Nick Yelloly returns to the Nürburgring 24 Hours as a past winner, but with a new mission: finally deliver victory for ABT Motorsport and Lamborghini after years of near-misses. Beyond the Nordschleife, the Brit is balancing a packed 2026 schedule across IMSA, ELMS and Formula 1 duties.

High expectations at the Ring

The 2020 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner teams up with Marco Mapelli and fellow 2020 — and 2023 — winner Nick Catsburg to go all‑in for victory at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, driving the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 for ABT Motorsport.

Last year, ABT Motorsport showed strong pace at the Nürburgring 24 Hours but ultimately fell short of victory, finishing fifth. “The team has shown great promise and good pace throughout the past years,” Yelloly tells GT REPORT.

With Mapelli and Catsburg alongside him this year, the goal is clear: “It’s about time to execute it,” he says. When asked whether anything other than a win would be acceptable, the former 2020 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner adds: “It’s acceptable, but obviously we want to be competing at the front.”

IMSA: Focus on Strategy and Improvement

Away from the Nordschleife, Yelloly’s focus quickly shifts back to his IMSA campaign with Acura/Meyer Shank Racing. At the 24 Hours of Daytona, Acura/Meyer Shank Racing finished fifth. Despite that, the Acura factory driver does not consider it a failed weekend. “I wouldn’t say we were disappointed, but it’s not where we want to be.”

The next IMSA round takes place at Sebring, and preparations for the upcoming weekend are already underway. “We felt we had a good test in Sebring,” Yelloly says. The focus of that test was mainly on understanding the new tyres: “We tried to learn about the new tyre a little bit more than we had for this year in IMSA.”

Yelloly and his team are determined to achieve a better result than in Daytona. “I think strategy execution is key in IMSA,” he explains. “Sebring ends at night, so you want to make sure your car is very strong there. We had a good result at this track last year, so I’m sure it will come together as we expect in the next race.”

Chasing the ELMS Title and Returning to Le Mans

While IMSA forms a key part of his season, endurance success in Europe remains just as important. Yelloly’s plans for the year are already set: “I’ll do ELMS again with Inter Europol, and I’ll race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well.”

Last year, he won the LMP2 class at Le Mans together with Jakub Śmiechowski and Tom Dillmann, driving for the Polish team Inter Europol Competition. “I’m looking forward to going back to Le Mans and defending our win from last year,” says the current Le Mans winner proudly.

The goals for the ELMS season are equally clear: “We were second last year and we were strong in all the races. We want to fight for the title again and get that championship for the whole crew back in Poland.”

Involvement in Formula 1

Alongside his racing commitments, Yelloly continues to play a role behind the scenes in Formula 1 with the Aston Martin team. “I do a lot of the simulator work,” he explains to GT REPORT. He elaborates: “At the moment we’re working on different deployment strategies, chassis work and overall balance to make sure we’re as efficient as possible with what we have.”

Formula 1 is in completely new territory after this year’s major regulation changes, and many fans have voiced criticism. The Aston Martin test and sim driver shares his view: “It’s very different, but at the end of the day the cars are still very fast compared to everything else in the world. It also mixes things up a little bit.”

Aston Martin itself is currently in a difficult position. The team has brought in legendary designer Adrian Newey, but the switch from Mercedes to Honda power has been problematic, and the team has struggled even to finish races. Still, Yelloly believes that once the engine issues are resolved, Aston Martin will have a strong package: “I think we will be competitive, but things take time. I have no doubt the whole team and the whole crew will be running at the front at some point.”