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Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Filipe Albuquerque says he’s hoping that he and co-driver Ricky Taylor will be able to “catch a break” in this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic, after what’s been a two-year winless streak for the Wayne Taylor Racing duo. Albuquerque and Taylor, whose last IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory came in 2024, in the series’ first visit to the downtown Detroit street circuit, have scored just four podium finishes in the 17 GTP races since. One of those podiums came in last year’s 100-minute sprint race, which marked the team’s first top-three result since returning to Cadillac machinery, which Albuquerque feels could help turn their fortunes around. “The new Detroit has been kind to the 10 car,” he said. “Two years ago, we won not with true pace, but on strategy, [with] me and Ricky. “Last year, we did as well, a good comeback from starting [eighth]. We were do...

Photo: European Le Mans Series United Autosports has announced an extension of its collaboration with ORECA to field the French marque’s LMP2 cars through 2032, confirming it will use the upcoming Oreca 09 chassis that is set to be introduced when new regulations debut in 2028. The two firms have collaborated since 2019, when United elected to switch from Ligier chassis to the all-conquering Oreca 07 Gibson for its campaigns in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. Since then, United has become one of the benchmark teams in the class, and continues to use the 07 for multi-car efforts across the ELMS, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Asian Le Mans Series. With ORECA set to introduce the all-new 09 to replace the 07 when new rules come into force in 2028, United has now confirmed it will be among the teams to run the new car, which will face renewed competition from Ligier in the next rules cycle . The Yorkshire-based outfit will cont...

Photo: Dan Bathie/McLaren McLaren Motorsport has announced a three-year extension of its partnership with Pirelli, which will continue as the exclusive tire supplier to McLaren Trophy on a global basis, including in Trophy America. The Italian tire specialist has a long-standing relationship with McLaren Automotive, with every road car equipped with Pirelli tires. That partnership extended into McLaren Trophy from the start of 2023 when the European series was launched and further strengthened last year with the addition of Trophy America. For both series, Pirelli will supply its benchmark GT tyre range: the P Zero DHG for dry conditions and the Cinturato WHB for wet weather. “We are delighted to continue our close relationship with Pirelli as our official tire supplier partner,” said McLaren Automotive Head of Motorsport Giorgio Sanna. “McLaren Trophy is a growing platform and tyre performance is central to the competitiveness and safety of our championship. ...

Photo: Porsche One driver set to compete at the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic has a chance to complete a full set of victories at every current track the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races. That’d be Nick Tandy, who’s shifted back into GT this year as part of the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo in GTD Pro. Tandy’s endurance race accolades generated headlines in early 2025, as his overall win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona launched the “Tandy Slam” as he became the first driver to claim four major overall 24-hour race wins (Daytona, Le Mans, Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps). But what may have been overlooked is his full IMSA career in totality. It dates back more than a decade to the early 2010s, and he has achieved 25 career IMSA wins (23 in the WeatherTech Championship, two in the American Le Mans Series, and one non-points event that doesn’t count towards official records). The 1.645-mile Detroit Street Circuit is the last track he needs to conquer, and ...

Stephen Lickorish goes behind the scenes at Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA's pre-Le Mans test... Source: Sports Car 365

Photo: Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Naquib Azlan says he is “very pleased” that he has proven himself capable of mixing it up at the head of the field in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia so far this season despite lacking “five or six years of experience” compared to many of his rivals. EBM driver Azlan earned a seat in the series off the back of an impressive showing at the championship’s Talent Pool Assessment Days last November in Sepang, and has so far proven the quickest of the drivers with no prior Carrera Cup experience. Stepping up from GT4 and one-make competition in both his native Malaysia and Japan, Azlan made an immediate impact by taking pole for his debut in Shanghai in March, and was credited with a half-points victory in that race when a start-line accident in which he was involved caused the race to be red-flagged and not resumed. He took another sweep of poles at Zhuhai and also topped one of the qualifying sessions in the most recent roun...

Photo: Michelin The smiles were a touch bigger in the Michelin camp at IMSA’s ‘State of the Sport’ address last October. It made sense. The announcement that IMSA and Michelin had agreed to a ten-year extension , keeping Michelin as the ‘Official Tire’ of the series, was about far more than racing Eighteen manufacturers. One tire supplier. No other racing series in the world offers that kind of proving ground with so many different platforms. And Michelin understands the opportunity goes beyond racing when the manufacturers see the performance of the tire with their race cars. “They’re extending that performance beyond the track and into their production models, carrying it into real ‑ world settings at their performance driving schools,” said Derek Beneteau, OE Brand Marketing at Michelin. “Then that trust at the track is what gets us into the conversation when they’re developing the next generation of vehicles.” Lexus is...