2026 | WEC | Lone Star Le Mans | FP2 | Aston Martin tops both classes at COTA

Harry Tincknell placed the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie at the top of the Hypercar order during the second Free Practice session for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas.

Tincknell recorded a 1m52.567s lap to beat the No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 by 0.122s. Genesis Magma Racing continued its encouraging start to the Texas weekend in third, while the second Alpine completed the top four during the 90-minute session.

Meanwhile, Zacharie Robichon completed an Aston Martin sweep by taking the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Vantage to the top of LMGT3. His late 2m05.609s displaced the two Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMGs, which had controlled much of the session before eventually finishing second and third.

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP2: Hypercar

Tincknell puts Aston Martin on top

Aston Martin moved to the head of the Hypercar field after Ferrari had controlled FP1 with a 1-2. Tincknell produced the decisive 1m52.567s in the No. 007 Valkyrie, lowering the overall benchmark from the opening session and giving the British manufacturer the fastest lap of Friday afternoon.

The No. 35 Alpine provided the closest opposition as António Félix da Costa, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg continued the French manufacturer’s strong start to the weekend. Da Costa’s 1m52.689s left the crew only 0.122s behind Tincknell after the sister No. 36 had already finished third during FP1.

Aston Martin’s session-leading performance came as conditions remained demanding around COTA. Cloudy skies accompanied temperatures above 30°C, while the track surface climbed beyond 40°C as teams continued preparations for Sunday’s six-hour race.

Genesis takes third despite early incident

Genesis Magma Racing continued to demonstrate competitive pace during its debut WEC campaign, with the No. 17 GMR-001 taking third. André Lotterer’s early 1m52.811s proved sufficient to keep the car within 0.244s of Aston Martin’s benchmark.

The session had not begun smoothly for the No. 17, however. Mathys Jaubert lost control on cold tyres at Turn 2 shortly after running began and spun into the run-off area, prompting a brief Red Flag, but the crew recovered to remain firmly among the leaders.

Alpine placed its second car immediately behind in fourth. Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and rookie Victor Martins recorded a 1m52.854s in the No. 36, leaving the leading four separated by only 0.287s.

No. 83 leads three Ferraris inside top seven

Ferrari remained well represented towards the front despite losing the top two positions it had occupied during FP1. The No. 83 AF Corse 499P led the marque’s challenge in fifth, with Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson recording a 1m53.000s.

That car has particular history at COTA after Ye and Kubica formed part of the crew that won at the venue in 2024. Hanson joins them this season and recently extended his relationship with Ferrari as the trio seeks another strong result in Texas.

The two factory Ferrari AF Corse entries followed immediately behind. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen placed the No. 50 sixth with a 1m53.021s, only 0.021s behind the No. 83, while FP1 pacesetters Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi took seventh in the No. 51, another 0.036s back.

BMW climbs into top 10 as Toyota drops back

The sister No. 009 Aston Martin Valkyrie finished eighth, with Marco Sørensen and Álex Riberas recording a 1m53.492s. The pair once again compete as a duo at COTA and ended FP2 0.925s away from their leading teammates.

BMW M Team WRT recovered from a quieter opening session to place both M Hybrid V8s inside the top 10. The São Paulo-winning No. 15 of Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor took ninth with a 1m53.543s, while Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde followed only 0.009s behind in the No. 20.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA narrowly missed the top 10 with its No. 38 V-Series.R in 11th. Toyota Racing focused on its race preparations and slipped outside the leading positions after placing fourth and sixth in FP1, with the No. 8 ending FP2 12th and the No. 7 15th.

Classification

1. No. 007 Aston Martin THOR Team — Harry Tincknell/Tom Gamble — Aston Martin Valkyrie — 1m52.567s — 35 laps
2. No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team — António Félix da Costa/Charles Milesi/Ferdinand Habsburg — Alpine A424 — +0.122s — 27 laps
3. No. 17 Genesis Magma Racing — André Lotterer/Pipo Derani/Mathys Jaubert — Genesis GMR-001 — +0.244s — 33 laps
4. No. 36 Alpine Endurance Team — Frédéric Makowiecki/Jules Gounon/Victor Martins — Alpine A424 — +0.287s — 37 laps
5. No. 83 AF Corse — Yifei Ye/Robert Kubica/Phil Hanson — Ferrari 499P — +0.433s — 38 laps
6. No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse — Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen — Ferrari 499P — +0.454s — 35 laps
7. No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse — Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi — Ferrari 499P — +0.490s — 37 laps
8. No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team — Álex Riberas/Marco Sørensen — Aston Martin Valkyrie — +0.925s — 31 laps
9. No. 15 BMW M Team WRT — Kevin Magnussen/Raffaele Marciello/Dries Vanthoor — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +0.976s — 40 laps
10. No. 20 BMW M Team WRT — Robin Frijns/René Rast/Sheldon van der Linde — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +0.985s — 38 laps
11. No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Earl Bamber/Sébastien Bourdais/Jack Aitken — Cadillac V-Series.R — +0.996s — 37 laps
12. No. 8 Toyota Racing — Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryō Hirakawa — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +1.091s — 37 laps
13. No. 19 Genesis Magma Racing — Mathieu Jaminet/Paul-Loup Chatin/Daniel Juncadella — Genesis GMR-001 — +1.164s — 39 laps
14. No. 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Loïc Duval/Malthe Jakobsen/Théo Pourchaire — Peugeot 9X8 — +1.192s — 35 laps
15. No. 7 Toyota Racing — Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +1.267s — 34 laps
16. No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Will Stevens/Norman Nato/Ricky Taylor — Cadillac V-Series.R — +1.799s — 38 laps
17. No. 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Paul di Resta/Stoffel Vandoorne/Nick Cassidy — Peugeot 9X8 — +1.961s — 33 laps

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP2: LMGT3

Robichon snatches top spot late for Aston Martin

Heart of Racing Team ensured Aston Martin finished Friday afternoon fastest in both categories as Robichon produced a late improvement in the No. 27 Vantage AMR LMGT3.

