3 Americans competing for WEC LMGT3 honors at COTA

Apart from the fact it’s a close race at the top between three teams and three different cars in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 standings, all of those leading title contenders have an American driver on the team.
It makes for a perfect scenario as the FIA World Endurance Championship’s annual visit to the United States kicks off this weekend. With only three races left in the season, Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans at COTA could be a race which influences which American driver joins their teammates in becoming LMGT3 champions.

Ryan Hardwick (above) had the edge for most of the season; he and his Manthey 1st Phorm teammates Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz have two wins including the Le Mans 24 Hours. He wants to keep that momentum going.
“Our expectation is to continue leading the championship when we leave here,” Hardwick said to RACER ahead of Sunday’s race. “Our sole goal is the championship at the end of the season, and we feel that this track could generally be a good track for the Porsche.

“I think it’s going to be a perfect race between the three of us. The Corvette does look very strong, at least from the first practice, so I think they should be really good.”
Hardwick also feels that his physical training, which by his description seems closer to that of a full professional driver than a so-called amateur, gives him an edge in the extreme heat that’s likely to persist into Saturday and Sunday.
“I enjoy the heat,” he continued. “I’ll be honest with you, it’s not easy in this heat. If any driver says it’s easy, they’re lying to you.

“Being in the best physical condition that you can be in, I think it’s an advantage for me compared to a lot of the other guys I race against.”
If the car and the driver are suited for COTA, and the heat doesn’t bother Hardwick and company, competing with 36 extra kilograms of success weight in their No. 92 Porsche 911 LMGT3 R (the most of any car in the field this weekend) likely will be their biggest obstacle to overcome.

“We’re still carrying the success ballast from Le Mans; this definitely hurts our lap times,” he admitted. “But so [are] our competitors in the championship.
“I think if we just worry about the things that we can control and drive a clean race, without penalties, and we stay consistent – I think we’ll find ourselves towards the front, right where we need to be at the end of the race.”

Twenty three points behind, Hardwick is his counterpart in the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, the true home hero at COTA, Ben Keating.

The No. 33 Corvette’s landmark win in Qatar was followed up by productive but somewhat pedestrian results for he and co-drivers Jonny Edgar and Daniel Juncadella.
“I don’t like being in the position where I feel like we have to have a good race every time, but the fact is that there are only three races left,” Keating said earlier this week.
“There are only so many opportunities to earn points versus the competition, and if you have a bad race, then it almost takes you out of the hunt. There is the pressure on that side of things to say, I feel like I have to have a good race.”

COTA is Keating’s home race and a track he loves driving at; he came out of his GT racing hiatus last year to drive one of Proton Competition’s Ford Mustang LMGT3s, where ironically he was a teammate to Hardwick in the other car.
“I won the first four races I ever did at COTA," he said. "I won five out of the first seven.
I won overall in the 24-hour race (in the Creventic 24H Series) of COTA, and I’d say every driver loves the tracks that love you back.

“Obviously I know this track very well, and there’s no other race that I’d rather be going to.”
With Keating inviting 330 guests to his favorite circuit, there’s extra incentive to put on a show during his time behind the wheel of his GT3 Corvette.
“I would say that it has taken me a while to really understand what the car likes and doesn’t like,” he said. “I feel like everything is coming together pretty well for us at this race. I’m feeling more and more comfortable with the car.”

The third American doesn’t play the same role as his compatriots. Unlike the other two Bronze-graded amateur drivers, Simon Mann is the compulsory Silver-graded driver in the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3.
Winning the last race of the 2024 WEC season in Bahrain shows Mann made a significant step forward in his form this year and can now be evaluated as one of LMGT3’s better Silver drivers.

Part of that improvement is down to the strong chemistry between himself and co-drivers François Heriau and Alessio Rovera.
We had really good momentum last year, and this year, we started off well with some good results. I think that as a team, everyone is gluing really well together,” said Mann, who’s spent his entire documented racing career driving for AF Corse.

“I just feel excellent within the team. Vista AF have really helped me progress a lot throughout the years, not just over the past year. It’s great to be in that top three. There’s still three races to go, so anything can happen.”
Mann won Spa and finished second behind the Hardwick-led No. 92 Porsche at Le Mans, but at São Paulo, the No. 21 Ferrari was shut out of the points. They’re currently 13 points behind, but the urgency for the leading Ferrari to leave COTA with a big points haul is picking up.

“I don’t think we’re going to be the fastest this weekend, so I think that’s why scoring points is so crucial, especially going into Fuji and then Bahrain,” Mann admitted.
“At the same time, I think a strength is we focus on ourselves; we have the package we have, we just have to optimize what we have, and then we’ll see. The important thing is that we all do our best, like we always do. I’m sure, in the end, we’ll be good enough.

It’s likely that Mann will have to fight his way past TF Sport’s Edgar, Manthey’s Pera, or any of LMGT3’s other “super Silvers” to achieve a result.
As for Keating and Hardwick, it’s not impossible to see a scenario where the two of them are fighting each other on track for position in this pivotal title race.
“I’ve always enjoyed racing around Ben,” said Hardwick. “We had some nice time on track together at Le Mans this year, and we both respect each other a heck of a lot. He’s a great driver and I always enjoy racing around him.

“But I won’t lie, it’s always nice to beat your fellow countryman. Seeing that we’re competing for the championship this year, the opportunity presents itself. We’ll have a good time on track but I definitely hope to come out in front!”