2026 | WEC | Lone Star Le Mans | FP3 | Aston Martin stays on top as Ferrari leads LMGT3

Harry Tincknell kept Aston Martin at the top of the Hypercar order in the final Free Practice session for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas.

After topping FP2 on Friday afternoon, Tincknell lowered the weekend benchmark to a 1m52.174s in the No. 007 Aston Martin Valkyrie. The margin proved exceptionally small, with the No. 19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 finishing just 0.004s behind and Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA taking third with the No. 38.

Meanwhile, VISTA AF Corse moved Ferrari to the head of LMGT3. The No. 21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo produced a 2m05.731s to edge the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG by 0.138s, while Proton Competition completed the top three with the No. 77 Ford Mustang.

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP3: Hypercar

Tincknell completes Aston Martin practice double

Aston Martin maintained the momentum it established by topping FP2 as Tincknell again put the No. 007 Valkyrie at the head of the order.

The Brit recorded a 1m52.174s during the hour-long session, improving by 0.393s from his Friday benchmark and setting the fastest lap of the weekend to that point. Tincknell and Tom Gamble completed 29 laps as the team continued preparations for Sunday’s six-hour race.

Genesis Magma Racing came within just four thousandths of denying Aston Martin. The No. 19 GMR-001 of Mathieu Jaminet, Paul-Loup Chatin and Daniel Juncadella recorded a 1m52.178s and completed 24 laps, leaving almost nothing between the two manufacturers ahead of Qualifying.

Cadillac joins Aston Martin and Genesis inside top three

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA produced the strongest showing among the American manufacturers as Jack Aitken put the No. 38 V-Series.R third.

Aitken’s 1m52.435s left Earl Bamber, Sébastien Bourdais and the Brit 0.261s away from Tincknell, but comfortably within the leading group.

Ferrari AF Corse followed in fourth after showing strong pace throughout the opening two days. Antonio Giovinazzi set the No. 51 Ferrari 499P’s 1m52.639s, leaving the reigning champions 0.465s from the front.

The sister No. 009 Aston Martin completed the top five. Álex Riberas and Marco Sørensen recorded a 1m52.679s, only 0.040s behind the leading Ferrari, as both Valkyries finished inside the first five.

Second Cadillac completes closely matched top six

The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry finished sixth, giving the American manufacturer two cars inside the leading six.

Will Stevens, Norman Nato and Ricky Taylor posted a best time of 1m52.724s, only 0.550s away from Tincknell. The result left the entire top six covered by just over half a second ahead of the afternoon’s decisive sessions.

AF Corse’s No. 83 Ferrari followed in seventh with a 1m52.873s, while the No. 7 Toyota Racing TR010 Hybrid produced a stronger showing than it had in FP2 to move into eighth.

Loïc Duval placed the No. 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 ninth despite a wild spin during the later stages. Duval managed to continue without damage, and his 1m52.904s left Peugeot 0.730s from the front.

Ferrari suffers contact with Proton Mustang

The No. 50 Ferrari completed the top 10 following a more eventful session for Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen.

Around 20 minutes into FP3, Nielsen made contact with Ben Tuck’s No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3. The collision damaged the Ferrari’s left-rear corner and forced Nielsen back to the pits while the team carried out repairs.

Ferrari returned the car to the circuit and eventually recorded a 1m53.045s, leaving it 0.871s from Tincknell.

There was another Ferrari-related incident when Phil Hanson’s No. 83 AF Corse 499P made brief contact with Peter Dempsey in the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette at the exit of Turn 1. Officials investigated the incident but took no further action.

Alpine and BMW remain outside top 10

Toyota’s No. 8 followed the No. 50 Ferrari in 11th before the first Alpine Endurance Team entry appeared in 12th.

Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Victor Martins recorded a 1m53.441s in the No. 36 Alpine, while the No. 93 Peugeot took 13th ahead of the sister No. 35 Alpine.