Robichon’s 2m05.609s put the car shared with Ian James and Mattia Drudi 0.440s clear of the field. The lap arrived after Iron Lynx had spent much of FP2 controlling the first two positions with its pair of Mercedes-AMGs.

The late change at the front also continued the variety between the two Friday sessions. Garage 59 had topped FP1 with its No. 10 McLaren before Aston Martin emerged as the benchmark during the afternoon.

Iron Lynx Mercedes pair takes second and third

Maxime Martin had established Iron Lynx at the front with a 2m06.049s in the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG he shares with Martin Berry and Rui Andrade. That lap ultimately secured second despite Robichon’s late improvement, leaving the crew 0.440s away from the Aston Martin.

The sister No. 79 Mercedes also spent much of FP2 towards the top of the order. Matteo Cressoni produced its best lap of 2m06.138s to take third alongside Johannes Zelger and Lin Hodenius, finishing only 0.089s behind the No. 61.

Iron Lynx therefore placed both cars inside the leading three, providing an encouraging indication of Mercedes-AMG’s potential before Saturday’s Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions.

McLaren remains near front after FP1 benchmark

Garage 59 maintained its strong Friday form by placing both McLarens inside the top five. This time, the No. 58 of Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz and Benjamin Goethe led the team’s challenge with a 2m06.205s.

The No. 10 McLaren that had topped FP1 followed in fifth. Antares Au, Tom Fleming and Marvin Kirchhöfer recorded a 2m06.308s, leaving them only 0.103s behind their teammates and 0.699s from Robichon’s benchmark.

The results left Garage 59 with both cars consistently near the front across the opening day. After Fleming led the first session, both entries again featured prominently as the team continued its preparations for Sunday’s six-hour race.

Porsche and Lexus complete top seven

The Bend Manthey moved into contention during FP2 as its No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 took sixth. Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz recorded a 2m06.487s, placing them 0.878s behind Heart of Racing.

Akkodis ASP Team followed in seventh with the No. 78 Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Tom van Rompuy, Hadrien David and Esteban Masson. Their 2m06.582s left them 0.095s behind the Porsche and completed the group of cars within one second of Robichon.

VISTA AF Corse’s No. 54 Ferrari took eighth, while the No. 91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche and No. 87 Akkodis ASP Lexus recorded identical 2m06.805s laps to complete the top 10.

Championship-leading Corvette remains outside top 10

The No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang led the second half of the order in 11th, while the championship-leading No. 33 TF Sport Corvette improved from 16th in FP1 to 12th during the afternoon session.

Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and Nicky Catsburg recorded a 2m07.034s, leaving the No. 33 crew 1.425s away from Robichon. The sister No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette finished 17th after its Interlagos victory, with Peter Dempsey, Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood 2.102s off the benchmark.

Proton Competition’s No. 88 Ford, featuring Logan Sargeant, took 13th ahead of the No. 21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari. The two Team WRT BMWs occupied 15th and 16th, while the second Heart of Racing Aston Martin completed the 18-car LMGT3 field.

Classification

1. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team — Ian James/Zacharie Robichon/Mattia Drudi — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — 2m05.609s — 35 laps
2. No. 61 Iron Lynx — Martin Berry/Rui Andrade/Maxime Martin — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +0.440s — 34 laps
3. No. 79 Iron Lynx — Johannes Zelger/Matteo Cressoni/Lin Hodenius — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +0.529s — 32 laps
4. No. 58 Garage 59 — Alexander West/Finn Gehrsitz/Benjamin Goethe — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — +0.596s — 27 laps
5. No. 10 Garage 59 — Antares Au/Tom Fleming/Marvin Kirchhöfer — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — +0.699s — 35 laps
6. No. 92 The Bend Manthey — Yasser Shahin/Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +0.878s — 38 laps
7. No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team — Tom van Rompuy/Hadrien David/Esteban Masson — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +0.973s — 29 laps
8. No. 54 VISTA AF Corse — Thomas Flohr/Francesco Castellacci/Davide Rigon — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — +1.017s — 32 laps
9. No. 91 Manthey DK Engineering — James Cottingham/Timur Boguslavskiy/Ayhancan Güven — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +1.196s — 33 laps
10. No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team — Petru Umbrărescu/Clemens Schmid/José María López — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +1.196s — 30 laps
11. No. 77 Proton Competition — Eric Powell/Ben Tuck/Sebastian Priaulx — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +1.245s — 36 laps
12. No. 33 TF Sport — Ben Keating/Jonny Edgar/Nicky Catsburg — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +1.425s — 32 laps
13. No. 88 Proton Competition — Stefano Gattuso/Giammarco Levorato/Logan Sargeant — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +1.529s — 37 laps
14. No. 21 VISTA AF Corse — François Hériau/Simon Mann/Alessio Rovera — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — +1.563s — 36 laps
15. No. 69 Team WRT — Anthony McIntosh/Parker Thompson/Dan Harper — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +1.650s — 32 laps
16. No. 32 Team WRT — Darren Leung/Sean Gelael/Augusto Farfus — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +2.053s — 33 laps
17. No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF — Peter Dempsey/Salih Yoluç/Charlie Eastwood — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +2.102s — 35 laps
18. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team — Gray Newell/Eduardo Barrichello/Jonny Adam — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — +2.260s — 34 laps

FP3 will begin at 11:00 local time on Saturday and will give the field one final hour of practice before Qualifying and Hyperpole later in the afternoon.