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International Motor Sports Association    Lamborghini Super Trofeo series

International Motor Sports Association 

super trofeo series

 

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photos courtesy Imsa

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)

International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, as well as four one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Cadillac WTR Back on Top After Spirited Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America

Inter Europol Claims Second Straight LMP2 Win


 

August 2, 2026

By Holly Cain

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – In a high-spirited, six-hour battle at one of the world’s most renowned road courses, Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque and American Ricky Taylor guided the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) to overall victory in Sunday’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix.


 

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s visit to Road America expanded from two hours, 40 minutes to six hours and the No. 10 car prevailed on an afternoon featuring major championship implications and aggressive high-stakes racing from the drop of the green flag to wave of the yellow and checkered.

 

The winning Cadillac claimed a hard-earned victory under those yellow flag conditions leading the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 co-driven by Laurin Heinrich, Tijmen van der Heim and Kaylen Frederick across the finish line.

 

The No 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac gave the iconic IMSA team its second podium position with a third-place effort turned in by drivers Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz. It’s the most successful weekend for the legendary, Wayne Taylor-owned GTP organization in two seasons.

 

This six-hour event was action-packed all afternoon on the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course in the scenic Wisconsin countryside. The final two positions on the podium were only decided in the final 10 minutes in one of the more emotionally fueled outcomes on the years. 

 

An impactful ninth – and final – full-course caution flag of the day flew for contact between then second-place No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 driven by Kevin Estre and the third-place No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac driven by championship leader Jack Aitken. 


 

The cars collided while racing for second place overall, with the No. 31 car going into the Turn 1 wall and the momentum from that push propelling the No. 6 into the Turn 3 gravel trap. Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center. However, race results will remain unofficial pending a comprehensive review of the incident. 


 

This put the race under a full-course caution to the finish, and WTR enjoyed its first GTP win since 2024 in Detroit. 

 

Albuquerque put the No. 10 into the lead with about an hour and a half remaining and acknowledged he had to be on top of his game with Estre and Aitken chasing him down in the closing minutes of the race.

 

“Today was just a special day,” said Albuquerque, who now has 14 career IMSA wins and two at Road America.

 

“This feels way more special than others because of how much we overcame and being together as a team,” he added. “We’ve been working hard and when you come from the bottom to the top and need to prove to everybody you can still do it, it’s a great feeling.”

 

“So many things happened,” Albuquerque said of the day’s contest. “After restarts, yellow brings more yellow. … I saw in the mirror the 6-car [Estre] completely sideways and thought he was going to collect me, but I was lucky there. I was just so focused on my race even if at times, I had to breathe. I never had it in the pocket, it was always focus on the next corner, no mistakes.”

 

This is the 54th class win for Wayne Taylor Racing, the sixth most all-time on the IMSA team wins list. It is Ricky Taylor’s 33rd career IMSA win, second most among active drivers – one behind his teammate and younger brother, Jordan Taylor.

 

“For all of us it is a big relief,” the two-time IMSA champion Taylor said. “Since changing manufacturers (from Acura to Cadillac) we haven’t performed at the level I think the expectations were. Confidence was dropping and everybody starts doubting themselves, but I think the important thing is the team never blamed each other, we just started working harder and harder.

 

“And [today] the way the race went, this wasn’t a lucky one, the team did everything right.''


 

Aitken entered the weekend with a 200-plus point championship lead but unofficially is only 108 up on Heinrich with two races remaining in the season. Heinrich’s championship hopes remain alive in those two races, which he’ll split between JDC-Miller at Indianapolis and Porsche Penske Motorsport at Motul Petit Le Mans.  

  

“I said to some people on the podium it was like a second birthday,” the 24-year-old German said with a smile. “But it may sound like it was gifted and it was not. In the end, everyone around you loses your head and you manage to keep it, that’s endurance racing. You have to drive it over the line. Great team effort.

 

“It was a good day obviously,” he added. “The [championship] lead of Jack [Aitken] was quite big with three races to go but it’s never over until it’s over and now this is significant. Results like this change things quite a bit, but I would be lying if I said I was hoping it was less than 108 points. That’s still substantial with two races to go.

 

“I won’t give up. I will push hard and do the last two races with two different teams.”


 

Inter Europol Competition Wins LMP2  

On a day with so much action and suspense, the race-winning Inter Europol Competition team was calm, cool and collected after the checkered flag – the team’s drivers insisting they were confident in their winning chances despite an afternoon of obstacles to overcome and a talented field to best.

 

The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 co-driven by Americans Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg and Frenchman Tom Dillmann claimed the team’s second win of the season leading more than half the race and ultimately besting the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA driven by Americans George Kurtz and Toby Sowery and Brit Alex Quinn.


 

TDS Racing scored its first podium of the year with the trio of Canadian Tobi Lutke, Dane David Heinemeier Hansson and Swiss driver Mathias Beche aboard the No. 11 ORECA. 

 

The winning No. 43 car led 83 of the race’s 149 laps, taking the lead for good with less than 30 minutes remaining, prevailing on a restart that featured a three-wide challenge for the lead.

 

“My two teammates did a great job,” Dillmann said. “We were a bit unlucky at times. On one yellow, we were leading by 20 seconds at the time. But at the end we had the race under control. It was not a gamble for us. We saw a chance of a yellow coming was higher than not. But we controlled the race, a lot of restarts obviously but a lot of pace in the car to control it today.

 

“We were tight [on fuel]. I don’t necessarily want to say if we would make it with the yellow or not. There was a lot going on but we really had good pace in the car. We were strong. Of the four wins we had, for me, this was the one we were most dominant. Today was about executing.’’

 

The result was indicative of a fierce championship with Inter Europol’s Clarke and Dillmann now trailing Kurtz and Quinn by only 36 points in the standings with two races remaining to settle with two races remaining.

 

 

 

Pfaff Delivers First IMSA Lamborghini Temerario GT3 Win at Road America

Winward Mercedes-AMG Continues Winning Ways in GTD


 

August 2, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Pfaff Motorsports scored an emotional Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class victory Sunday at the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, claiming both the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and North American race win for the new-for-2026 Lamborghini Temerario GT3.


 

Pfaff played a key part in the development of Lamborghini’s latest production-based racer, and their effort was rewarded when Lamborghini Squadra Corse factory driver Andrea Caldarelli guided the No. 9 Pfaff entry he shared with Sandy Mitchell over the finish line out front after six hours of competition at the renowned Wisconsin road course.


 

Nick Tandy and Harry King finished second in the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), while Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg took third in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in a race that ended under caution after a late incident.


 

Based out of suburban Toronto, Pfaff is one of the WeatherTech Championship’s most popular teams, with its cars often sporting plaid-themed liveries to honor the organization’s Canadian heritage. At Road America, the Pfaff Lamborghini matched the race title sponsor with a bright and updated red and white livery. 


 

Pfaff won back-to-back IMSA championships in 2021 (GTD) and ’22 (GTD PRO) in association with Porsche, but the team had endured a 36-race winless streak dating to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March 2023.


 

An improved brake package for the Temerario introduced for this race gave the drivers more confidence and helped produce the first IMSA victory for the model.


 

“I’m proud of everybody at Pfaff Motorsports and Lamborghini,” said Pfaff Motorsports general manager Steve Bortolotti. “It was a great weekend for our partners at Motul, and I’m thankful to all the partners who stuck with us through the dark days. It’s been a long time and I’m proud of everyone at Pfaff Motorsports for digging deep.


 

“Also really proud of everyone at Lamborghini,” he added. “This is a brand-new car they developed completely in-house. I said from the start at my first time with the car in June of last year at the first rollout it was incredible how it ran so much issue-free, and it continues to. The reliability of this car is incredible, and the pace with come with time. I’m just so proud of everyone.”


 

Caldarelli, who earned his second IMSA race win Sunday at Road America – and surprisingly, his first since the 2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona – paid tribute to the work put in by Lamborghini Squadra Corse.


 

“I’m coming into my 10th year with Lamborghini, so I feel like I am part of the walls back in the office,” he smiled. “It feels really special because I saw where we were literally 12 months ago, and to come here and win, it’s insane to think about what in 12 months the guys in Italy have done. We don’t have to underestimate how hard it is for a small group of people, because at the end of the day, we are not as big as other manufacturers. 


 

“This result really shows how dynamic we are and how we really care about this project.”


 

It was the first IMSA race win for Mitchell, who’s raced intermittently in the WeatherTech Championship but was only making his 11th start in his first full season. 


 

“The Porsches and the Corvettes were super quick, and we were just trying to hang on to the back of them,” he said. “But we had a couple absolutely amazing strategy calls from the guys at Pfaff. A couple times we managed to dive in before yellows, we got absolutely everything right, and a little luck fell our way as well. Consistency is a real strength of the Temerario at the moment.”


 

A tough day for GTD PRO points leaders Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi that resulted in an 11th place finish tightened up the standings considerably with three races to go. The Paul Miller Racing BMW duo lead Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg by 15 points, with Tandy and King another 16 markers back.


 

GTD: Winward’s Third 2026 Win Helps Pursuit of Third Straight Title

Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) championship the last two years. But they haven’t shown the same kind of relentless consistency in 2026.


 

Still, the duo’s second consecutive race win and third of the ’26 campaign at the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America put the ledger back on the positive side for the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. 


 

In what’s now an intense championship battle, they’re unofficially just 24 points behind championship leader Eduardo ‘Dudu’ Barrichello. Barrichello finished just 15th at Road America in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO with Tom Gamble and Zacharie Robichon.


 

Winward’s other wins came at the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway and the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. 


