What a way to close out a season. As Motorsport.com reports, Winward Racing capped off a historic campaign at the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale by taking its first Motul Petit Le Mans victory and securing a third consecutive Grand Touring Daytona championship in dramatic fashion.
Drivers Philip Ellis, Russell Ward, and endurance co-driver Indy Dontje drove the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 across the finish line to seal both the race victory and the class crown. The championship battle itself was practically settled early in the race when their main rivals hit massive trouble. The #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo entered the weekend 116 points behind, but an overnight engine change forced Zacharie Robichon to start from pit lane. That car fell more than 60 laps behind before finally retiring. Meanwhile, second-place contender Turner Motorsport suffered a terminal water-pressure issue just 30 minutes after the green flag, forcing Robby Foley to pit the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for good.
Yet, even with the title decided early, the fight for the actual race win went down to the final minutes. Ellis had to withstand immense pressure from Riccardo Pera in the #912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R before pulling off a pass on Lilou Wadoux for the lead on Lap 320. Wadoux was driving the #21 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, a machine that had already bounced back from an early stop-plus-60-second penalty incurred during Antonio Fuoco's stint. A late full-course caution finally relieved the leaders' dire fuel concerns, allowing Ellis to manage his energy through the final restart and secure the victory.
"I think I might have yelled at my engineer trying to get more information out of him," Ellis said.
The victory capped a wild second-half surge that featured four wins and a runner-up finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway across the final five races, completing the second-largest championship comeback since IMSA introduced its restructured points system in 2021. Winward's third straight title stands as the longest active championship streak by any program across all IMSA classes, and it successfully clinched the manufacturer crown for Mercedes-AMG.
Ward credited the crew's relentless attitude after a tough incident at Watkins Glen involving the #70 car and the #13 for setting the stage for their championship run.
"When we got taken out at Watkins Glen, involved in the incident between the #70 car and the #13, I mean, us three drivers were pretty sorry in the paddock, looking at the car, watching the mechanics just jump all over it," Ward said.
