The headline story of the 2026 season is the strength of the Hypercar class, which fields an unusually deep eight manufacturers: Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Aston Martin, Peugeot and newcomer Genesis.
Genesis is the eye-catching arrival — the first South Korean marque to race in endurance's top class. It comes as Porsche winds down its factory Hypercar programme, shifting its works focus to IMSA and Formula E. The result is one of the most varied grids top-flight sports car racing has seen in years.
The calendar holds at eight rounds, opening with the 6 Hours of Imola in April and closing at the 8 Hours of Bahrain in November. The centrepiece remains the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held on 13–14 June. In between sit further six-hour races plus the distance-set Qatar round and the eight-hour Bahrain finale.
The LMGT3 class continues alongside Hypercar for production-based GT machinery. New to the series? Start with what the World Endurance Championship is.