 

“If we can avoid other competitors’ poor driving and crashing early in these endurance races and taking us out so we can have some semi-clean racing, this is what this team is capable of,” said Ward, who also co-owns Winward Racing with his father, Bryce.


 

“We ran this race like an endurance race, really focused on the on the final pit stop and making sure that we push the fuel all the way to the end as far as we could,” he added. “Then at the end, Philip kind of jumped a couple of people, so I think it’s just a combination of how good the Mercedes-AMG is around this place and good strategy on our part.”


 

Ward and Ellis have now combined for 14 WeatherTech Championship race wins in addition to their two championships. At Road America, as usual for IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races, they were joined by Indy Dontje.


 

“I think we struggled a bit with our car balance and pace, and people tried different things to get in front of us on pit stops,” Ellis said. “That made it a lot more difficult today, but the crew had perfect pit stops “The crew had perfect pit stop and Russell and Indy did a perfect job as well keeping the car in one piece while also making up positions on track and taking opportunities when they arrived.”


 

A strategy play helped Triarsi Competizione ascend to second in the No. 023 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, with Robert Megennis joining 2025 Road America GTD winners Kenton Koch and Onofrio Triarsi for their best result of the season. They pitted with 77 minutes to go, but three late full-course cautions ensured they had enough fuel and energy to make the flag.


 

Car Blanche secured its second podium in as many GTD starts, with the trio of Valentin Hasse Clot, Marius Fossard and Trenton Estep sharing the No. 068 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. Initially listed fourth on the unofficial results, the No. 068 car will be placed third when provisional results are posted, ahead of the No. 81 DragonSpeed Corvette Z06 GT3.R, as a post-race review by race control revealed that the No. 81 did not complete its pass prior to the race's final caution. 


 

IMSA’s GT classes will have the spotlight to themselves for the only time in 2026 at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, set for August 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway. The next round for all classes of the WeatherTech Championship is the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks, September 18-20 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

 

 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

LMP2, GTD PRO, GTD Winners Press Conference Transcript

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 2, 2026) - Transcript from the post-race press conference for Sunday's Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America.


 

LMP2 - Winners

No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 - Tom Dillmann, Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg


 

GTD PRO - Winners

No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 - Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell


 

GTD - Winners

No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3


 

THE MODERATOR: We have our GTD PRO and LMP2 winners here. We'll start with GTD Pro, we have Sandy Mitchell and Andrea Caldarelli. Sandy, congratulations. First win here in IMSA for the Temerario. What does it mean for you and the team to get that win here for that new car? 


 

SANDY MITCHELL: Yeah, it's absolutely massive. I think there's so much work behind the scenes throughout this year as well as developing the car last year. Yeah, continuing that development into this year, whether that's at the race events but also testing in the background. 


 

Yeah, just super proud of everyone at Lamborghini and Pfaff as well for continuing to just keep pushing forward with the car. Of course, it's been challenging at times. It's never easy to come into such a competitive championship like IMSA and be competitive straightaway. To have a P2 and P1 at this point in the championship is more than we would have expected. 


 

So yeah, just super happy for everyone that's involved in the program because it's been a real big effort. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Andrea, your thoughts on the racing that took place throughout six hours here at Road America. 


 

ANDREA CALDARELLI: Well, we cannot spice it up more than that. I don't know what we can do more than that (smiling). Six is enough. 


 

I mean, it's been I think a great race. We knew last year this place deserve an endurance race. It was bit of a chaos last year with a lot of penalties and so on. Since then I feel that everything started to chill out a little bit more with the driving. 


 

I mean, I really love this series for this. You have really to go out there and be smart with your strategy, but at the same time also having good skill in traffic and fighting. It really, really means a lot for us, this win, because it's such an iconic race. For a new car, the first year, it's really, really special. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Our LMP2 winners, Jeremy Clarke, Bijoy Garg and Tom Dillmann. 


 

Jeremy, back-to-back wins, a lot of momentum here. What did it take to pull it off today? 


 

JEREMY CLARKE: Yeah, I think the team's worked really hard keep the car in the window we needed to be fast, bring home victories at the end of the day. 


 

I have think continued to build on that momentum we had a couple weeks ago. Had a really good test here. Just continued to build on that momentum. 


 

Came in, qualifying wasn't exactly what we wanted, but we were still in the fight. I think all three of us put together a great race today. Had a little bit of bad luck at the beginning, but it worked out for us in the end. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Bijoy, your thoughts on what was a pretty eventful six hours. 


 

BIJOY GARG: Yeah, it was quite crazy. Obviously you can pass decently here just because of the straight. In the end, track position turned out to be a lot more important than we thought. It was always a pretty hard fight for position. 


 

Yeah, I mean, we got a couple calls that didn't go our way. A couple yellows didn't go our way either.


 

Ultimately that's part of the game in IMSA. It's never over till it's over. You always have to stay motivated and just remind yourself that a yellow can come your way at any time really. 


 

Yeah, in the end it's never over till it's over. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Tom, there were some yellows that didn't go your way. The last couple yellows, how big were those as a help? 


 

TOM DILLMANN: Yeah, the work we did in the test paid dividend today. My two teammates did a great job. I think we had the best bronze and the best silver in the field today. We were a bit unlucky at times. Especially with the yellow, we were leading by 20 seconds, got a bad yellow. 


 

Yeah, in the end we had the race under control. It was not a gamble for us. We saw the chance of a yellow coming was higher than not. So yeah, I could control the race, a lot of restarts obviously with all the yellows. Yeah, I think we had a lot of pace in the car to control it today. 


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll go to questions. 


 

Q. Andrea, the first half of the race seemed to be dominated by the two Porsches. How did you get into a position where you were able to control it to the end?


 

ANDREA CALDARELLI: Yeah, I think the Porsches, they looked very fast, even yesterday in qualifying. At the beginning we were just holding position, then we got couple of good calls on the pit. There was one yellow, the last one, that we changed from Sandy to myself, which we pit and the yellow came just couple of laps after. That gave us couple of, like, another position. 


 

Then there was one yellow more that actually I'm really proud with the team and the communication we had because I was out there, because we were off sync with the strategy. They told me in the beginning to save energy during the yellow, then the end they said push, push, push, because there were people in the pit lane. 


 

I found the Prototype in front of me which was going really slow. I push him hard to speed up, flashing, almost hitting him behind - not hitting him, but almost (smiling). That actually gave us the P1 that we kept until the end. We crossed the line and all the cars came out of the pit behind me. 


 

I think was a bit of luck, but the same time was a massive strategy job from the guys. 


 

Q. The podium at Detroit was a big surprise. How big of a surprise is this, especially being an endurance win, given some of the early season struggles?


 

ANDREA CALDARELLI: I think this is more surprising than Detroit, to be honest. Detroit was obviously street track. First time actually we went in a street circuit with the Temerario. We didn't know what was coming. It was a bit of an eventful race. Yeah, it could happen. We were not super quick in terms of pace, but it was a good race. 


 

This one I think feels more special because we did everything right. Even though we didn't come here for testing like most of the other teams couple weeks before, we were bit behind in qualifying, but we work really hard overnight, and we found let's say we try the setup that work in the race, but we didn't know if it was going to work. 


 

I think we had everything. We had strategy. We had pace. We had car that actually doesn't break down. It's a massive thing that we don't have to forget on the first year of a car, we don't have any reliability issue. This one feels especially for an endurance race, which is the first victory for a Temerario in an endurance race, it's very special. 


 

Q. Sandy, could you assess the new brake package you had this weekend.


 

SANDY MITCHELL: Yeah, it's part of the sort of small upgrade package that we're planning to roll out in worldwide for the car in the races to come during the rest of the season. Yeah, it seemed to work well this weekend. We were happy with how that went. 


 

Yeah, I think it's going in the right direction, but I think it's one small part of a lot of things this weekend that we improved as we are race by race learning a lot as a team and drivers and everything. 


 

Yeah, it was a really good step forward, as Andrea says. We didn't quite have the pace in qualifying, but at the end of the race there, once the tire were a bit more used, we had really good pace at the end. We were able to hold off the cars behind. 


 

Yeah, this result feels a lot more special than Detroit because I feel like, yeah, the calls from the team were incredible all the race. We got every yellow, every call right. We were always putting ourselves back into the top three, top five. That really made the difference today. 


 

Q. Andrea, you have so much history with Lamborghini. What does getting the first win for the Temerario project mean to you personally? How do you think the folks back in Italy will react to this?


 

ANDREA CALDARELLI: Yeah, I'm coming into my 10th year in Lamborghini. I feel like I am a part of the wall back in Italy of the office (smiling). 


 

It feels really special because I saw where we were last year, literally one year ago, 12 months ago. To come here and win, it's insane to think about in 12 months what the guys in Italy have done because, yeah, we don't have to underestimate how hard is for a small group of people. 


 

At the end of the day, we are not as big as other manufacturers. To start the project from zero, knowing that anything can go wrong and good. You never know with a new car. To react all the time, when there is a problem, and this result really show how dynamic we are and how we really care about this project. 


 

Q. Tom, I wanted to ask you, you were in the car at the very end, I thought there was some concern on fuel, had not for the yellow flags at the end. Can you talk about that.


 

TOM DILLMANN: Yeah, we were tight, but I don't necessarily want to say if we would make it without the yellow or not (smiling). 


 

Q. Fair enough. The 22 had just spoken about how confident they were about kind of coming back through. Then for the race to end the way that it did, I mean, how chippy would you say the day was in your class racing? There was a lot going on.


 

TOM DILLMANN: There was a lot going on. We really had good pace in the car. We worked really well last week. We were very strong on fuel, as well. 


