Heart of Racing returned to the top step of the FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 podium at the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans, as Ian James, Zach Robichon and Mattia Drudi delivered the American-flagged squad its first class victory for two years.
The No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 Evo emerged from a race-long fight involving Proton Competition, Manthey DKR Engineering and Iron Lynx before Drudi established control during the closing stages. Meanwhile, the sister No. 23 Aston Martin of Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam completed the podium in third, giving Heart of Racing its best-ever one-three finish.
The result also gave the team its second Lone Star Le Mans victory in three years after its 2024 success. However, Aston Martin needed to overcome several strong rivals despite locking out the front row in Qualifying, with Ford controlling the early stages before Porsche and Mercedes joined the fight as the race developed.
Drudi battles extreme cockpit heat on route to COTA victory
Robichon kept the No. 27 Aston Martin firmly within the victory battle through two strong stints before handing over to Drudi. Heart of Racing also executed an effective undercut during the driver change, allowing the Italian to begin the decisive portion of the race in a position to exploit the car’s speed.
However, Drudi faced another challenge when the Aston Martin’s air-conditioning system stopped working. The cockpit temperature consequently increased during an already demanding race, forcing him to manage the physical strain while maintaining the pace required to hold off the pursuing No. 91 Porsche.
“It was probably one of the toughest races in my life,” he said to FIAWEC.com.
Drudi nevertheless took advantage of clear air and fresh tyres to create a gap immediately after the Safety Car period.
“The car was super quick and we did a really good job undercutting cars in front of me when Zach and me swapped. After the first stint during the Safety Car the AC (Air Conditioning) stopped working, so let’s say it became quite hot in the cockpit.
“Luckily we had clean air in the first couple of laps, so I was able to use the fresh tyres and pull away slightly from the cars behind, and then being able to manage that.
“After one half season trying to get the win, we were stopped always by something small and it never worked out. It’s finally really good to get the first win in the home race for the team, and also a double podium with the #23 in third position. I’m really happy, as everybody did a mega job,”
Proton Ford takes early control despite Aston Martin front-row lockout
Heart of Racing started the race with a significant advantage after its two Aston Martins locked out the front row, but Proton Competition quickly disrupted that position during the opening exchanges. Eric Powell moved the No. 77 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO into contention before Proton established an early one-two with Stefano Gattuso in the No. 88. The two Mustangs therefore appeared well placed to challenge for Ford’s first WEC victory as the race settled into its opening phase.
However, penalties and contact soon undermined Proton’s challenge. Officials handed Powell a drive-through penalty after the No. 77 committed a Full Course Yellow infringement, immediately costing the car valuable track position.
Gattuso then encountered trouble in the sister Mustang after contact with Salih Yoluc’s No. 34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Chevrolet Corvette. The No. 88 needed an additional pit stop after the incident, ending Ford’s early control and reopening the fight at the front.
Manthey Porsche leads through middle phase
With Proton losing ground, Manthey DKR Engineering moved into the strongest position during the middle portion of the race. James Cottingham, Timur Boguslavskiy and Ayhancan Guven took the No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo to the front and led for a substantial period. Their pace established the Porsche as one of Heart of Racing’s principal threats and kept the victory battle open as the strategies developed.
However, the No. 91 also encountered a costly setback. Officials issued a five-second penalty after the Porsche gained an advantage off track, allowing the No. 27 Aston Martin to move back towards the front as the pit-stop sequences played out.
Even so, Manthey remained firmly in contention. The Porsche continued to pressure Heart of Racing through the closing stages and eventually secured its best result of the 2026 campaign with second place.
Iron Lynx Mercedes joins multi-manufacturer victory fight
Iron Lynx added another manufacturer to the contest with the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Maxime Martin, Rui Andrade and Martin Berry. The Mercedes showed enough speed to challenge the Aston Martins and Porsche, strengthening a race in which the identity of the eventual winner remained unclear for much of the six hours. However, repeated penalties eventually prevented Iron Lynx from converting that pace into a podium.
