Parker Thompson’s 2026 season might look like a fresh chapter, but it is really the logical extension of a career built on doing difficult things well. The Canadian arrives in the FIA World Endurance Championship with a résumé that touches almost every corner of modern GT racing: a Porsche junior background, GT3 Cup titles fights, and IMSA GTD race wins with Lexus and Vasser Sullivan. In 2026, though, the focus has shifted to Europe, to BMW, and to one of the sharpest operations in the paddock.
Thompson joins Team WRT’s #69 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO line‑up alongside Anthony McIntosh and BMW works driver Dan Harper, in what BMW described pre‑season as a “clean‑sheet” crew for the new‑look LMGT3 grid. Imola’s 6 Hours provided an early validation. Across the Prologue, practice and qualifying, Thompson was consistently among BMW’s quickest GT drivers, topping internal speed charts and helping to turn a busy test week into a class‑winning platform on race day.
In the race itself, the #69’s victory owed less to headline stints than to the kind of calm, repeatable laps that define endurance success. Thompson handled traffic and tyre evolution with the assurance of someone used to GTD‑Pro intensity, giving WRT the freedom to commit to a straightforward strategy rather than chase miracles. That, in many ways, is his value: a Silver‑rated driver with factory‑level habits.
With BMW and WRT both targeting titles rather than cameos, Imola feels like a beginning rather than an outlier. For Parker Thompson, 2026 is already looking like the season where his North American grounding finds its natural European stage.