 

So to me out of the four wins we have is the one I felt we are the most dominant. Let's say I felt like we had our hand on the field today. Yeah, it was about executing. You never know. You need so many parameters to work well to win these kind of races. 


 

But yeah, when you have the pace, it helps. 


 

Q. You were the main character in developing this car. You just told the other colleague that was really hard work. Did you imagine your first success would be in a six-hour race after all that you did?


 

ANDREA CALDARELLI: You know what, I believe more that it was an endurance race than a sprint. The reason why was because we did not have any reliability issue, almost zero, since the beginning. Power train-wise, I don't reckon we had any failure after test three probably, which when we start developing the LMDh, obviously I was part of it. It was more complicated. I know what it means to put down a power train from zero. This power train, it was never put on a race car before. 


 

I would say, yes, I was expecting more that a good result was coming on an endurance race more than a sprint. 


 

Q. Tom, you guys were hit with a couple of penalties, obviously caught out by the yellow flag. Is it somewhat sweeter that you got this victory after overcoming things like that during the race?


 

TOM DILLMANN: We had an emergency service unfortunately. That was part of the bad luck with the yellow. We had to (indiscernible). I had a little issue in the pit stop. That made us lose a bit of track position. But yeah, like I said, I feel like we had so much pace today that made our life easy, yeah. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys. We are joined by our GTD winners, Indy Dontje, Russell Ward and Philip Ellis. 


 

Indy, seems like a lot of the times, seven wins, 19 starts, what is it like to get with these two guys and go endurance racing. 


 

INDY DONTJE: It's a lot of fun, of course, if you can have these stats. I think I made it only to the podium only when I win. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing (smiling). 


 

Really happy for the job we've done today. I think we were struggling a bit with the car. The car felt a bit better on friend, let's say. Maybe the rain didn't help us. 


 

In the end good calls from the team, great pit stops. Also we have no scratch on the car. I think that's also really important in the race. Gave us the win today. Really happy. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Russell, obviously opened the year with the win at the Rolex. Kind of a bit of a lull that is uncharacteristic for your team. The pendulum is swinging back the other way from your guys. 


 

RUSSELL WARD: The bad luck we've had throughout the year has been a result of other competitors' poor driving, crashing early in these endurance races, taking us out. When we can have some semi-clean racing, this is what this team is capable of. 


 

Q. Philip, talk about today.


 

PHILIP ELLIS: I mean, like Indy said, it wasn't a perfect race. I think we struggled a bit with the car balance, a bit with just our pace today. A lot of people trying different things to get in front of us in pit stops. We usually beat everybody. A lot of people started gambling on full course yellows. Made it a lot more difficult today. 


 

The crew had perfect pit stops. Russell and Indy did a good job as well keeping the car in one piece but also making up the positions on track again and taking opportunities when it arrived. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Back to questions. 


 

Q. Philip or Russell, if you had to boil it down to one thing, what was the key to winning today?


 

RUSSELL WARD: I think it's just a combination of things. We kind of raced this like an endurance race, really focused on the final pit stop, making sure that we pushed the fuel all the way to the end as far as we could. Then at the end kind of jumped a couple of people. 


 

I think it's just a combination of how good the Mercedes AMG is around this place, and good strategy on our part. 


 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations.


 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

GTP First and Second Place Press Conference Transcript

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 1, 2026) - Transcript from the post-race press conference for Sunday's Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America.


 

GTP - Winners

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R - Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque


 

GTP - Second Place

No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 - Tijmen van der Helm, Kaylen Frederick and Laurin Heinrich


 

THE MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by our first and second finishers overall in the GTP class. Let's start with our second-place finishers. We have Kaylen Frederick, Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm. Back-to-back podiums. For Laurin, this is his fifth podium of the season, 13th of his career. Tijmen, his fifth career podium, for Kaylen, his second career podium.



Kaylen, to start us off, back-to-back podiums for you. Just take us through what was a pretty eventful race for you and what it took to get it all the way back to the podium.


 

KAYLEN FREDERICK: Yeah, pretty eventful weekend on the whole with limited running for me in FP1, didn't go out in FP2. Made it tricky for me to qualify and get on the ball for the race.


 

I think we did a really good job. We kept it clean. We had our penalties that we got through at the beginning of the race. Yeah, for the lost portion we kept it clean, kept it on track. Everyone was getting pretty aggressive out there. It was really just about bringing it home at that point.


 

Sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don't. Kind of got a little bit lucky.


 

THE MODERATOR: Tijmen, your thoughts. You've been part of this team since it began. How exciting is it to be a part of what's happening here?


 

TIJMEN VAN DER HELM: Yeah, last four race weekends been unbelievable since I've been with this team for four years and we've been working as hard as possible to get a bit more to the podium side, sometimes even the chance of winning.


 

It has been a positive ride. Of course, it took some time. We got there. I think we keep it positive for the next couple race, what's left.


 

THE MODERATOR: We have Laurin with the microphone. Fifth podium of the year. Closed up substantially here in the points, only minus 128. Every point counts. Your thoughts on what took place there as the checkered flag came out to get to second place?


 

LAURIN HEINRICH: Yeah, it was quite a turnaround in the race I would say. It looked like it would be a difficult day. But sometimes, what I learned in IMSA racing, the race has to come towards you. It's not always only down to you. You have to realize that if you have the chance to do something by yourself, you have to take it. If you don't have the chance to do it by yourself, also you shouldn't force it.


 

Today was one of these days. I would say it's a little less exciting in the cockpit in terms of making up positions. We kept our nose clean, which was great. I think the team did a great job to bounce back from the penalties we had and also the mechanical black, which was quite a substantial damage. Nose damage, a hole in the nose. A lot of air in the cockpit. 10, 15 minutes later there was so much pressure in the cockpit, the passenger door popped open. Felt like a submarine exploded (laughter). We fixed the car in the pit window. Had some good restarts. As I said, kept our head cool, and obviously taking the podium is good for the championship.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll move up to the front row here to our winners, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor.


 

Filipe, why don't you start us off. Quite a battle out there for six hours. What was it like to battle here for the first time for a six-hour race, and how does it feel to win?


 

FILIPE ALBUQUERQUE: I don't know any more this feeling, it's been a while. But winning is so special.


 

Yeah, I love Road America. Have great memories. Yeah, today was just a special day. The beginning of the race was just kind of following along. But then when Ricky went on, strategy came a little bit to us. Great pit stops from the boys. Ricky putting up there on the top three, following the sister car in P2. You start to get a little bit nervous. You just want a red flag.


 

Then for the end I got in, was funny because it's just like it's been such a struggle for us with the pace, that sometimes we doubt ourselves, what is it, what is it there, is it here.


 

Just went down there and said just go in there and just be you, do your thing. I think everything came perfect. We passed the 31, went to the lead. We maintained there. 10 laps to go, okay, cruising, because it was a nice lead. Yellow flag, obviously like IMSA. Those restarts were tricky because I knew that the Porsche is very, very strong. I needed to be very focused for that. I managed to get ahead of him, caught him off guard on both restarts.


 

It's more than a win. We've been winning more races, but this feels way more special than others, almost a like championship, because of how much we overcame and being together as a team and been working hard. When you come from the bottom to the top, prove yourself to everybody that you can still do is a great, great feeling, especially just before holidays.


 

THE MODERATOR: Ricky, congratulations. Obviously long time coming for the team. What does it mean?


 

RICKY TAYLOR: I think Filipe said most of it. Yeah, I think for all of us, it's a big relief. But nobody on the team, obviously like since changing manufacturers, we haven't performed at the level I think the expectations were. The results weren't coming. The confidence was dropping. Everybody starts doubting themselves.


 

But I think the important thing is that the team never blamed each other. We just kept working harder and harder and harder, and the results weren't coming. So now to have a result, I feel like the way the race went, it wasn't a lucky one, the team did everything right. We were sort of in the race for the second half of the race, fighting for the win.


 

I just think it's awesome that Filipe was in the car at the end. The relationship we've had since 2021, we work so well together on and off the track. Yeah, I think to share it with him, obviously the team is tight-knit, it's more than a family team. Everybody on the team feels like family at this point. I think for everybody, it's a huge relief and nice testament to the work that everybody's doing.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll get questions going.


 

Q. Filipe, I think your car was the only car in GTP that didn't get a penalty. Do you think that played into things as well because especially towards the end of the race there was a lot of carnage?


 

FILIPE ALBUQUERQUE: That's a good question because -- you tell me, because from what I was sitting, I think we deserved the win even if we didn't have any penalty. We were flawless in the penalties. I think when we look at the standings, so many DNF's, I think it's easy to see so many DNF's and obviously a win.


 

I think we were controlling the race and the pace. It was elbows out, like when we see the Porsche, fighting hard with nothing to lose, that was hectic.


 

For sure, IMSA is on the path of policing us. I think sometimes it was a bit too harsh for some other guys. In my opinion I think it was too harsh. For others I understand.


 

A good example of that was my pass on Jack Aitken on the outside. In a normal situation, that was a good example to shove me off. He give me space to stay on the outside. That's good racing.


 

It's just up to us to adapt to these new IMSA style. I think where we are going towards, it's positive. I think we still need to get the consistent there.


 

Q. (No microphone.)


 

FILIPE ALBUQUERQUE: Yeah, it's been coming already. I think they were mad about Watkins Glen and the amount of yellow flags. Some of them was a bit too extreme. They want to bring the drivers down a bit to be more calm so we can go back to the normal racing. It requires some races, in my opinion.


 

Q. Did it feel as action-packed a day as it was? This was a six-hour race we could never put our pen down, something happening all the time. Talk about all of that. There was a shot of you watching the 31 and the 6 kind of coming together. Was that surprising that that happened at the very end?


