WRT. These five cars are the No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R, Nos. 007 and 009 Aston Martin Valkyries and Nos. 15 and 20 BMW M Hybrid V8s.
Hyett, Fidani as Jim Trueman Award, Bob Akin Award Recipients
PJ Hyett (No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07 Gibson) and Orey Fidani (No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R) won the Jim Trueman Award and Bob Akin Award in 2025, respectively, as the top-scoring Bronze-rated drivers in IMSA LMP2 and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) races. Hyett also received an entry from the AO by TF European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro/Am title. He’ll race alongside Cameron and Allen in “Rockie” the Pegasus red-and-white No. 99 car in LMP2 Pro/Am. The renamed 13 Autosport returns for its second Le Mans with Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern in the resplendent red-and-white Canadian flag livery Corvette in LMGT3.
15 of 22 Full-Time IMSA GTP Drivers
There will be 15 of the 22 full-season IMSA GTP drivers in either Hypercar or LMP2. The 10 in Hypercar vying for the overall win are: Ross Gunn (No. 007 Aston Martin); Roman De Angelis (No. 009 Aston Martin); Louis Deletraz (No. 12 JOTA Cadillac); Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber (No. 38 JOTA Cadillac); Dries Vanthoor (No. 15 BMW); Sheldon van der Linde (No. 20 BMW); and Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque (No. 101 WTR Cadillac). The five in LMP2 include Julien Andlauer (No. 30 Duqueine); Kevin Estre (No. 14 TDS); Laurin Heinrich (No. 4 CrowdStrike by APR); and Nick Yelloly (No. 43 Inter Europol) and Renger van der Zande (No. 3 DKR). All full-season WeatherTech Championship GTP teams have at least one driver competing at Le Mans.
Bronze IMSA Quartet to Watch in LMP2
Bronze-rated Hyett (No. 99 AO by TF), Kurtz (No. 4 CrowdStrike by APR), Tobi Lutke (No. 14 TDS) and John Farano (No. 3 DKR) all race fully in IMSA LMP2 and add Le Mans to their schedules. Hyett and Kurtz have past Le Mans wins; Farano returns for the first time in several years and Lutke makes his Le Mans debut this year.
IMSA’s LMP2 Pros Present, Too
Beyond the Bronze-rated IMSA LMP2 drivers, there are 10 other anticipated full-season drivers in contention. That list includes Alex Quinn (No. 4 CrowdStrike by APR); Mathias Beche (No. 14 TDS); Mikkel Jensen (No. 22 United); Pietro Fittipaldi (No. 26 Vector); Tom Dillmann (No. 43 Inter Europol); Tristan Vautier (No. 48 RD); Dane Cameron (No. 99 AO by TF) and Oliver Jarvis (No. 22 United) in LMP2 or LMP2 Pro/Am; with Harry Tincknell (No. 007 Aston Martin) and Paul Di Resta (No. 93 Peugeot) in Hypercar.
Four of IMSA’s GTD PRO Drivers in the Field
Four full-season Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) drivers will be in action. That includes Jack Hawksworth (No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus LMGT3), Nicky Catsburg (No. 33 TF Corvette LMGT3), Harry King (No. 9 Proton LMP2), and Ben Barnicoat (No. 183 AF LMP2).
Six-Pack of IMSA GTD Drivers
The six full-timers from Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) include Tom Gamble (No. 007 Aston Martin), Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello (No. 23 Aston Martin LMGT3), Fidani and Bell (No. 13 13 Autosport LMGT3), Lorenzo Patrese (No. 74 Kessel Ferrari LMGT3), and Valentin Hasse-Clot (No. 59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin GT3).
Image: 24 Hours of Le Mans 13 Autosport Photo Courtesy of Corvette Racing
Text: IMSA
