Winward Racing capped off a historic campaign in dramatic fashion, securing its first Motul Petit Le Mans victory and wrapping up a third consecutive Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) championship at the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale. Drivers Philip Ellis, Russell Ward, and endurance co-driver Indy Dontje steered the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 across the finish line to seal both the race victory and the class crown.
The championship was effectively decided early in the race as its main title rivals hit trouble. The #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, which entered the weekend 116 points behind, was forced into an overnight engine change that required Zacharie Robichon to start from pit lane; the car fell more than 60 laps behind before eventually retiring. Meanwhile, second-place contender Turner Motorsport suffered a race-ending blow just 30 minutes after the green flag when Robby Foley pitted the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO with a water-pressure issue that proved terminal.
Despite locking up the season title early, the fight for the race win remained unsettled until the final minutes. Ellis withstood intense pressure from Riccardo Pera in the #912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R before passing Lilou Wadoux for the lead on Lap 320. Wadoux was piloting the #21 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO — a car that had quickly rebounded from a stop-plus-60-second penalty incurred during Antonio Fuoco’s stint.
A late full-course caution ultimately relieved the GTD leaders’ dire fuel concerns, allowing Ellis to manage energy through the final restart and secure Winward’s maiden Petit Le Mans trophy.
“I think I might have yelled at my engineer trying to get more information out of him,” Ellis said.
“No, It was super tight. Obviously the yellow saved a lot of the cars that were on the same strategy. Until the yellow came out, we knew we had no chance of making it. With the yellow, there was a very slim chance of making it. We had to have the prototypes lap us for one.
#57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
“I had saved fuel on the last five or six laps after the restart, and that despite having the 9, 12 up behind us, having a bit more energy than us, so they could push a bit more, gamble on that extra lap, whereas we couldn’t.
“I was on the radio telling my engineer I’m just going to stay out and hope that either we have a yellow or it’s going to be enough till the end.
“Yeah, I was a little bit lucky at some points with the prototypes coming through where I could save a bit more fuel, remake it to the end. Glad it worked out that way.”
The victory completed a remarkable second-half surge for Ellis and team owner-driver Ward, with Dontje joining for the endurance rounds. Over the season’s final five races, the team recorded four victories and a runner-up finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 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 clinched the manufacturer crown for Mercedes-AMG. Ward credited the team’s mechanics for establishing the approach needed to complete the run after the team was caught up in an incident at Watkins Glen.
“Hats off to the dedicated group of people,” Ward said. “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.
“From our standpoint we thought the race was done, let’s pack this thing up, move on to the next. Those guys were like, ‘Hell, no. We need to get out there and capitalize on points.’ They really set the tone for the second half of the season. We can’t quit, keep pushing as hard as we can.
“We went on a five-race streak with podiums, four wins and a second in Indianapolis, which very well could have been a win as well. Could have been five wins in a row. That really just set us up.”
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