Lilou Wadoux leads at Petit Le Mans, takes sixth after dramatic IMSA season finale
Lilou Wadoux and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 came within reach of another remarkable result at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, leading laps in the GTD class during the final hour before bringing the car home in sixth.
Lilou Wadoux and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 came within reach of another remarkable result at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, leading laps in the GTD class during the final hour before bringing the car home in sixth.
Sharing the Ferrari with Fuoco and Simon Mann, Wadoux and her teammates endured a chaotic 10-hour season finale featuring rapidly changing weather, multiple Safety Car periods, a red flag, several strategic gambles and penalties, yet remained in contention for the win until the closing stages. The result saw the #21 crew finish second in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings by just one point, while Wadoux was classified sixth in the individual standings after missing one round during the season.
The Motul Petit Le Mans represented a particularly significant event for Wadoux, who returned to Road Atlanta as the defending race winner after her 2025 victory had also secured the Michelin Endurance Cup title. The Ferrari factory driver had already enjoyed another highly competitive 2026 IMSA campaign, winning the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with Fuoco and Mann and taking her first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position at Road America. The #21 crew had shown race-winning pace at Road America before penalties and incidents prevented them from converting that performance into a result, leaving Wadoux and her teammates determined to close the season on a high.
The Ferrari immediately demonstrated its competitiveness at Road Atlanta. Fuoco set a 1:19.870 in FP1 to place the #21 third fastest in GTD, before the crew again finished third in class in FP2 with a 1:19.300. Wadoux was the fastest of the three drivers in FP3, confirming the pace of the Ferrari ahead of qualifying, before Fuoco took over qualifying duties.
The Italian delivered an excellent lap of 1:18.835 to put the #21 second in GTD, missing out on pole position by just 0.161 seconds. With the Ferrari starting from the front row for the 10-hour endurance classic, the AF Corse crew had positioned itself perfectly for another strong Petit Le Mans result.
Fuoco started the #21 Ferrari for the opening stint, with the track still wet from earlier rain although no precipitation falling as the field completed the formation lap. Conditions changed rapidly from the start, however, with the surface drying quickly and teams already facing important tyre decisions.
The race began cleanly across all classes, and Fuoco immediately took advantage of the conditions to move the Ferrari into the GTD lead. He established himself as the fastest GTD car on track and began mixing with the GTD Pro traffic, maintaining a strong pace as the field settled into the opening stint.
The drying track prompted an early switch to slick tyres, with the first GTD pit stops coming as early as lap seven. Fuoco brought the Ferrari in for slicks and rejoined third in GTD, but immediately began recovering the lost positions, setting a 1:20.8 to establish a new fastest GTD lap.
He moved past the Vasser Sullivan Lexus for second and continued working through the GTD Pro traffic ahead, clearing the Pro Ferraris of Serra and Calado as he began closing on the leading #57 Winward Mercedes. Fuoco continued to gain tenths on the leader Ellis, keeping the #21 Ferrari at the front.
The first Full Course Yellow arrived after John Farano's LMP2 Oreca hit the tyre barriers approximately one hour into the race. When the GTD pit lane opened, Fuoco brought the Ferrari in and handed over to Simon Mann, who rejoined sixth in class when racing resumed approximately 10 minutes later.
Another FCY followed soon afterwards when the #2 United Autosports LMP2 of Fayer went into the gravel. Mann slipped to seventh after the restart, while another incident involving Yoluc, who hit an advertising board and scattered debris across the circuit, produced another caution.
Mann used the neutralisation to pit on lap 60 for fuel, rejoining tenth in GTD before recovering two positions once racing resumed. He moved to eighth and then continued gaining ground as the race settled back into green-flag running. Damage to the #12 Lexus of Montecalvo promoted Mann to sixth, and he soon moved into fifth.
With seven and a half hours remaining, another round of pit stops arrived, and Mann brought the #21 Ferrari in on lap 99. Wadoux climbed aboard, beginning her first stint in the race she had won one year earlier.
