TL;DR
Event: Lone Star Le Mans, the Texas round of the FIA World Endurance Championship
Dates: Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6, 2026 (Labor Day weekend)
Location: Circuit of The Americas, 9201 Circuit of The Americas Blvd, Austin, TX 78617
Main event: A six-hour race on Sunday, September 6
Friday: Free Practice 1 and 2 | Saturday: Free Practice 3, qualifying, and Hyperpole
Tickets: Three-day Grounds Pass from $79, single-day tickets starting at $31
BOGO: Buy one ticket, get one free with code EXPLOREATXBOGO (expires September 1st) or click the ticket button and BOGO is automatically applied
Free warm-up event: Fan Zone, Saturday August 15 at Branch Park Pavilion in Mueller. RSVP free
What is Lone Star Le Mans?
It is the Texas stop on the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar, and the only one the series makes in North America all season.
The cars and teams coming to Austin are the same ones that ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in June. Same machinery, same drivers, same factory programs, compressed into a six-hour showdown at COTA.
Two classes run at the same time. Hypercar is the top prototype category. LMGT3 is built on production cars you would recognize on the road. They share the track at very different speeds, which means the leaders spend six hours threading through traffic.
Each car is shared by three drivers who rotate through the race. Nobody drives the whole thing. Pit stops become the sport: fuel, tires, and a full driver change in seconds, then the car is gone. It is a team result, not a solo one.
And the finish is not about a single fast lap. It is about who covers the most ground in six hours without breaking.
The history behind the name
The 24 Hours of Le Mans started in 1923 on public roads outside the town of Le Mans in northwest France. It is the oldest endurance sports car race in the world, and it is still running.
The premise was unusual for its time. Early cars broke constantly, so the organizers built a race that asked a different question than who is fastest. Run flat out for a full day and night, through darkness and weather and whatever the road does to you, and see what is still moving at the end. Durability decided it.
That turned Le Mans into a proving ground. Disc brakes, aerodynamic bodywork, fuel injection, and hybrid systems were all hard-tested there before they reached production cars. A century later, manufacturers still show up because winning proves something a marketing budget cannot.
The FIA World Endurance Championship launched in 2012 and built a global season around that tradition, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as its centerpiece and seven other rounds across the calendar. Races run from six to twenty-four hours.
Austin's round is the newer chapter. WEC first came to COTA in 2013, the Lone Star Le Mans name arrived in 2014, and the race has been a regular calendar fixture again since 2024. The name carries because it is the same championship and the same lineage, run on Texas asphalt.
Tickets
Three-day Grounds Pass, $79. All three days, general admission around the circuit, and fan activations across the property.
Single-day tickets. Friday for practice, Saturday for qualifying, or Sunday for the race.
Paddock Pass, $100 add-on. Behind the scenes where the teams work. Requires a race ticket.
Le Mans Spirit Club. Official WEC hospitality above pit lane.
Car Corral. Includes a parade lap of the 20-turn circuit in your own car.
Student offer. Free ticket for students. UT, ACC, St. Edward's, and Texas State all qualify.
Troops on Track. Discounted tickets for active duty and retired military.
Parking is sold separately and every vehicle needs a COTA-issued pass.
Free Fan Zone, August 15 in Mueller
Ahead of race weekend, WEC is bringing a piece of the event into town. The Fan Zone is Saturday, August 15 at Branch Park Pavilion, 2201 Aldrich St in Mueller, starting at 10 AM. Free and open to the public.
What is there:
Racing simulators with professional-style rigs and a leaderboard
Pit stop demonstration showing the speed and precision behind a real stop
Mini-Z Racing Challenge with replica WEC team RC cars on a custom course
Build-a-car Derby where you design, build, and race a miniature car
Kids racing obstacle course
Manufacturer and team displays with race equipment and memorabilia
Merch, giveaways, live DJ, and lawn games
Schedule
Friday, September 4: Free Practice 1 and 2. The quietest day and the easiest one for walking the grounds and finding your sightlines.
Saturday, September 5: Free Practice 3, then qualifying and Hyperpole for LMGT3, followed by Hypercar. Hyperpole is a shootout where the quickest cars from qualifying go back out to fight for the front rows.
Sunday, September 6: The six-hour race.
Session start times have not been published yet. Check the official event page closer to the weekend.
What else is on site
It is more than the racing. Expect food and beverage, fan activations across the grounds, and team and manufacturer displays through all three days, included with a Grounds Pass. COTA is the only FIA Grade 1 certified circuit in the United States, which is the top rating in the sport and the reason Austin gets world championship events at all. The track runs 3.4 miles across 20 turns with a blind uphill climb into Turn 1.
FAQ
Is this the same as the 24 Hours of Le Mans? No. Both are rounds of the same championship. The 24 Hours of Le Mans runs in France in June for a full day. Lone Star Le Mans is the Austin round and runs six hours.
Do I need a ticket for all three days? No. Single-day tickets are available. If you only want the race, buy Sunday.
Is it family friendly? Yes. A Grounds Pass lets you move freely around the circuit. Bring hearing protection for kids.
What should I bring? Sunscreen, water, a hat, and closed-toe shoes. Early September in Austin is hot and general admission means a lot of walking. Check COTA's bag policy first.
Where should I watch from? Move around. Turn 1, the esses through Turns 3 to 6, and the Turn 11 hairpin each show you something different.