Numerous top Bronze- and Silver-rated LMGT3 competitors in the FIA World Endurance Championship have had their classifications adjusted for the upcoming season, including the season’s leading points scorer Jonny Edgar and the reigning champion Riccardo Pera.
Edgar had initially been set to move from Silver to Gold for this season, but he secured a successful appeal and remained with TF Sport’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R squad as a result.
However, in a batch of provisional driver-rating changes announced by the FIA that will apply from January 1, Edgar has now been elevated to Gold.
Manthey Racing’s Pera — the 2023 LMGT3 champion — has also been raised from Silver to Gold.
Fellow Silver-rated racer Ben Tuck, part of the Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO lineup, has undergone a similar reclassification, as has Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo pilot Tom Fleming.
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi is among the other Silver drivers reclassified as Gold, along with DTM race winner Ben Doerr and Nissan SUPER GT star Atsushi Miyake, who also competes in GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS.
Meanwhile, Peter Dempsey, who returned to competition with TF Sport this season after a 13-year hiatus from top-tier racing and claimed the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup Bronze title over the weekend, has also been upgraded from Bronze to Silver.
Dempsey’s rival for the GTWC Europe crown, Dustin Blattner of Kessel Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, has likewise been promoted to Silver.
Several established factory drivers have now been elevated to Platinum, including Ferrari racers Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, and Norman Nato of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, along with Porsche Penske Motorsport’s IMSA WeatherTech Championship contenders Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich.
Genesis Magma Racing’s rising star Mathys Jaubert has also advanced from Silver to Gold, after he was the only WEC Hypercar driver not classified as Gold or Platinum prior to this update.
Several racers have also seen their rating downgraded for the coming season, including LMP2 regular Paul Lafargue, who drops from Silver to Bronze.
Two former 24 Hours of Le Mans winners have had their ratings adjusted as well, with three-time victor Benoît Tréluyer and Timo Bernhard (a two-time winner) both moving down from Platinum to Gold.
Among those provisionally downgraded from Gold to Silver are Alessandro Balzan, Townsend Bell, Michelle Gatting and Paul Holton.
Several drivers who were under review, meanwhile, notably remain Silver. They include Kobe Pauwels, Benjamin Pedersen, Doriane Pin, Tom Sargent, Toby Sowery, Parker Thompson, Alec Udell, Lilou Wadoux and Finn Wiebelhaus.
It is understood that drivers have a brief window to lodge an appeal against their decision, with a finalized list due to be published later this month.
Any alterations do not impact drivers competing in the 2026-27 Asian Le Mans Series, with their 2026 driver ratings remaining valid for the entire season, which runs from November 2026 through February 2027.
Notable Provisional Rating Changes for 2027:
Julien Andlauer: Gold to Platinum
Alessandro Balzan: Gold to Silver
Joao Barbosa: Gold to Silver
Nico Bastian: Gold to Silver
Townsend Bell: Gold to Silver
Timo Bernhard: Platinum to Gold
Dustin Blattner: Bronze to Silver
Lindsay Brewer: Silver to Bronze
Vincent Capillaire: Silver to Bronze
Simona De Silverstro: Gold to Silver
Peter Dempsey: Bronze to Silver
Ben Dorr: Silver to Gold
Jonny Edgar: Silver to Gold
John Edwards: Platinum to Gold
Tom Fleming: Silver to Gold
Michelle Gatting: Gold to Silver
Conrad Grunewald: Silver to Bronze
Phil Hanson: Gold to Platinum
Laurin Heinrich: Gold to Platinum
Erika Hoffmann: Silver to Bronze
Paul Holton: Gold to Silver
Alexandre Imperatori: Gold to Silver
Mathys Jaubert: Silver to Gold
Pierre Kaffer: Gold to Silver
Tadas Karlinskas: Silver to Bronze
Kyle Kirkwood: Gold to Platinum
Paul Lafarge: Silver to Bronze
Joseph Loake: Silver to Gold
Zach Lumsden: Silver to Bronze
Christian Lundgaard: Gold to Platinum
Richard Lyons: Gold to Silver
Pippa Mann: Silver to Bronze
Kyle Marcelli: Gold to Silver
Nicolas Minassian: Gold to Silver
Atsushi Miyake: Silver to Gold
Norman Nato: Gold to Platinum
Riccardo Pera: Silver to Gold
Rolf Ineichen: Silver to Bronze
Valentino Rossi: Silver to Gold
Ben Tuck: Silver to Gold
James Walker: Silver to Bronze
Yifei Ye: Gold to Platinum
Alex Yoong: Gold to Silver
Notable Drivers Who Remain Current Rating (After Review):
Jarett Andretti: Bronze
Michelle Beretta: Silver
Julien Canal: Silver
Ryan Dalziel: Gold
Nicolai Elghanayan: Silver
Chris Froggatt: Silver
Sean Gelael: Silver
Misha Goikhberg: Bronze
Jeff Gordon: Gold
Tyler Hoffmann: Bronze
Elton Julian: Bronze
Chad McCumbee: Silver
Hunter McElrea: Silver
Gray Newell: Bronze
Aurelien Panis: Silver
Kobe Pauwels: Silver
Benjamin Pedersen: Silver
Griffin Peebles: Silver
Doriane Pin: Silver
Nico Pino: Silver
Aaron Povoledo: Silver
Leonardo Pulcini: Gold
Giorgio Roda: Bronze
Tom Sargent: Silver
Benny Simonsen: Bronze
Toby Sowery: Silver
Parker Thompson: Silver
Tim Tramnitz: Silver
Alec Udell: Silver
Kay van Berlo: Gold
Lilou Wadoux: Silver
Finn Wibelhaus: Silver
Salih Yoluc: Silver