 

FILIPE ALBUQUERQUE: Yeah, at one point we had Rory Harvey, the CEO of Cadillac. Ricky was P2, Jordan was P1. Even if we want to win, I said to him, A red flag would be great (smiling).


 

So many things happened. Okay, when I was in the lead, I was kind of having a gap, felt kind of stable because we were not even catching traffic. Then it came a yellow. C'mon. After those restarts, a yellow brings more yellow, more fighting. For a moment I fear for my race when I saw when I was going in deep, even if I had a gap for P1, I saw in the mirror the 6 car completely sideways and I thought he was going to collect me. Yeah, I was lucky there.


 

From the outside, I don't know. I was so focused on my race. Even if I had sometimes a breathe, but I was never having it in the pocket. I was always, like, focused on the next corner, no mistakes.


 

RICKY TAYLOR: When I was watching the 31 incident, that was kind of in the past for me. We heard about the penalty. I said I'd rather the Aston be behind us than Laurin. I was telling them I didn't want them to get a penalty and not complain too much because I didn't want him there (laughter).


 

I think I was smiling when the camera was on me, but it was because I was saying I didn't want them to get a penalty, not because of anything to do with the 31, because that had already happened and that had changed that.


 

Q. Laurin, can you talk about coming into this race, Jack's lead was huge, and at one point may have looked insurmountable, now you have cut it so much. Talk about the championship implications for you.


 

LAURIN HEINRICH: Yeah, I mean, I said to some people on the podium, it's my second birthday. It sounds like it was gifted. In the end it was not. If everyone around you loses their head, you manage to keep it, that's endurance racing. You have to bring it over the line.

For sure it was a great team effort. I think the team today did most of the part for us to be on the podium, which is great, which I'm really thankful for. Proves once again what we're capable of.

In terms of the championship, yeah, it was a good day obviously. The lead of Jack was quite big, despite there was three races to go in IMSA. It's never over until it's over. But it was quite significant.

Now a result like this changes quite a bit. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping it was less than 128 points until you were reading it out. I didn't know up until that point.

So it's quite substantial, two races to go. I think Indy now being a sprint race, we've seen there's a lot which can happen. In Petit., we all know Petit is Petit.


 

I won't give up. I will push hard and do the last races with two different team it is, which is an interesting dynamic. It's two good teams. I'm always happy to race a Porsche.


 

Q. We got the six-hour race that I think people have wanted here for a long, long time. Six hours again next year. What else can we do? How else can we spice it up?


 

LAURIN HEINRICH: I think the first step would be to try to get a bit more green flag out of the six hour because it was quite a lot of yellows.


 

But it was cool. I said before, this place, it deserves an endurance race. It's so historic. I think we all love driving around here.


 

People ask me if I like this track, and I have, before coming here, only competed here in GT and the 911, despite it winning today, it is not the strongest car around this place. Competing in a Porsche in GT was not easy for me. Now coming in, the Prototype is one of the best experiences you can have as a racing driver. It being an endurance, with so many cars on track, it asks a lot from us drivers and the teams to be on the podium.


 

FILIPE ALBUQUERQUE: I think if you want more action than this, this is crazy (smiling). Up to the last laps...


 

I love it here. I mean, I think it makes sense to have a six-hour race here. The crowd is incredible coming around. Again, IMSA never fails to put a show on. I think it's spot on. Let's just enjoy the moment.


 

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

 

 

Unofficial Results, Points & Post-Race Nuggets | WeatherTech Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Road America - Sunday, August 2, 2026

Unofficial race results available at results.imsa.com.


 

Unofficial points available at pitnotes.org/points.

GTP

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing

  • 54th IMSA class win
  • 54 wins breaks tie with Brumos Racing and Champion Racing for sixth most all-time
  • Last win was in May 2026 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in GTD with car No. 45
  • Third IMSA class win in GTP
  • Last win in GTP was in June 2024 at Detroit Street with car No. 10
  • Second IMSA class win at Road America
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in DPi with car No. 10
  • Second IMSA class win in 2026 (No. 45 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca)


 

Filipe Albuquerque

  • 41y 1m 20d from Coimbra, Portugal
  • 14th IMSA class win in 91st start
  • Last win was at 2024 Detroit Street in GTP, 20 starts between, breaking his longest career winless streak
  • Second win at Road America in eighth start
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in DPi, 3 track starts between
  • First win in 2026 season in seventh start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was third (1 time) last at Detroit Street in GTP


 

Ricky Taylor

  • 36y 11m 30d from United Kingdom; American nationality
  • 33rd IMSA class win in 194th start
  • Last win was at 2024 Detroit Street in GTP, 20 starts between, breaking his longest career winless streak
  • Third win at Road America in 16th start
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in DPi, 3 track starts between
  • First win in 2026 season in eighth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was third (1 times) last at Detroit Street in GTP


 

LMP2

No. 43 Inter Europol Competition

  • Third IMSA class win (fourth total, also including 2024 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park LMP2 win with car entered as Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports)
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • First IMSA class win at Road America
  • Previous best finish at Road America was second (1 time) last in 2025 in LMP2 with car No. 43
  • Second IMSA class win in 2026
  • Came back from a stop + 60 with 3h 20m to go


 

Tom Dillmann

  • 37y 3m 27d from Mulhouse, France
  • Fourth IMSA class win in 18th start
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • First win at Road America in second start
  • Previous best finish at Road America was seventh in 2024 in LMP2
  • Second win in 2026 season in fifth start


 

Jeremy Clarke

  • 40y 0m 28d from Manhattan Beach, CA
  • Third IMSA class win in 11th start
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • First win at Road America in second start
  • Previous best finish at Road America was second in 2025 in LMP2
  • Second win in 2026 season in fifth start


 

Bijoy Garg

  • 24y 0m 18d from Stanford, CA
  • Third IMSA class win in 17th start
  • Last win was at 2025 Sebring in LMP2, 6 starts between
  • First win at Road America in second start
  • Previous best finish at Road America was eighth in 2023 in LMP3
  • First win in 2026 season in fourth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was second (1 times) last at Daytona in LMP2


 

GTD PRO

No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports

  • 13th IMSA class win
  • Last win was in March 2023 at Sebring in GTD PRO, 36 races between
  • Seventh IMSA class win in GTD PRO
  • Third IMSA class win at Road America (2019, 2021 GTD)
  • First IMSA class win in 2026
  • First IMSA win for the Lamborghini Temerario GT3


 

Andrea Caldarelli

  • 36y 5m 19d from Pescara, Italy
  • Second IMSA class win in 32nd start
  • Last win was at 2020 Daytona in GTD, 27 starts between
  • First win at Road America in second start
  • Previous best finish at Road America was sixth in 2025 in GTD PRO
  • First win in 2026 season in eighth start
  • Previous best finish in 2026 was second (1 times) last at Detroit Street in GTD PRO


 

Sandy Mitchell

  • 26y 4m 26d from Forfar, Scotland, United Kingdom
  • First IMSA class win in 11th start
  • Previous best finish was second (1 times) last at 2026 Detroit Street in GTD PRO
  • First win at Road America in second start
  • Previous best finish at Road America was 15th in 2024 in GTD
  • First win in 2026 season in seventh start


 

GTD

No. 57 Winward Racing

  • 14th IMSA class win
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • Second IMSA class win at Road America
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in GTD with car No. 57
  • Third IMSA class win in 2026 (Daytona, CTMP)
  • Fourth back-to-back win
  • Third consecutive season with three or more wins


 

Russell Ward

  • 36y 11m 11d from Seabrook, TX
  • 14th IMSA class win in 52nd start
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • Second win at Road America in fifth start
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in GTD, 3 track starts between
  • Third win in 2026 season in seventh start


 

Philip Ellis

  • 33y 9m 24d from Germany; British nationality
  • 14th IMSA class win in 51st start
  • Second consecutive win following win at CTMP
  • Second win at Road America in fifth start
  • Last win at Road America was in 2022 in GTD, 3 track starts between
  • Third win in 2026 season in seventh start


 

Indy Dontje

  • 33y 8m 12d from Alkmaar, Netherlands
  • Seventh IMSA class win in 19th start
  • Last win was at 2026 Daytona in GTD, 2 starts between
  • First win at Road America in first start
  • Second win in 2026 season in fourth start

 

 

Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Emerges on Top at Road America

Inter Europol, Pfaff and Winward Claim Additional Class Wins


 

August 2, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Unofficial Results

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – An eventful second half of the six-hour Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix produced a new winner to cap off the fourth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.


 

Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing returned to the top of the charts for the first time in more than two years, with the No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor winning at Road America. The pair’s most recent win was on the Streets of Detroit, then fielding an Acura ARX-06, in June 2024 and that was also WTR’s most recent Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and overall victory. Its Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) entry has won twice since. 


 

Within a pair of back-to-back full-course cautions, Albuquerque leapt first from third to second, then from second to the lead once he passed Jack Aitken in the sister No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R on a restart with an hour and 26 minutes remaining. There was still one round of pit stops to go though. 


 

Albuquerque dodged a potential disaster when he pitted for the final time with 45 minutes remaining, mere moments before the seventh of nine full-course cautions flew for an incident for a GTD car. As he got in just before the pits would have closed, he maintained track position he otherwise would have lost.


 

He remained out front through multiple restarts although the race ended behind the safety car.


 

The GTP podium changed hands inside the final 10 minutes. First, contact occurred between the Nos. 6 and 31 cars heading into Turn 1 when battling for second. Second, the No. 23 car was assessed a post-race time penalty equivalent to a drive-through for incident responsibility with the No. 93 car.


