Raft of driver announcements as 2026 WEC field takes shape

With the 35-car 2026 FIA WEC entry list now out, a heap of driver news has also arrived ahead of the new season. The number of vacant seats is reducing rapidly now as the off-season rolls on and the new year approaches, with the majority of factory seats now taken in Hypercar and deals in LMGT3 being put together.

In Hypercar, the news du jour is that Aston Martin THOR Team has opted for continuity: it will return with a pair of Valkyries, steered by the same drivers as in 2025.

For its sophomore campaign, the No. 007 Valkyrie will again feature an all-British line-up of Harry Tincknell and Tom Gamble for the full season, with Ross Gunn joining them for the longer races.

In the No. 009, Marco Sørensen and Alex Riberas both return, with Roman De Angelis again supporting them at select events.

“Throughout 2025, as the program grew and developed, we achieved a great deal as a team, but we also learned a considerable amount,” said team principal James.

“The drivers as a group delivered over and above what we asked from them. That included a lot of work at the very beginning that required them to dig deep. But it also means that we have generated a hugely valuable hub of understanding and knowledge about Valkyrie that will be valuable as we move into season two.

“As we continue to understand more about how to exploit the competitive nature of Valkyrie, it’s a great opportunity for all our drivers to use what they have learned and push on to achieve more in 2026, and we have every faith that they will.”

The THOR team also named the two Bronze drivers that will form part of its expanded two-car LMGT3 line-up next season, with Ian James set to return in one car and Gray Newell (son of team co-founder and Valve Corporation president, Gabe Newell) due to make his WEC season debut in the other.

The addition of Newell to the team comes after a successful outing in the post-season Bahrain Rookie Test last month.

“I was very surprised but honored to be asked to race for The Heart of Racing team in WEC in 2026,” Newell said.

“When I was given the chance to drive in the Rookie Test, I had a sense that this might be the long-term goal, but I was not anticipating being moved up to WEC so fast. I feel a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation.

“For the team to be placing this level of trust in me is an immense honor, and I’m ready to meet the moment. There is a lot to learn, but Ian and the team have always known exactly how far to push me, and I trust their judgement completely. Time for a new chapter!”

Elsewhere in LMGT3, Iron Lynx, Garage 59, TF Sport, Manthey and AKKODIS ASP also made announcements.

Both Iron Lynx and Garage 59 named their full rosters. The former will return with Mercedes-AMG for a second season with a tweaked line-up. Martin Berry and Maxime Martin will be joined by former TF Sport driver Rui Andrade in the No. 61, while the sister No. 79 will be shared by Johannes Zegler, Matteo Cressoni and Lin Hodenius.

"We are delighted to be entering our second FIA WEC season with Iron Lynx,” added Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing. “2025 was challenging, but we made steady progress and were rewarded with a strong second place in Bahrain, which was an impressive proof of the hard work put in by the entire team. 

“We can build on that. In Iron Lynx, we have partners at our side in WEC who share our passion for motorsport. This was clearly evident throughout the season. In 2026, we will do everything we can to fight for victories together.”

As for Garage 59, which is replacing United Autosports as McLaren’s LMGT3 representative next year to allow the Anglo-American team to focus on developing the brand’s LMDh prototype, none of the drivers from UA’s 2025 campaign will return.

In the No. 10 entry, McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer will be joined next season by fellow FIA WEC rookies Thomas Fleming and Antares Au.

Meanwhile, the No. 58 McLaren LMGT3 Evo will feature Garage 59 co-owner Alexander West alongside Benjamin Goethe and AKKODIS ASP standout from the season just gone, Finn Gehrsitz.

“Taking Garage 59 into the FIA World Endurance Championship is a milestone moment for everyone involved in the team,” West said. “We’ve built this team step by step over many years, and the opportunity to return to the world stage, particularly at events like Le Mans, is something we’ve all been working towards.

“There’s a huge challenge ahead, but we feel ready, motivated and excited to get started.”

TF Sport, Manthey, and AKKODIS ASP, on the other hand, each revealed two drivers. 

At TF, Corvette factory drivers Nicky Catsburg and Charlie Eastwood will form the backbone of the team’s driver stable, with Catsburg expected to reunite with Ben Keating in the No. 33 and Eastwood almost certainly down to partner with Salih Yoluc in the No. 34, which will run under the Racing Team Turkey by TF banner.

As for Manthey, its pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3s will benefit from the talents of reigning LMGT3 Champion Richard Lietz, back to fight for another title in the No. 92 and current DTM champion Ayhanchan Güven, who will make his WEC debut in the No. 91 and has confirmed in the past two days that he will not defend his DTM crown.

And at ASP, multiple WEC and WTCC World Champion Jose Maria Lopez will return for another campaign in the team’s No. 87 RC F LMGT3 for what is expected to be the car’s final WEC campaign before the Toyota GR GT3 debuts in 2027. Newly-minted ELMS LMP2 champion Esteban Masson, meanwhile, gets his chance in the sister No. 78.

Digging deeper into the entry list itself reveals a few other interesting snippets. French Bronze Francois Heriau, who tested with Porsche at the Bahrain Rookie Test and will race a 911 in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter, is down to return to Vista AF Corse and Ferrari in ’26.

And at Manthey, while only Lietz and Güven are confirmed, the title sponsors for each car give strong hints as to who the Bronze drivers will be. 

The No. 91 is down as Manthey DK Engineering, suggesting that James Cottingham is moving over from McLaren to Porsche. The No. 92 will race as ‘The Bend Manthey’, which, in essence, confirms that Yasser Shahin will be returning to the team after a year spent with WRT and BMW in 2025.