The Ferrari factory driver wasted no time establishing her pace, immediately setting a 1:20.322 to record the fastest lap of the race in GTD. Wadoux began climbing through the order and was soon running third in class, behind Triarsi and Yardley.
The next strategic swing came when Triarsi and Yardley both pitted under yellow. Wadoux stayed on track and inherited the GTD lead. When the race returned to green on lap 120, Wadoux settled into third overall among the GTD traffic, running in the 1:22s behind Albert Costa and Luca Stolz. The weather then began to change again, with rain drops appearing before the precipitation intensified significantly.
With teams preparing wet tyres, Wadoux brought the Ferrari into the pits on lap 125 to make the switch. Fuoco took over the car, but the timing of the stop was immediately affected by another incident, as the #37 Intersport Racing LMP2 went off and hit an advertising board, bringing out the Safety Car as the rain continued to fall.
Fuoco rejoined ninth in GTD, but another incident involving the #22 and #12 United Autosports Orecas at the final corner sent the race back under caution. With 6 hours and 20 minutes remaining, officials then brought out the red flag because of a lightning warning in the area.
After approximately 30 minutes under red flag conditions, the race resumed behind the Safety Car, with rain still falling and Fuoco ninth in GTD.
As soon as the pits reopened, Fuoco elected to remain on track while several rivals stopped, immediately gaining positions. The strategy gained him track position when the race returned to green on lap 141 with 5 hours and 38 minutes remaining. Fuoco launched an extraordinary charge; the Ferrari driver was several seconds per lap quicker than many of his rivals and rapidly worked his way through the GTD order, moving into second position before the race settled down again.
The changing conditions continued to dictate strategy, however, and the field soon had to return to slick tyres. Fuoco pitted on lap 144 and rejoined tenth, but quickly recovered to ninth.
Another caution followed after the crash involving Palou and Magnussen, with Magnussen's BMW GTP ending up against the barriers. Fuoco continued to climb once racing resumed, reaching fourth before another FCY was triggered when the #66 Gradient Racing entry of Jake Walker stopped after contact involving Schuring's Porsche and Fraga's Mustang.
The GTD field was allowed to pit on lap 164, with Fuoco bringing the #21 in and Mann taking over under caution. However, the race control review of earlier contact between the #21 Ferrari and Triarsi's Ferrari resulted in a drive-through penalty for the AF Corse crew.
Mann served the penalty on lap 170, rejoining tenth in GTD and nearly 30 seconds behind the main pack. Once again, however, the #21 Ferrari showed strong pace. Mann immediately produced several laps in the 1:20s before settling into the 1:21s, recovering ground as the track continued to evolve.
He remained ninth before another pit sequence allowed him to cycle up to seventh, while the team continued to manage the consequences of the penalty. A further FCY came with four hours remaining when Nick Yelloly's #93 Acura spun into the barriers.
When the pits opened, Mann made another stop, handing the Ferrari back to Wadoux with 3 hours and 45 minutes remaining. The field was once again compressed, giving the #21 an opportunity to recover from the earlier penalty.
Wadoux rejoined eighth and immediately settled into the fight as darkness began to approach. She initially ran in the 1:21.5 range while battling Rueda, slipping to tenth before finding additional pace and moving back into the 1:20s. She reclaimed ninth on lap 238 as Kern made his stop, continuing to pressure Rueda. When Patrese pitted, Wadoux moved to eighth, but another caution arrived when the #93 Acura crashed again, this time suffering terminal damage.
Fuoco returned to the car under Safety Car conditions with 2 hours and 50 minutes remaining. Because the #21 had pitted immediately before the caution, the Ferrari benefited from the timing and cycled up to second in GTD when the rest of the field stopped.
The race returned to green on lap 252, with Fuoco immediately engaged in traffic under now total darkness. He battled Lars Kern's Corvette and attempted a move down the start-finish straight, while Patrese in the Conquest Racing Ferrari also attempted to make a move. Fuoco closed the door, with Patrese squeezed and subsequently hitting the wall heavily. Another FCY followed, while the incident came under investigation. The #21 Ferrari temporarily moved into the lead of the Michelin Endurance Cup points, although another penalty was dooming.
