Due to the clash between the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, Manthey Racing is forced to make driver line-up changes. It delivers Porsche ace Loek Hartog his IMSA debut in the ‘Grello’ Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

Manthey’s regular IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup drivers will be unavaible, as Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Morris Schuring committed to Spa-Francorchamps. The outfit from Meuspath has drafted in experienced factory drivers Michael Christensen and Richard Lietz, with Dutch talent Hartog set to make his IMSA debut at Watkins Glen.

While it’s Hartog’s first outing in the championship, he’s already familiar with Manthey Racing. The German squad knows what he can deliver, as he competed for the team at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans and during the winter of 2025-26 in the Asian Le Mans Series. Hartog went into the season with an FIA Gold license and has already shown that he’s ready to take on the Pro class by winning the Porsche Cup – after a mammoth season of 28 races.

The 23-year-old and Christensen will join Klaus Bachler on the line-up of the Grello, which most recently claimed victory in the GTD Pro class at Sebring. Lietz will partner with Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera on the #912 Porsche, entered in the GTD category.

Heinrich chooses IMSA over Spa 24H

While the entry list for the Six Hours of the Glen is not published yet, Laurin Heinrich will be on it for sure. The German driver was initially on the entry list of the 24H of Spa, but dropped out of the Schumacher CLRT line-up as he’s confirmed for a full IMSA GTP season after all with JDC-Miller.

CLRT confirmed that Fred Makowiecki, former Porsche Works Driver and current Alpine WEC driver, will fill in for him. He completes the line-up with Ayhancan Güven and Matt Campbell in the #22 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo in the Ardennes.