Friday’s Free Practice 2 for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas produced a rare feat, as Aston Martin led both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes in a FIA World Endurance Championship session. The only prior occurrence of such a double-class lead came in FP3 at Fuji last year, and notably with the same pair of drivers—Harry Tincknell in Hypercar and Zach Robichon in LMGT3—setting the pace.
Seven drivers received five-minute stop-and-hold penalties for “constant abuse” of track limits in Free Practice 1: Francois Heriau (No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo), Miguel Molina (No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P), Tom Van Rompuy (No. 78 Akkodis-ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3), Gray Newell (No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo), Nick Cassidy (No. 93 Peugeot 9X8) as well as Logan Sargeant (No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 Evo) and Martin Berry (No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) which were both handed two five-minute holds for continued track abuse.
Additionally, Johannes Zelger (No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG) was penalized post-session and his car was forced to serve a five-minute hold at the start of Free Practice 2, while Timur Boguslavskiy (No. 91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo), Antonio Felix da Costa (No. 35 Alpine A424) and Petru Umbrarescu (No. 87 Akkodis-ASP Lexus) were handed five-minute stop-and-holds for track limits incurred during FP2 itself.
Genesis Magma Racing were fined €2,000 ($2,321 USD) for its No. 19 Genesis GMR-001 having taken to the track in FP1 with a different transponder than the one declared by the team. The No. 92 Manthey Porsche also initially encountered the same issue, although a second report from the stewards indicated the declaration was correct and thus no fine was issued.
Joint Hypercar points leader Robin Frijns is seeking to bounce back from a disappointing result aboard the No. 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 last time out before the summer break at Interlagos when he, Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde finished eighth while the sister car triumphed. Frijns told Sportscar365 that the squad still does not fully understand why it qualified last of the 17 cars.
Frijns, who said he enjoyed his “longest break ever” over the summer without any Formula E commitments, added of Brazil: “We were not really on top of our game on our side of the garage. We were struggling a bit the whole weekend and couldn’t really find the issue and we qualified last. The sister car won the race and, normally, when the sister car won you should be up there as well theoretically.”
Ricky Taylor has returned to COTA for the first time since 2017, when he made two appearances at the track and finished on the podium in both. Ricky and brother Jordan scored their fourth consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory in what was a five-race win streak in their Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, en route to the Prototype championship.
Later that year, Ricky teamed with Johnny O’Connell for a runner-up finish in one of the three Pirelli World Challenge SprintX races at the Austin venue, in a factory Cadillac ATS-V.R GT3 car.
Taylor told Sportscar365: “It’s a good time to share the programs. I guess being American doesn’t hurt to be in the car for the home race. It’s really exciting. Being at Le Mans as well, even though I was in the other car (WTR), it honestly felt like I was driving for JOTA there.”
Two-time IMSA top-class champion Pipo Derani, meanwhile, is set for his first race on U.S. soil since the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona when he was at the wheel of a DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The Brazilian, who previously lived in Miami during his IMSA tenure, is also a four-time winner of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and claimed top honors at Daytona in 2016.
Derani told Sportscar365: “It’s great to be back in the U.S. because everything is plug and play. From the moment you arrive at the airport; I still have a U.S. drivers’ license and all the rental car stuff, it’s like coming back home.”
A number of WEC drivers including Nick Cassidy, Victor Martins, Ferdinand Habsburg, Harry Tincknell, Marco Sorensen and Mattia Drudi handed out meals at the Central Texas Food Bank on Thursday as part of a charity event that supported approximately 150-200 local households and the equivalent of 5,000 meals to the Austin community.
With increased talk of Geely set to join the Hypercar grid next year, by taking over Alpine’s program, questions have arisen if the Chinese automotive giant would be allowed to race in the U.S. given the nation’s ban on Chinese-built vehicles and connected vehicle technologies.