 

That promoted the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 up to second with Laurin Heinrich, Kaylen Frederick and Tijmen van der Helm on the podium with the second Cadillac WTR entry, the No. 40 of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz, in third. Both recovered from issues earlier in the race.


 

Both Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) top finishers needed the run of late-race cautions to make it home on fuel. The Inter Europol Competition team won its second straight race with the trio of Jeremy Clarke, Bijoy Garg and Tom Dillmann atop the charts in the No. 43 ORECA LMP2 07.


 

The new Lamborghini Temerario GT3 won its first IMSA race in the hands of Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell, who shared the Pfaff Motorsports-entered No. 9 car in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). 


 

In Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Winward Racing also won its second straight race. Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje shared the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

 

 

 

 

 

Ericsson, Persing Lead Quartet of New Lamborghini Super Trofeo Winners at Road America

Chambers, Porter, Holguin and Touchette Add Class Wins


 

August 1, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Race Results

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – A quartet of new winners emerged in the second 50-minute Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America race at Road America to cap off the fourth event weekend of the 2026 season.


 

Wayne Taylor Racing secured its first overall and Pro class win since WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May with Hampus Ericsson and Nick Persing sharing the No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2.


 

However in ProAm, the seven-race win streak by Danny Formal and Graham Doyle in the sister No. 10 WTR car came to an end. RAFA Racing got on the board for the first time in this championship in 2026, with a late-race pass for the win by Chloe Chambers netting her and Ian Porter the top spot in the No. 81 RAFA Racing, Lamborghini Austin, Huracán.


 

Gabriel Holguin won his first Am race to continue that class’ parity in the No. 45 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán. Philippe Touchette returned to the top of the LB Cup class ranks in his No. 11 TB Autosports, Lamborghini Montreal, Huracán.


 

From pole, Persing started the No. 1 WTR car and only lost the lead through the pit stop exchange. The mandatory pit stop window was delayed opening due to a full-course caution. Once the window ended and the cycle completed, Ericsson took control at the front and held off Dennis Lind by 0.799 of a second.


 

“What a weekend; best weekend so far for us, me and Nick,” Ericsson said. “We really deserved the win in this year. We’re not done yet. We have four races left in the championship and we’ll try to bring this momentum to Indy.”


 

Persing added, “To have a P2 and P1 this weekend, plus my first pole, meant we felt really good. Hampus drove amazing in the second race to defend for the win. We’ll look to gain more going to Indy.” 


 

Lind shared the No. 29 TR3 Racing Huracán with Elias De La Torre, who remains atop the Pro class championship standings leaving Road America. RAFA Racing’s Kiko Porto and Tyler Gonzalez completed the class podium.

RAFA was a big winner in ProAm. Chambers made the move to the outside of Seth Henry’s No. 44 Kaizen Autosport Huracán entering Canada Corner, Turn 12. Chambers got the power down successfully while Henry spun on exit, thus denying he and Wyatt Foster a potential first win.


 

“This is super important to get this done; we’ve had third, second and first, so we’re making good progress,” Chambers said. 


 

Porter added, “She was flying. She drove through the field; she made the pass; she drove absolutely amazing.” 


 

Kaizen’s second car, driven by Joel Miller and Andrew Heffring, finished second and just ahead of TB Autosports’ pairing of Kyle Marcelli and Mathieu Boucher.


 

The Doyle/Formal win streak ended upon receipt of the team’s No. 10 car assessed a drive-through for incident responsibility. Nonetheless, the seven-race win streak prior to Saturday’s Race 2 still sees them in good championship position heading to Indianapolis.


 

It was an emotional race in Am as the Precision Performance Motorsports team went 1-2 in class. Holguin got around Dean Neuls in the TR3 Racing Huracán on Lap 12 of the ultimate 21-lap race. Despite a short pit stop time penalty assessed, Holguin was able to clear the gap needed and win ahead of championship leader David Staab. 


 

It comes as Brandon Gdovic was in attendance with the team all weekend, coaching and supporting the effort despite injuries sustained in a heavy incident at Road America. 


 

“It was great; I was worried with the one-second penalty, but it didn’t matter,” Holguin said. “It’s so big for the team. One heck of a comeback from that Watkins clash. I had a bad result. Brandon, we know what happened. We were 2-3 in the first race (with Staab and the third PPM driver, Cooper Broll) and now 1-2 in the second.” 


 

Staab was second with Nick Groat third for XONINE Racing in his first podium visit since Monterey.


 

In LB Cup, Touchette started at the back for a second straight day following a technical infraction discovered in post-qualifying technical inspection. But he rallied for a second consecutive day; he went from seventh to first. 


 

He extended his points lead following the win, moving to the front after polesitter and Race 1 winner Christopher Tasca (Forty7 Motorsports) had an issue exiting Turn 14.


 

“It was unexpected to finish first today starting last,” Touchette said. “I just kept the pace and was patient. I waited to see if there were mistakes from other cars. Then I got a bit lucky on the restart and had good pace to the end. I feel I was very fast at this track; we were unfortunate to start from last, but we took the opportunity to move forward.”


 

Ray Shahi (Taurino Racing) and Rocky T. Bolduc (Topp Racing) completed the LB Cup podium.


 

Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America resumes at Indianapolis the weekend of September 18-20 for Rounds 9 and 10. They’re the last two continental races in North America this season, before Rounds 11 and 12 as part of the Lamborghini World Final in Monza, Italy in October. 
 

Porsche Penske Runs 1-2 Halfway Through IMSA’s Endurance Return at Road America

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix Also Sees CrowdStrike, AO and Heart of Racing Leading Respective Classes


 

August 2, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Results (Hour 3)

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Julien Andlauer led through the first three hours of the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix, the fourth and newest IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round of the season from Road America and the eighth IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race of the year. The final three hours continue live on Peacock and IMSA’s Official YouTube channel.

 

Andlauer shares the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and overall, leading the sister No. 6 car of Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor. Both Porsche Penske entries are carrying historic liveries this weekend.

 

The third of four full-course cautions, which flew with three hours and 42 minutes remaining for an incident for the No. 34 car, shifted the order as a number of cars either got caught out by the caution timing, committed an infraction, or got jumped by cars on alternate pit strategies.

 

Sheldon van der Linde built a significant gap following the second restart of the six-hour race to more than 20 seconds aboard his No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 he shares with Dries Vanthoor. But the third full-course caution of the race erased that.

 

Andlauer’s No. 7 car jumped the No. 24 BMW on the stop on a short fill (5.9 seconds quicker on most recent stop) as van der Linde handed his car to Vanthoor. The second Porsche Penske entry, the No. 6 car of Kevin Estre and Vanthoor’s older brother Laurens Vanthoor, leapt to third, with Estre then getting past Dries Vanthoor for second just shy of the three-hour mark.

 

Porsche Penske won at Road America in 2023 and 2024 while BMW M Team WRT is in pursuit of its first Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) win this season.

 

BMW won here overall last year with Dries Vanthoor and Philipp Eng sharing a BMW M Team RLL-entered car in a 1-2 finish. The sister No. 25 car ran second for most of the first three hours on an off-sequence strategy, having eschewed a stop at the first caution, but was assessed a drive-through for a pit speed violation on its second stop.

 

From the front row, both Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 entries fell down the order slightly and the championship-leading No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R will play catch-up after a pit lane speed violation on its most recent pit stop. Jack Aitken started the No. 31 car and has rotated it through to Frederik Vesti and Earl Bamber.

 

In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Jeremy Clarke and PJ Hyett ran close early before their teammates, Bijoy Garg and Jonny Edgar, took over the Nos. 43 Inter Europol Competition and No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07s, respectively. Edgar, in his Road America debut, closed on Garg in the third hour and appeared close to a move. But they too got caught out by the third full-course caution as they entered a closed pit.

 

That promoted the championship-leading No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA to the lead in the hands of Toby Sowery, having taken over from George Kurtz. Alex Quinn will finish. AO Racing recovered to second with its No. 99 car with Edgar, PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron aboard. Hyett and Cameron won here last year. The No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA (Misha Goikhberg, Parker Thompson, Harry Tincknell) ran third.

 

From pole, AO Racing also leads in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO). Harry King started and Nick Tandy now drives the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), with the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R (Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg) second and the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO third (Riccardo Agostini, James Calado) third.

 

Milner noted the Porsche’s pace after his first stint: “I think we’re in an OK position. The Porsche is definitely fast if they want to be. I don’t think we quite have their pace but it was good to see the 3 car not saving energy and what the pace of the car is there.”

 

Championship leader Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello leads Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) in his No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, the car he shares with Zacharie Robichon and Tom Gamble. DragonSpeed’s No. 81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R runs second (Giacomo Altoe, Casper Stevenson, Alec Udell) with the Lone Star Racing No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in third (Scott Andrews, Lin Hodenius, James Roe).

 

A pair of full-course cautions interrupted the first hour of the race, but drivers for both the No. 16 and No. 37 cars were evaluated and released following wall contact in separate incidents.

 

With the first Michelin Endurance Cup points awarded, the No. 7 car of Andlauer and Nasr moves back ahead of Laurin Heinrich in GTP with the maximum five points achieved at the three-hour mark. Unofficially, Andlauer and Nasr now have 44 points to Heinrich’s 42 for the season with the six-hour mark left to complete for points. 

 

CrowdStrike’s maximum five points puts them within one of AO’s No. 99 car for the LMP2 lead (36-35) following the three-hour mark.

 

Despite an incident right at the three-hour mark, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO still leads the GTD PRO Michelin Endurance Cup points for the moment.

 

But in GTD, the No. 27’s lead at the three-hour mark now sees them within one point for the year (31-30) of the leading No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. 

