Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will not be absent from the 2026 IMSA paddock, as the team is set to begin a multi-year, full-season partnership with McLaren in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD Pro class. The newly formed program will field the No. 59 McLaren GT3 EVO and is set to debut during testing next week at Daytona with its driver lineup.

For Team RLL, this venture marks a rebirth of their GT efforts, having most recently campaigned a BMW-backed entry in 2022 before moving to the GTP class. Over the past three seasons, RLL helped BMW launch its LMDh program, earning three race victories, including one at Indianapolis last season. Earlier this year, it was announced that Team RLL would part ways with BMW as its IMSA LMDh representative. Now, with the move to McLaren, the change officially concludes RLL’s partnership with BMW—a relationship that spanned from 2009 through 2025.

McLaren is also experiencing a resurgence through this GTD Pro effort after being absent from the IMSA grid in 2025. The manufacturer last competed in the series in 2024 with Pfaff Motorsports, though it has maintained a strong presence in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

“As someone who has always valued the rich history of motorsport, partnering with a brand as iconic as McLaren is truly exciting,” team owner Bobby Rahal said in the release. “The Rahal legacy began with my father Mike’s passion for sports car racing, and to now launch this new chapter with such a storied partner is something we take tremendous pride in.”

(Image courtesy to RLL/McLaren/IMSA)