McLaren GT3 EVO to race in IMSA with Rahal Letterman Lanigan from 2026

McLaren Motorsport has confirmed its return to the GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship through a multi-year agreement with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The American team will operate the McLaren GT3 EVO with the number 59 starting in the 2026 season. The first joint test will be on November 15th and 16th at Daytona International Speedway. The full-season drivers will be announced in the coming weeks. The official debut will be at the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 24-25, 2026.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

End of the BMW-RLL Prototype Era

This agreement concludes RLL's tenure as the operator of BMW's North American program, a partnership that lasted 17 years. In 2025, the team won at Road America with a 1-2 victory for its BMW M Hybrid V8 cars in the GTP class. BMW decided to change its operating partner for 2026, opening the door for this new collaboration with McLaren.

RLL has GT experience dating back to 2007. It started with a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in the American Le Mans Series, finishing fourth in the GT2 championship. In 2008, it raced an Aston Martin DB9 in select SCCA World Challenge events.

McLaren Returns to IMSA

The McLaren GT3 EVO has won races in the WEC, GT World Challenge Europe, and other regional series. The British brand won Le Mans in 1995 with the F1 GTR and returned to GT racing in 2012 with the successful 12C GT3.

The GTD PRO class currently features nine manufacturers: Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche. The 2026 schedule includes 10 races at tracks such as Sebring, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, and Indianapolis.

"The Rahal story began with my father Mike's passion for sports cars. Partnering with McLaren is a source of pride," stated Bobby Rahal, team co-founder. Jay Frye, President of RLL, added: "McLaren is a global brand aligned with our ambitions to build a winning program."

Photo By Carlos Castillo

LMDh Experience Could Open Future Doors

The choice of RLL is logical considering its recent experience operating the BMW M Hybrid V8 in GTP. This knowledge of the LMDh platform could be useful if McLaren decides to expand its IMSA program beyond GT3.

McLaren is currently developing its LMDh car to debut in 2027 in the WEC with United Autosports. For now, the British manufacturer has not confirmed plans to race prototypes in IMSA. The November tests at Daytona will include daytime and nighttime sessions to prepare for the 2026 program.