Sportscar365 understands that while the bans are in place, which has resulted in the Geely-owned Polestar brand to no longer be able to sell new vehicles starting with the 2027 model year, dedicated race cars intended solely for track use are not explicitly listed under the commercial and connected-vehicle ban.
Michelin has brought both its Medium and Hard compounds of the Pilot Sport Endurance tire to COTA. “After Sao Paulo, where the Medium compound confirmed its full potential despite higher-than-expected track temperatures, it will be the turn of our Hard compound to demonstrate what it can deliver as temperatures rise,” explained Michelin Motorsport Endurance program manager Pierre Alves.
Alves added: “We also haven’t forgotten that heavy rain made conditions particularly challenging at Austin in 2025, especially as the Texan circuit’s asphalt offers relatively poor drainage. Our perfectly balanced wet-weather range will therefore also be available to our partners.”
While Michelin debuts its new-for-2026 compounds to COTA, Goodyear’s Eagle Medium tire is bring used again in Austin, after a single-year run with the Eagle Hard compound, which is no longer being offered since this year’s European Le Mans Series season opener at Barcelona.
Michelin was recently confirmed as the winner of the FIA and ACO’s tender to continue as the exclusive tire supplier of the Hypercar class through at least 2032, with Goodyear, which placed a serious bid against the French tire giant for the top class contract, having extended its LMGT3 tire supply deal through the same period.
A collective test is scheduled for next week at COTA, where Aston Martin, Ferrari and Genesis are expected to evaluate potential Evo joker updates to their cars. The two day test on Sept. 8-9 will see Ferrari and Genesis take part in both days, with Aston Marin only on the second day.
Heart of Racing team principal Ian James previously confirmed they’ll use the running as a “correlation” to its initial running with the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s proposed updates at Silverstone last month, with its test car to again be in action.
Genesis, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA and BMW M Team WRT are all coming off a test at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona last week, in preparation for next month’s penultimate round of the season, which has replaced Qatar on this year’s schedule.
Rene Rast told Sportscar365: “We’re going to race at Barcelona so it’s good to actually put your car into a decent window on the track to see where is the starting point in terms of setup. Also for us drivers to get a rough idea of how to approach the track so it was a good thing to do before the race weekend.”
Aston Martin factory driver Tom Gamble revealed to Sportscar365 that the Valkyrie has not previously tested at the Spanish circuit, although does have mileage at Monza, earlier this summer, in a test alongside when Ferrari was evaluating potential 499P updates.
COTALAND, a full-scale amusement park built inside COTA, will have its grand opening on Sept. 26. The park, primarily built around Turns 19 to 1 will feature more than 30 experiences ranging from record-setting rollercoasters and rides to immersive entrainment and family-friendly attractions, as well as a unique zipline that goes over the track.
In addition to youth and full-scale karting and mini golf, there will also be a “Hot Lap” experience, a first-of-a-kind attraction allowing guests to ride along the track for a $175 add-on to general admission. Additionally, a cable car line has been built between the pit building and the new Turn 1 suite complex, which briefly goes above the circuit at the top of the hill.
COTA founder Bobby Epstein said: “COTALAND was created to be far more than a traditional amusement park. This is where theme park thrills, world-class racing, live entertainment and family experiences come together in a way that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country.”
FAGE International, a leading international Greek yogurt company, has announced a new multi-year partnership with the Lone Star Le Mans event, becoming an official partner. Through its multi-year agreement, FAGE will bring its range of Greek yogurt to the WEC fanbase through direct touch-points including exclusive culinary experiences at the Le Mans Spirit Club to the paddock.
Saturday’s track action will include a final 60-minute Free Practice session from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. CST, before qualifying and Hyperpole, which gets underway at 3 p.m. with live coverage on the FIAWEC+ app. The first Mustang Challenge race of the weekend, meanwhile, takes the green at 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed live on Peacock as well as Ford Racing and IMSA’s YouTube channels.
Stephen Lickorish contributed to this report
