A busy early-December delivered a dramatic opener to the 24H Series Middle East Trophy and a string of major updates from manufacturers and teams preparing for 2026. With winter racing now fully underway, here’s the quick look back – and what lies ahead.

24H Series Middle East Trophy – 24H Malaysia: Origine steals late victory

Sepang delivered drama under the lights as the Michelin 24H Series Middle East Trophy began with the new Michelin 12H Malaysia. The race ended in a late twist when the #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R received a four-lap penalty for minimum drive time infringements, handing victory to the #87 Origine Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R. The Chinese squad inherited the win ahead of yet another Porsche team Absolute Racing, with the #69 Audi R8 LMS GT3 of Continental Racing charging from a pitlane start to third at the finish two laps ahead of the penalised Herberth Porsche in fourth.

Red Camel-Jordans.nl secured the 992 class, Modena Motorsports took 992-Am, and Cerny Motorsport overcame early setbacks to win GT4. It was a strong debut for the Middle East Trophy season and sets up the next round at Yas Marina in January.

Toyota unveils long-awaited GR GT3

Toyota finally revealed the GR GT3, a clean-sheet GT3 project developed in parallel with the GR GT road car and built around low weight, rigidity and aero efficiency. Featuring Toyota’s first all-aluminium body frame and a new twin-turbo V8, the car previews a unified motorsport-first philosophy ahead of its planned debut in 2027.

Our complete tech analysis breaks down the engineering and why this development path matters. Click through for the full deep dive.

Bathurst 12 Hour grid surges past 30 cars

The 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour entry list has already passed 30 cars for the first time since 2020. Corvette heads to Mount Panorama for the first time, McLaren returns to the outright fight, and several European squads join a strong Australian and Asian contingent including STM and Wall Racing.

Full story available on GT REPORT.

BMW M Team WRT confirms 2026 IMSA and WEC line-ups

BMW M Team WRT locked in its full 2026 Hypercar and GTP crews, retaining all core drivers across both programmes. The updated BMW M Hybrid V8 has begun running at Daytona as the Belgian team prepares for its first IMSA season alongside its established WEC effort.

Read all line-up details in the full announcement.

Manthey finalises squads for IMSA 2026

Manthey announced its complete two-car roster for its first IMSA Endurance Cup campaign. Grello enters GTD Pro with Klaus Bachler, Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller, while Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Morris Schuring lead the GTD effort.

The team’s regulars outline their expectations in the full article.

From the archive: Valkyrie AMR-LMH begins its rise

Aston Martin’s Valkyrie AMR-LMH made its long-delayed competitive debut in 2025, returning the brand to the top class across both WEC and IMSA. Born from the radical road-going concept and revived after years of uncertainty, the V12-powered Hypercar has begun edging toward the front of the field as development accelerates.

Our in-depth feature explores how the project was saved and what defines the car’s unique technical identity. A strong read if you want context heading into 2026.

Up next: Gulf 12 Hours and Asian Le Mans kick off December finale

This weekend the Gulf 12 Hours returns with a 24-car GT3 field at Yas Marina, featuring GetSpeed, Garage 59, Inception Racing, Winward Racing, Tigani Motorsport and several strong Pro-Am newcomers. With varied line-ups and multiple former winners on the grid, the 15th edition promises another tight Abu Dhabi showdown under the lights just one week after the Formula 1 World Championship finale at the same track.

At Sepang, the Asian Le Mans Series begins its 2025–26 season with a massive 48-car entry. Sixteen LMP2s headline the field in the largest prototype grid in series history, supported by ten LMP3s and 22 GT entries from seven manufacturers. With Le Mans invitations up for grabs and extreme heat expected, the pair of four-hour races should give a clear early picture of who will contend for the titles.

Plenty still to come as December delivers the final major endurance battles of the year.