Yelloly Leads Front-Row Sweep for Acura Meyer Shank Racing for Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America

Goldburg Puts No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA in Catbird Seat in LMP2


 

August 1, 2026

By Holly Cain

IMSA Wire Service

Qualifying Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – For the second consecutive year, the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 will lead the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Chamiponship field to green at the historic Road America road course.

 

Brit Nick Yelloly turned in a lap of 1 minute, 49.233 seconds (133.409 mph) to take pole position for Sunday’s six-hour Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix (11:40 a.m. ET on Peacock). 


 

He led a front-row Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) sweep for Acura that also includes Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 car with veteran Tom Blomqvist moving up the speed chart in the final five minutes of the 15-minute session around the 14-corner, 4.048-mile circuit. Blomqvist's best lap was 1:49.390 (133.218 mph).

 

The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 will roll off third thanks to a qualifying effort from Sheldon van der Linde at 1:49.597 (132.966 mph) sharing the second row on the grid with Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, which was fastest in Saturday’s rainy morning practice session. Deletraz's best qualifying lap was 1:49.613 (132.947 mph).

 

In a final dramatic lap in the closing seconds of the qualifying session, Laurens Vanthoor put the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 fifth on the grid at 1:50.295 (132.125 mph) ahead of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by GTP class championship leader Jack Aitken (1:50.361, 132.046 mph).

 

It's the second consecutive Road America pole position for the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, which led opening practice for the weekend and finished third last season in what had previously been a two-hour, 40-minute race.

 

It marks Yelloly’s fourth career series pole and first since Long Beach in April. He’s co-driving with last year’s pole-winning driver, Renger van der Zande. The pair were quite confident about the qualifying session following a successful test here at Road America in July.

 

“Clearly, (we) knew we would be competitive,’’ Yelloly said, adding, “I wouldn't say you're ever super confident in getting the pole exactly. We knew we would be competitive. I thought if we could do a good lap, we would definitely be inside the top three or four.

 

“We did a new tire run yesterday as well and had a good feeling with the car. We were also pretty fast and competitive in the wet. I just felt if I did my job and put the lap together well that we would be at the front. Congrats to HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) and MSR for giving me the car to do so.”

 

As for the extended race length, Yelloly said the pole position would be particularly helpful in getting a solid, no-drama start.

 

“It always means you hopefully stay out of the first lap or two chaos," he said. “I'm happy to be at the front. It means you don't get caught up in any of the silliness on cold tires on the first few laps.

 

“I think it's always important to be at the front, to be honest, whether it's a two-hour race or a six-hour race.”

 

Aitken, the 30-year-old Brit who entered the weekend with a 203-point lead over Laurin Heinrich atop the championship standings. Heinrich is in an unusual situation alternating between the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 and the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 he is steering this weekend. Heinrich and co-drivers Kaylen Frederick and Tijmen van der Helm will start last in the 11-car GTP class.

 

Although the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac was one of three GTP entries that opted not to run Saturday’s rainy practice session, Aitken said team was happy with the car’s speed and expects to stay in contention. 

 

“A bit of a struggle to get the lap time out of it," Aitken said. “It’s just been a very up and down day with the weather, and we weren't really sure what conditions we were going to get. 

 

“[Qualifying] ended up being dry and not too bad I would say, in terms of grip. But just missing that last little bit. So, we're just going to have a dig around tonight, see what we can find, and get ready for six hours tomorrow, because that's obviously what counts.”

 

Goldburg Earns LMP2 Pole for United Autosports

American Daniel Goldburg claimed pole position for the 12-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, turning in a fast lap of 1:54.212 (127.593 mph) in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 – bettering Canadian Misha Goikhberg in the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1 Mathiasen ORECA LMP2 07 by 0.262 of a second.

 

It marks the first pole position of the season for the No. 22 United Autosports USA team and is significant for Goldburg who comes into the Road America six-hour race ranked fourth in the LMP2 class championship standings. Goldburg, who won his first IMSA pole in the former LMP3 class at Road America in 2021, looks to score his first win since hoisting a trophy in the 2025 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen. The team finished last among the 14 LMP2 entries a year ago here.

 

After a spirited battle in qualifying, the top four cars were ultimately separated by only 0.522 seconds. The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 will start on the second row alongside the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA, which won this race from pole position in last year’s two-hour, 40-minute version of the event.

 

“It’s a lot of emotion for me,” Goldburg acknowledged. “I’ve been super close many times since Daytona last year so really been gunning for another pole. Also, this season we could use some good finishes here at the end here to bring us back up in the standings that we were leading only a couple races ago. So, this means a lot to me and the team.


 

“What made the difference? I was pushing a little harder,’’ he added with a smile.

 

The No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, which starts fifth in class, has some work ahead on Sunday with co-drivers Alex Quinn and George Kurtz guarding a 70-point lead atop the championship standings over the No. 43 Inter Euopol Competition co-drivers Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillmann.   The No. 99 AO Racing co-drivers PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron are only 81 points off the championship lead.


 

The Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix runs from 11:40 a.m.-5:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 3. Flag-to-flag live coverage will be streamed on Peacock in the U.S., and via IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel internationally.

 

King, Wadoux Take First Career Motul Pole Awards at Road America

"Rexy" Porsche on Point for Home Race

Wadoux Becomes First Woman to Win WeatherTech Championship Pole Since 2018


 

August 1, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Qualifying Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – It was a day of firsts at Road America in the production car-based GT classes of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in qualifying for the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix.

 

Harry King earned his first Motul Pole Award in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) PRO class in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R that he shares with Nick Tandy.

 

Meanwhile, Lilou Wadoux achieved a similar first-time honor in the GTD class in the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Wadoux is the first female to start from pole in the WeatherTech Championship since Katherine Legge qualified for the top spot in the same class at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 2018. Wadoux’s co-drivers are Simon Mann and Antonio Fuoco.

 

Klaus Bachler set the early GTD PRO pace in the No. 911 Porsche prepared by Manthey, but learned he would lose his benchmark 2 minute, 4.283-second lap to a track limits infringement violation. Then with under three minutes remaining in the 15-minute session, King clocked a 2:04.265 to take over the top spot. He improved next time around with the pole winning lap of 2:04.042, corresponding to an average speed of 117.482 miles per hour.

 

Just before King crossed the line, Neil Verhagen briefly jumped to the top with a 2:04.182 effort (117.350 mph) in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO that was ultimately good enough for the outside of the front row. Alexander Sims was another who found speed at the end, moving up to third in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R at 2:04.264 (117.272 mph). The top six were clustered within half a second.

 

It was the 10th pole in IMSA competition for AO Racing, but only its third in the GTD PRO class. AO’s well-known ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 won the GTD PRO championship with Laurin Heinrich (who now competes in the WeatherTech Championship’s Grand Touring Prototype class) in 2024.

 

Based in greater Chicago, AO Racing considers Road America its home track.

 

“It’s a great emotion and a great feeling, because we came so close last time out in Canada and finished second,” said King, who has notched a pair of runner-ups with Tandy in 2026 but is still seeking his first win. “We started from the front row at Watkins Glen, but to get that pole position here in the home race for AO is really special. The lap was well put together and the team worked incredibly hard leading to this weekend. They always do, but this weekend they really put in that extra bit of effort. I could really sense that.

 

“To complete the lap and be told we were on pole position was a fantastic emotion, so credit to all the individuals at AO Racing for putting it together.”

 

King believes that he and Tandy are poised on the brink of a breakthrough victory in Sunday’s six-hour race. They rank third in the GTD PRO standings, 144 points behind leaders Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi.

 

“The team has been doing a very good job all season,” he said. “That last little bit has clicked for us this weekend. We’ve been collecting the points, and we’re certainly not missing anything. There’s a lot of points on the table and we’re going to try to collect as many as possible and try to enter the last half of the season with the most possible momentum.”

 

Breakthrough Pole for Wadoux

Wadoux, 25, from Amiens, France, was signed as a Ferrari factory driver in 2023 and was the first woman to win a race in the FIA World Endurance Championship. She continues to impress every time she’s in a car on either side of the Atlantic.

 

On her first trip to Road America – considered one of the most exhilarating and challenging circuits in the world – she produced a pole-winning effort with about three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the 15-minute GTD qualifying session.

 

Wadoux has already claimed three wins in WeatherTech Championship competition including the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans and this year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

 

“Last week was my first time here in a test, and to be honest, it is an exquisite track,” she remarked. “We know when you come here in the U.S. you will find nice tracks, a little bit old school. I enjoy every moment at this track because it’s so special compared to Europe.

 

“I have to give credit to the other girls who showed we are able to do the same,” Wadoux added.

 

She is the second woman to win a pole at Road America this weekend, joining Hannah Grisham, who started the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race from the top spot earlier Saturday afternoon. In fact, Grisham and her co-driver, Hannah Greenemeier, are riding a three-race pole-winning streak that series, with Grisham also taking pole for June's race at Watkins Glen and Greenemeier taking pole last month at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

 

“It’s good, but I am quite happy as a driver to earn pole position," Wadoux said. "I hope we will see more and more in the next years, that it will continue this way.”

 

She paid tribute to the Af Corse team, which is competing only in the five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2026.

 

“We have a new car here and the team did an amazing job to prepare everything and give us a good car,” Wadoux said. “For sure it was not easy after Practice 2 was in the rain. I wasn’t sure we were ready for the quali, but at the end, we did a pretty good job, I think.

 

“Now we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

 

The Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix starts at 11:40 a.m. ET (10:40 a.m. local time), with flag-to-flag coverage livestreamed on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel internationally.