BMW M Team WRT occupied 15th and 16th with its two M Hybrid V8s. Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde led the pair in the No. 20, while the No. 15 of Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor followed 0.061s behind.

The No. 17 Genesis completed the 17-car Hypercar order after recording a 1m55.225s.

Classification

1. No. 007 Aston Martin THOR Team — Harry Tincknell/Tom Gamble — Aston Martin Valkyrie — 1m52.174s — 29 laps
2. No. 19 Genesis Magma Racing — Mathieu Jaminet/Paul-Loup Chatin/Daniel Juncadella — Genesis GMR-001 — +0.004s — 24 laps
3. No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Earl Bamber/Sébastien Bourdais/Jack Aitken — Cadillac V-Series.R — +0.261s — 28 laps
4. No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse — Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi — Ferrari 499P — +0.465s — 28 laps
5. No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team — Álex Riberas/Marco Sørensen — Aston Martin Valkyrie — +0.505s — 30 laps
6. No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Will Stevens/Norman Nato/Ricky Taylor — Cadillac V-Series.R — +0.550s — 29 laps
7. No. 83 AF Corse — Yifei Ye/Robert Kubica/Phil Hanson — Ferrari 499P — +0.699s — 27 laps
8. No. 7 Toyota Racing — Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +0.713s — 26 laps
9. No. 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Loïc Duval/Malthe Jakobsen/Théo Pourchaire — Peugeot 9X8 — +0.730s — 24 laps
10. No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse — Antonio Fuoco/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen — Ferrari 499P — +0.871s — 27 laps
11. No. 8 Toyota Racing — Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryō Hirakawa — Toyota TR010 Hybrid — +0.935s — 27 laps
12. No. 36 Alpine Endurance Team — Frédéric Makowiecki/Jules Gounon/Victor Martins — Alpine A424 — +1.267s — 28 laps
13. No. 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Paul di Resta/Stoffel Vandoorne/Nick Cassidy — Peugeot 9X8 — +1.439s — 29 laps
14. No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team — António Félix da Costa/Charles Milesi/Ferdinand Habsburg — Alpine A424 — +1.468s — 30 laps
15. No. 20 BMW M Team WRT — Robin Frijns/René Rast/Sheldon van der Linde — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +1.945s — 28 laps
16. No. 15 BMW M Team WRT — Kevin Magnussen/Raffaele Marciello/Dries Vanthoor — BMW M Hybrid V8 — +2.006s — 30 laps
17. No. 17 Genesis Magma Racing — André Lotterer/Pipo Derani/Mathys Jaubert — Genesis GMR-001 — +3.051s — 26 laps

2026 FIA WEC Lone Star Le Mans: FP3: LMGT3

VISTA AF Corse puts Ferrari on top

Ferrari became the third different manufacturer to lead an LMGT3 practice session at COTA after McLaren topped FP1 and Aston Martin controlled FP2.

The No. 21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari of François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera set the benchmark at 2m05.731s. That represented the fastest LMGT3 lap of FP3 and placed the crew only 0.122s away from the 2m05.609s set by Heart of Racing in FP2.

Only 0.138s separated Ferrari from the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, which continued its consistently strong practice form. Martin Berry, Rui Andrade and Maxime Martin recorded a 2m05.869s as the car finished inside the leading two for the second successive session.

Ford takes third after Hypercar contact

Proton Competition recovered from the earlier incident involving Tuck and Nielsen to finish third with the No. 77 Ford Mustang.

Eric Powell, Tuck and Sebastian Priaulx recorded a 2m05.963s, only 0.232s from the Ferrari benchmark. The result continued an encouraging COTA weekend for a crew looking to repeat the pace that put Proton Competition on LMGT3 pole at the venue last season.

Heart of Racing’s FP2-leading No. 27 Aston Martin dropped to fourth but remained firmly within the fight. Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi recorded a 2m05.999s, leaving the car only 0.268s from first.

