TF Sport chief Tom Ferrier indicates his outfit is negotiating to promote Blake McDonald, their European Le Mans Series title hopeful, to a full-time seat in the FIA World Endurance Championship next season.
In a contrast to the seasoned Ben Keating, who currently drives the TF Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the WEC, Keating told Sportscar365 at Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of The Americas earlier this month that he does not plan to contest a full season in the championship or in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2027, opting instead for a handful of enjoyable, one-off appearances.
Unlike the veteran Keating, McDonald from California is just beginning his international racing journey, having finished as runner-up in the Pro-Am class of last year’s GT World Challenge America powered by AWS in a DXDT Racing Corvette.
McDonald made his racing debut in 2023, taking part in two campaigns in the North American Porsche and Lamborghini one-make series.
Nevertheless, he filled in for Keating during the initial two rounds of this year’s WEC when the Texan was sidelined by an elbow injury sustained in a mountain-biking incident.
McDonald placed second in LMGT3 on his Imola debut, teaming with Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar, and has been at the forefront of ELMS competition throughout the season, leading Ferrier to believe the 36-year-old is ready to take on a full WEC program.
“It would be great if we could certainly do that,” Ferrier told Sportscar365 when asked about McDonald potentially stepping into Keating’s seat.
“We’re in talks with a few different candidates right now, and the objective is to have the two strongest cars on the grid that we can manage.”
He noted that McDonald’s prior WEC exposure is another advantage, adding: “Blake is extremely capable, incredibly quick, a joy to have around and he puts in a lot of hard work, so he’s certainly a top choice for us.”
Ferrier indicated that he hopes the 2027 WEC lineup will be finalized shortly so the squad can mount the most effective prep for the new campaign.
McDonald, Charlie Eastwood and Alec Udell currently sit second in the ELMS LMGT3 standings ahead of next month’s Portimão finale, just three points adrift of Iron Lynx’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo pairing Abdulla Al-Khelaifi and Julian Hanses.
The Corvette trio claimed victory at Imola and have secured two other class podiums this season.
“He’s done a really solid job and he’s getting stronger with every weekend,” Ferrier commented about McDonald, pointing to his Silverstone showing when the crew finished second.
“Qualifying and the way he drove, considering the weight we were carrying, were very impressive.”
TF clinched the LMGT3 crown in Portugal last year when Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi overturned a 14-point shortfall to take the title, and Ferrier is aiming to replicate that success this time around.
“Our goal each year is to remain in contention heading into the final race,” he said. “We came from further behind last year at Portimão to win it, so we’ll put in our best effort again.”
“It’s tough with a balance of performance and other factors—you can’t win every race; it’s about maintaining points. I still regret Barcelona, where we were wiped out in the opening round and scored almost nothing there.”
“We’ll head to Portugal, and if it’s meant to be, it will be — if not, we’ve done our job and stayed in the mix.”