 

Car Blanche Makes a Name for Itself with Michelin Pilot Challenge Road America Win

 Herta Hyundai Returns to the Top of TCR


 

August 1, 2026

By John Oreovicz and Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Race Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Car Blanche is a new name and entrant to IMSA competition this summer, who has delivered an intriguing start to its tenure since YRB Racing acquired the former van der Steur Racing. But make no mistake, Car Blanche has quickly made an impression.


 

Its most forceful statement to date came Saturday at the Road America 120 as the new team scored its first overall and Grand Sport (GS) class victory in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in only its third start.


 

Allen Patten and Trenton Estep started ninth on the 4.048-mile, 14-corner Road America circuit in the No. 66 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO and utilized perfect strategy in changing conditions to prevail in a race that ended under caution.


 

Estep secured the first triumph for Car Blanche with an authoritative pass on Matt Plumb in the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4 with 18 minutes remaining. The two cars banged doors on the run to Turn 3, with the contact knocking the left-side mirror off Estep’s machine. Plumb then hip checked the right-rear corner of the Aston Martin as it turned into the apex, but Estep maintained control and had pulled out to a 4.66-second lead before an incident with 10 minutes to go caused the race to end under a full-course caution.


 

Plumb and Paul Holton took second place for their best result of the year, while the final podium spot went to Caio Chaves and Guilherme Salas in the No. 54 PanAm Motorsport Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.


 

Most of the race was run in light rain or drizzle, but conditions were dry enough for all competitors to change from rain to slick tires with pit stops a little over 40 minutes into the race that were perfectly timed for driver changes. By then, Patten had gained three spots to sixth place on the opening lap, and he had moved up to fourth when he handed the car to Estep.


 

The next key moment came when the third of four full-course cautions flew with 50 minutes left in the race. The top three runners missed the window to enter the pits before they closed, and after making a second stop, Estep and the No. 66 found themselves running fifth, the leading runner who would definitely not need to make another stop for fuel. Plumb and Team TGM, meanwhile, were gambling on additional cautions that would allow them to make the finish on a single stop.


 

“We had really good pace in traffic and the team made a perfect call to get us in before the yellow,” Estep said. “We only took left sides, which helped us jump one spot in the pits. I maximized it and moved on.”  


 

Plumb fought valiantly but was ultimately unable to resist Estep’s charge. Car Blanche has now improved its result in each of its three races to date, from fifth place at Watkins Glen International to fourth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, to winning at Road America.


 

“We finally gave Trenton a car he could work with at the end,” said Car Blanche team principal Chris Deely. “P5 and P4 was good…but we even said on the stand in the last hour of the race, if we didn’t come away with a win, we wouldn’t have been happy.

 

“I have the utmost trust in both drivers, especially at the end,” he added. “I wouldn’t have picked any other driver to be in our car.” 


 

It was the second Michelin Pilot Challenge race in a row to feature a first-time winning team and driver lineup, following Kiko Porto and Varun Choksey’s victory at CTMP.


 

“Man, it means everything,” said Patten. “I’ve been driving for three years and only racing for two. It’s been a pretty crazy journey, I’ve met amazing people in the team here at Car Blanche and I’m super thankful to them.


 

“I’m learning a tremendous amount from Trenton – he’s absolutely first class – and we’re going to try hard to stay on top.”


 

In an unusual day where each of the top five in the GS championship finished seventh or worse, Robert Noaker and Nate Cicero in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 still extended their championship lead.


 

Unofficially, their 11th place result builds their lead to 100 points over both Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer (No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO) and Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars (No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO). The No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 of Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky was assessed a postrace time penalty applied at the checkered flag for incident responsibility.


 

Cicero was running second, one of the three leaders who missed making it into the open pits before the decisive caution.


 

“I was struggling with the radio back there in Canada Corner – that’s just how the track is – and we just missed the call,” said Noaker. “Just ended up being unfortunate. I think we might have ultimately been able to make it like the other Mustangs, but our other competitors in the points had some misfortune after ours and I think that saved us a little bit.


 

“It’s going to make it interesting.”

 

TCR: Dupont Uses Traffic to Advantage to Pass Neto for Win

Being called “a machine on restarts” is high praise, and Preston Brown’s description of co-driver Denis Dupont in his No. 76 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR couldn’t have been more fitting in Round 7 of the Touring Car (TCR) season.


 

Dupont ran second behind Celso Neto, in a one-off drive aboard the No. 55 Gou Racing w/Stallion Audi RS3 LMS TCR, in what was shaping up to be the final green flag run to the finish. Neto inherited the lead on an off-sequence pit strategy, eschewing a second stop to gain track position, and then run ahead of a six-pack of TCR contenders.


 

After a restart with 23 minutes to go, Neto appeared poised to deliver Audi its first win of the season and complete the set of 18 participating OEMs in IMSA winning at least one IMSA-sanctioned race in 2026.


 

Dupont had other ideas. The Montreal-based Belgian used GS traffic to his advantage to get past with just under 15 minutes to go, going inside exiting The Kink as Neto failed to gain enough time to get past the GS car. With a stronger acceleration out of Canada Corner, Turn 12, Dupont was able to pull away under the remaining green flag running before a final full-course caution flew with nine minutes remaining.


 

“I saw him having some GS traffic and I managed to pass the GS right away (thereafter),” Dupont explained. “(Neto) was super-fast, so was then good to keep him behind.”


 

Brown hailed his co-driver: “It’s a little heart in mouth! But he’s a machine on restarts. We’ve had some great place jumps on restarts.”


 

It’s Dupont and Brown’s second win of the year, and first since the season-opening four-hour BMW M Endurance Challenge At Daytona. The win is also the 33rd for the Herta team, which puts them one away from Turner Motorsport’s all-time record of 34 series wins.


 

The No. 76 car, which started fifth, got up to third early and stayed there once Brown handed to Dupont. Brown was pleased with his own wet weather running, noting previous experience earlier in his career aided him in the tricky wet-to-drying conditions that made up his first 40-plus minutes in the car.


 

Neto, who shared the No. 55 Gou Audi with Eddie Gou, scored his first podium since Indianapolis last year, when he also finished second, also in an Audi. His best finish in 2026 in the No. 77 Stallion Motorsports w/GOU Cupra Leon VZ TCR was fifth at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Gou and father Eduardo Gou finished third at Watkins Glen International in the LP Building Solutions 120 two races ago.


 

Brown and Dupont gained 50 points on championship leading teammates Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris, who scored their sixth podium in seven races aboard the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Unofficially, the No. 33 car leads the No. 76 car by 150 points with three races remaining.


 

Honda’s fourth straight pole failed to produce a result of note, as the manufacturer failed to record a podium finish for the first time in Sebring in March. The No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR rallied through reported brake issues to finish fourth, with the third of four Herta Hyundais (the No. 18 car) completing the top five.


 

Michelin Pilot Challenge competitors head next to VIRginia International Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 22, for Round 8 of the season. The Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix will cap off a run of five races across three months from June through August. 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Pole Winners Qualifying Press Conference Transcript

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 1, 2026) - Transcript from the post-qualifying press conference for Sunday's Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America.


 

Drivers include Lilou Wadoux (No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO), Harry King (No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R), Daniel Goldburg (No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) and Nick Yelloly (No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06).


 

THE MODERATOR: We're pleased to be joined by our pole winners here. We will start with our pole winner, Lilou Wadoux. First career pole, her first appearance here at Road America. This will be her 13th WeatherTech Championship start.


 

Lilou, congratulations. Pole position, something you haven't done here yet. What does it mean to you? How does it set you guys up for tomorrow's race?


 

LILOU WADOUX: Yeah, I'm quite happy with this pole position. We had (indiscernible) in Watkins Glen, so I was not there. But we had issues on the car. We had new car for here. The team did amazing job to have a good car. For sure it was not easy with the FP2 on the rain. Not really ready for the quallie. But at the end we did a pretty good job I think.


 

Yeah, we'll see what we can do tomorrow.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll move to Harry King. First career pole here in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, his eighth appearance. Harry, congratulations. Obviously an important race for the team, given proximity to headquarters. Tell us about getting the pole and how it sets you up for tomorrow.


 

HARRY KING: Yeah, great emotion, great feeling. Came close in Canada not long ago to get into pole position. Start on the front row, but not quite the pole position. Here at Road America, home race of AO, also my home race because I don't have one back home.


 

The lap was really well put together. The team worked incredibly hard leading up to this weekend. They always do, but this weekend they really put in that extra bit of effort. I could really sense that and not only see it myself. To complete the lap and be told we were on pole position was a fantastic emotion. Credit to all the people at AO Racing for this.


 

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Daniel Goldburg. Third career pole in IMSA competition. His first career pole came here at Road America in 2021. Looking for his first win since Watkins Glen 2025.

Dan, congratulations. Very close at the front as always. What made the difference today?


 

DANIEL GOLDBURG: It's a lot of emotion for me. I've been super close many times since Daytona last year. So really been gunning for another pole. Also this season we could use some good finishes at the end here to bring us back up the standings where we were leading a couple races ago.


 

This means a lot to me and to the team.


 

What made the difference? Just pushing a little harder. Turn one is a big thing here. The carousel. Team gave me an amazing car and let me do my thing out here.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll get questions going.


 

Q. Harry, talking and looking at how this season has gone as a whole, it kind of seems like you have flown under the radar. Speak to maybe helping gather momentum for the final end of the season?


 

HARRY KING: Yeah, no, the team has been doing a very good job all season. I think that one last little bit has clicked for us this weekend. The amount of podiums we've had this year, but not a victory, probably consolidates your opinion where we've flown under the radar.