Five manufacturers fill top five

Garage 59 continued its strong practice showing with the No. 10 McLaren taking fifth.

Antares Au, Tom Fleming and Marvin Kirchhöfer produced a 2m06.054s, meaning Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, Ford, Aston Martin and McLaren occupied the first five positions.

The second Heart of Racing Aston Martin followed in sixth. Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam finished only 0.356s from VISTA AF Corse with a 2m06.087s, underlining the exceptionally close margins heading into Qualifying.

Only 0.356s therefore covered the leading six, while the first 10 entries were separated by less than half a second.

Sargeant leads second half of top 10

The No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang took seventh, with Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato and Logan Sargeant recording a 2m06.131s.

VISTA AF Corse placed its second Ferrari eighth, just 0.009s further back, while Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Dan Harper put the No. 69 Team WRT BMW ninth.

Akkodis ASP Team completed the top 10 with its No. 78 Lexus. Tom van Rompuy, Hadrien David and Esteban Masson recorded a 2m06.258s, leaving the leading 10 LMGT3 cars covered by 0.527s.

The championship-leading No. 33 TF Sport Corvette remained further back in 17th, immediately ahead of the sister No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF entry.

Classification

1. No. 21 VISTA AF Corse — François Hériau/Simon Mann/Alessio Rovera — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — 2m05.731s — 21 laps
2. No. 61 Iron Lynx — Martin Berry/Rui Andrade/Maxime Martin — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +0.138s — 26 laps
3. No. 77 Proton Competition — Eric Powell/Ben Tuck/Sebastian Priaulx — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +0.232s — 25 laps
4. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team — Ian James/Zacharie Robichon/Mattia Drudi — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — +0.268s — 26 laps
5. No. 10 Garage 59 — Antares Au/Tom Fleming/Marvin Kirchhöfer — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — +0.323s — 26 laps
6. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team — Gray Newell/Eduardo Barrichello/Jonny Adam — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 — +0.356s — 25 laps
7. No. 88 Proton Competition — Stefano Gattuso/Giammarco Levorato/Logan Sargeant — Ford Mustang LMGT3 — +0.400s — 26 laps
8. No. 54 VISTA AF Corse — Thomas Flohr/Francesco Castellacci/Davide Rigon — Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo — +0.409s — 26 laps
9. No. 69 Team WRT — Anthony McIntosh/Parker Thompson/Dan Harper — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +0.488s — 26 laps
10. No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team — Tom van Rompuy/Hadrien David/Esteban Masson — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +0.527s — 25 laps
11. No. 32 Team WRT — Darren Leung/Sean Gelael/Augusto Farfus — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo — +0.569s — 26 laps
12. No. 79 Iron Lynx — Johannes Zelger/Matteo Cressoni/Lin Hodenius — Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 — +0.709s — 23 laps
13. No. 58 Garage 59 — Alexander West/Finn Gehrsitz/Benjamin Goethe — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo — +0.754s — 26 laps
14. No. 92 The Bend Manthey — Yasser Shahin/Riccardo Pera/Richard Lietz — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +1.174s — 27 laps
15. No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team — Petru Umbrărescu/Clemens Schmid/José María López — Lexus RC F LMGT3 — +1.187s — 23 laps
16. No. 91 Manthey DK Engineering — James Cottingham/Timur Boguslavskiy/Ayhancan Güven — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 — +1.352s — 27 laps
17. No. 33 TF Sport — Ben Keating/Jonny Edgar/Nicky Catsburg — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +1.420s — 25 laps
18. No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF — Peter Dempsey/Salih Yoluç/Charlie Eastwood — Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R — +1.424s — 25 laps

The dry session took place with an air temperature of 33.4°C and the track at 46.5°C, with no major interruptions despite several incidents and widespread track-limit deletions.

Qualifying for the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans gets underway at 15:00 local time (GMT-5), beginning with the LMGT3 field before Hypercar Qualifying and the two Hyperpole sessions.