When the race resumed with 2 hours and 17 minutes remaining, Fuoco was leading GTD, but the anticipated penalty soon arrived: the AF Corse Ferrari was handed a stop-and-go penalty of 60 seconds, possibly removing it from contention for the victory.
Fuoco served the penalty and rejoined tenth, now one lap down. Despite the setback, he immediately began pushing again, running in the 1:22s and hoping for another caution to bring the #21 back onto the lead lap.
That opportunity came with two hours remaining when the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche GTP of Van den Helm crashed heavily. Fuoco stayed out when the pits opened to recover the lap and then stopped one lap later, handing the Ferrari back to Wadoux for her final stint.
Wadoux returned to the track tenth but now back on the lead lap and firmly within the pack. Another immediate caution followed when the #2 United Autosports Oreca went into the gravel, but the race returned to green with 1 hour and 39 minutes remaining.
Wadoux settled into a consistent low-1:21s pace and began chasing Spencer Pumpelly's #44 Aston Martin. Her progress was briefly interrupted when Felipe Nasr crashed heavily with the #7 Porsche at Turn 1, bringing out another FCY.
With the pits open under caution, Wadoux stayed on track and took the GTD lead on lap 296, moving to an alternative strategy to gain crucial track position. The race restarted with one hour remaining, and the #21 Ferrari remained at the head of the field.
Wadoux immediately demonstrated her pace and produced a 1:21.5 before improving to 1:21.1 and began building a small advantage over Riccardo Pera behind her. By lap 310, the gap had grown beyond two seconds. Pera gradually closed again over the following laps, but Wadoux responded and re-established a margin. When Philip Ellis passed Pera for second, the Mercedes driver began matching Wadoux's pace, setting up a direct battle for the GTD lead.
The pressure intensified as Wadoux defended into Turn 1 while also negotiating prototype traffic. On lap 320, the two cars ran side-by-side in an extraordinary fight for the lead, with Ellis eventually completing the pass. Wadoux attempted to fight straight back with an outbraking move but ultimately had to slot into second.
Tthe #21 Ferrari however still had to make another fuel stop, having remained out of sequence during the previous caution; Wadoux brought the Ferrari into the pits from second place on lap 322, handing the car back to Fuoco for the final 32 minutes of the IMSA season.
Fuoco rejoined ninth and immediately went on the attack. He set a 1:20.8, one of the fastest laps in GTD at that stage, and began closing rapidly on Schandorff, reducing a seven-second deficit to just over five seconds. With 18 minutes remaining, another incident brought out the caution when Earl Bamber's #31 Cadillac hit the barriers at Turn 1 following contact with the #23 Aston Martin. The neutralisation gave Fuoco another opportunity to recover positions before the final restart.
With 10 minutes remaining, the green flag flew, but Fuoco initially lost a position to Sargent's Porsche and then found himself behind Kenton Koch's #023 Triarsi Ferrari. He quickly regained his rhythm, overtaking Koch and Schandorff before producing another 1:21.5. Fuoco then went after Sargent and completed the pass with one lap remaining. There was not enough time, however, to catch Farnbacher and Stolz ahead, and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari crossed the finish line sixth in GTD.
For Wadoux and the AF Corse crew, the final result did not fully reflect the pace they had demonstrated across the 10 hours. The #21 Ferrari had led the class on multiple occasions, including a sustained fight for victory in the final hour, while Wadoux herself had delivered a particularly strong pair of stints.
The sixth-place finish nevertheless secured second place for the #21 crew in the Michelin Endurance Cup standings, missing out on the title by only one point. Wadoux was classified sixth in the individual standings after missing one round of the campaign due to her European commitments.
The Petit Le Mans therefore closed another positive IMSA season for Wadoux, who once again proved capable of fighting at the front of one of the world's most competitive GT fields. Her 2026 campaign now turns back toward Europe, with the European Le Mans Series finale at Portimão on October 9-10 next on her schedule.