Officials penalised the No. 61 for a collision before adding separate sanctions for Full Course Yellow and Virtual Safety Car infringements. Those penalties repeatedly cost the crew track position and ultimately restricted it to sixth at the chequered flag.
As a result, the race increasingly developed into a direct fight between Heart of Racing and the No. 91 Manthey Porsche as the final hour approached.
Drudi takes control after final Safety Car
The last of two Safety Car periods compressed the LMGT3 field before the final phase, giving the leading contenders another opportunity to fight directly for victory. Drudi immediately capitalised when racing resumed. With fresh tyres and clear track, he produced a succession of quick laps and steadily opened a margin over the No. 91 Porsche. His pace eventually created a buffer of approximately five seconds, giving Heart of Racing enough breathing room to manage the closing stages.
The air-conditioning problem continued to increase the physical demands inside the Aston Martin, but Drudi maintained his rhythm and prevented the Porsche from reducing the gap sufficiently to launch a late attack.
Heart of Racing therefore converted its strong strategy and final-stint pace into victory, ending the two-year wait that had followed its previous WEC success.
No. 23 Aston Martin completes historic Heart of Racing podium at COTA
The sister No. 23 Aston Martin also played a major role in the team’s landmark weekend.
Newell, Barrichello and Adam had started from pole after Heart of Racing swept the front row in Qualifying, although the early Ford charge and subsequent Porsche and Mercedes challenges pushed the car away from the lead battle at different stages.
Nevertheless, the No. 23 remained close enough to capitalise as the race evolved and eventually secured third. The result gave Heart of Racing a first-ever LMGT3 double podium and completed a one-three finish on home soil.
For Aston Martin, the result also added another achievement to its WEC record. The manufacturer joined Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette among the marques to have taken multiple victories across all three GT classes used in the championship since 2012.
Championship contenders stumble at Lone Star Le Mans
The COTA result also changed the complexion of the LMGT3 title battle because several leading championship contenders failed to maximise their opportunities. The No. 21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera emerged as the strongest scorer among the major title protagonists with fourth place. Their result gained greater importance as several direct rivals encountered difficult races.
Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and Nicky Catsburg suffered an immediate setback when the No. 33 Corvette spun at the opening corner. The crew struggled to recover and eventually finished 12th, leaving COTA without the points haul it had targeted.
Meanwhile, the No. 92 Porsche encountered a steering problem that removed it from meaningful contention. Those problems ensured the championship fight remained open as the season moved towards its closing rounds.
Cottingham receives Goodyear Wingfoot award
Although Manthey DKR Engineering narrowly missed victory, Cottingham received recognition for his contribution to the No. 91 Porsche’s strong race.
Fans voted the Manthey driver as the recipient of the Goodyear Wingfoot award after the Porsche featured prominently at the front and led for much of the middle phase. His work alongside Boguslavskiy and Guven helped the crew achieve its strongest finish of the 2026 season.
The result also confirmed the breadth of competition in LMGT3 at COTA. Ford controlled the early stages, Porsche led during the middle phase and Mercedes threatened before penalties intervened, yet Heart of Racing remained close enough throughout to take control when the race reached its decisive point.
Heart of Racing carries home success at COTA towards Fuji
Heart of Racing leaves the Lone Star Le Mans with a landmark result after converting its Qualifying strength into victory and a double podium. James, Robichon and Drudi ended the team’s two-year LMGT3 win drought, while Newell, Barrichello and Adam added third to complete the No. 27 and No. 23 Aston Martins’ one-three finish. Drudi and Robichon also celebrated their first WEC victories, while James added another COTA success to his record.
More importantly, Heart of Racing prevailed despite facing serious challenges from three different manufacturers throughout the race. Proton initially placed Ford at the front, Manthey controlled much of the middle phase and Iron Lynx joined the fight before penalties intervened, but Heart of Racing executed when the opportunity arrived.
The LMGT3 championship now moves to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji from 25–27 September, where Round 6 of eight will continue a title fight that COTA tightened considerably.