 

We've been collecting the points, third in the standings currently. Certainly not missing anything. Starting on the front row tomorrow. It's a big six-hour race, which means there's a lot of points on the table. We have to collect as many as possible and get the final half of the season under a good momentum.


 

Q. The significance of this, that can't be lost on you. Many women have come through here and want to be recognized as a race driver. To come in and make a mark for something that hasn't happened in a long time.


 

LILOU WADOUX: Yeah, that can give idea to some other girls to show that we are able to do the same, it's good. But I'm quite happy as a driver to do the pole position. Then we will see. We are more and more, so we will see in the next years if it continue in this way.


 

Q. Lilou, Road America, many people think of it as one of the great circuits in the U.S. if not the world. Anything extra special at getting first pole here?


 

LILOU WADOUX: Yeah, it was my first time last week in test. To be honest, it was really nice. When you come here, we know it's always a nice track. A little bit old school. To be honest, I really like this track and enjoy every moment because it's quite special.


 

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Congratulations and best of luck tomorrow.


 

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Nick Yelloly. His fourth career pole in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, first since Long Beach in April of this year. Looking for his fourth win. He'll be making his 37th start tomorrow.


 

Nick, congratulations. Obviously your team has been strong here the entire weekend so far. Pole position. What has it been about this place that seems to work so well for you guys? How do you convert it into a win tomorrow?


 

NICK YELLOLY: Yeah, I think going back since the inauguration of this car, it's always tended to be pretty fast here. I remember in '23 and '24 -- not '24 with this team, but in '24 with WTR, they were very fast here as well.


 

Clearly knew we would be competitive. We also tested here a few weeks ago. The car felt very good. Yeah, the track suits our car, I would say. I knew I had to put a good lap together. Obviously good in qualifying as well. Got us on the pole position. Managed to do that. Look forward to racing tomorrow.


 

THE MODERATOR: We'll go to questions.


 

Q. I wanted to ask you how confident were you in getting the pole with the change in the weather conditions between yesterday and today?


 

NICK YELLOLY: I wouldn't say you're ever super confident in getting the pole exactly. We knew we would be competitive. I thought if we could do a good lap, we would definitely be inside the top three or four.


 

We did a new tire run yesterday as well and had a good feeling with the car. We were also pretty fast and competitive in the wet. I just felt if I did my job and put the lap together well that we would be at the front.

Yeah, congrats to HRC and MSR for giving me the car to do so.


 

Q. You want to start a race out front. Talk about the difference in the race being three times as long as it normally is? How much of an advantage do you see that being starting at the front?


 

NICK YELLOLY: Yeah, I mean, it always means you hopefully stay out of the first-lap-or-two chaos. I'm happy to be at the front. It means you don't get caught up in any of the silliness on cold tires on the first few laps.


 

Yeah, I think it's always important to be at the front, to be honest, whether it's a two-hour race or a six-hour race.


 

Q. We know there's a countdown to the end of this program. With this program going 1-2 today, it's only qualifying, but what kind of a statement does this make, if any?


 

NICK YELLOLY: I think this year in general we've been really executing very well. Obviously we came back as a program at the start of last year. We knew on the 93 side everything and everyone was very, very new in terms of personnel, in terms of the car, to the drivers. We knew our second year we'd definitely be more competitive. It's just really nice to be able to show that.


 

It's unfortunate, yes, the program is coming to an end. I think if we stick to our guns, we can fight for the title in the final year of the program.


 

THE MODERATOR: Nick, congratulations. Best of luck tomorrow.


 

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

 

Qualifying Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Road America - Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026

Qualifying Results


 

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

Practice Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Road America - Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 

 

XONINE Pair Thwart Rivals, Weather to Win Road America Lamborghini Super Trofeo Opener

WTR ProAm Win Streak Continues; 89X and Forty7 Break Through in Am and

LB Cup


 

July 31, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Race Results

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Will Bamber and Hampus Ericsson engaged in a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle to start Friday’s Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America first race at Road America. But their teammates Darius Trinka and Nick Persing finished the job, as a combination of potentially treacherous weather and traffic ahead of them made for a fun yet frantic finish.


 

Ultimately, Trinka held off Persing to ensure the No. 33 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 won its second race of the season in Pro and overall to help move Bamber closer to the Pro championship lead.


 

Bamber led from pole early, although Ericsson completed a pass for the lead on the sixth lap. However, slightly quicker pit work helped position the No. 33 car back ahead of Ericsson and Persing’s No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing Huracán once the pit cycle completed.


 

Though Persing closed several tenths, he came up short by just 0.774 of a second as a light rain began to fall in the waning moments of the 50-minute race.  


 

The championship-leading Elias De La Torre finished third in his No. 29 TR3 Racing Huracán he shared with Dennis Lind. Unofficially, Bamber is just three points behind De La Torre with Friday’s result. 


 

“Will did the hard work, and I just had to get in the car and bring it home,” Trinka laughed, downplaying his finish.


 

Bamber hailed Trinka’s defense: “He was the one who had to bring it home under pressure! He never put a foot wrong. It was a tough race but an amazing race for all the men and women of this team.” 


 

In ProAm, the Danny Formal and Graham Doyle juggernaut rolled on. The pair captured their seventh straight victory to open the campaign in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán. Formal qualified on pole with Doyle bringing the car home to win by 11.293 seconds.


 

“A tough day out there with the degradation and the late rain at the end,” Doyle said. “But as always, Wayne Taylor Racing gave us an awesome car and Danny got us out front early and kept us there.” 


 

The No. 81 RAFA Racing entry of Ian Porter and Chloe Chambers scored their second podium of the year in second with the No. 63 TR3 entry of Mateo Siderman and Martin Fuentes completing the podium in third. 


 

Armed with a fast car on the start, Johan Schwartz moved his No. 89 89x Motorsports, Lamborghini Sarasota, Huracán from second on the Am grid past polesitter Paul Whiting in his No. 74 SP Motorsports entry to the lead on the opening lap.


 

Once he turned over to Mike Fitzpatrick, the pair never looked back en route to a popular and – for Fitzpatrick – emotional first win of the year. Fitzpatrick noted he’d won a Formula USA race nearly 30 years ago at the track with his infant daughter present, and now was able to repeat the feat for his first Super Trofeo win. 


 

“We’ve been close; we had a great start and the pace was good right off the bat,” Schwartz said. “So happy there weren’t full-course cautions to build a lead. Mike brought it home.”


 

Precision Performance Motorsports teammates David Staab and Cooper Broll completed the podium, with Am championship leader Staab banking his seventh podium in as many races.

In LB Cup, Christopher Tasca scored his first win on the road in his No. 95 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán. Tasca inherited the Race Two win at Watkins Glen following a post-race time penalty assessed to Rocky T. Bolduc, but this was an authoritative win from the pole in a freshly liveried car.


 

“We’ve got a ‘Grave Digger’ livery now for my son,” Tasca said. “We had ‘Lightning McQueen’ the first few rounds, but now we’re monster trucks. The new livery gave us some new energy. It’s my second full-time season and first (proper) win. Rocky and I have a great friendship; he’s a great competitor and great friend. He wanted to give me that trophy on a technicality, but I told him I wanted one on the road.” 


 

Philippe Touchette recovered well from a post-qualifying technical infraction that sent him to the back of the field to score his sixth podium in seven races aboard his No. 11 TB Autosports Huracán. Clay Wilson completed the podium for the first time since Round 1 at Sebring in his No. 37 TR3 entry. 


 

Saturday’s second race of the weekend is at 5 p.m. CT and local time (6 p.m. ET). The race streams via Peacock, IMSA’s YouTube channel and Lamborghini’s YouTube channel.

Acura 1-2 Makes Early Statement at Road America

United Autosports USA, Manthey and Car Blanche Top Respective Class Charts


 

July 31, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

Practice Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – It’s only Friday, but Nick Yelloly looked like he enjoyed a ‘Sunday drive’ around Road America as practice opened for the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix. It’s the eighth race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season and the fourth of five races in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

 

Yelloly ran a series of quick laps around the 4.048-mile circuit in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06, culminating in a 1 minute, 51.008-second effort (131.276 mph) that paced the 90-minute session.

 

The time was a full 0.697 seconds quicker than Tom Blomqvist managed in the sister No. 60 Meyer Shank entry he shares with Colin Braun at 1:51.705 (130.457 mph) as Acura put itself in prime early position to contend for the win in Sunday’s 6-hour WeatherTech Championship race.

 

Yelloly, who earned the Motul Pole Award for Acura last year at Road America, set an early benchmark of 1:52.197 after just 18 minutes, then returned to the car to complete the session with a pair of laps faster than Blomqvist’s best.

 

Yelloly and co-driver Renger van der Zande are looking for their second Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) win of the season (the other came at the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic) as they attempt to close a 245-point deficit in the GTP standings to leader Jack Aitken, who was seventh fastest in Friday’s practice on 1:52.416 (129.632 mph) in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. Aitken’s co-drivers are Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti.  

 

Cadillac’s other GTP entries prepared by Wayne Taylor Racing were encouraged after finishing third and fifth in the session. The No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R was the quicker of the pair at 1:52.131 (129.961 mph) despite missing more than 30 minutes of practice time with what was suspected to be a power steering issue.

 

“Thank goodness we have two cars at Wayne Taylor Racing, because the No. 10 car was able to do the work while our car was being looked at,” said Jordan Taylor, who shares the No. 40 with Louis Deletraz. “It’s unfortunate to lose the track time, but we tested here a couple weeks ago along with a lot of other guys. The car doesn’t feel quite as good as it did, but you look at the times, and at least we’re in the hunt.

 

“It’s probably the same for everyone,” he added. “It’s a lot cooler than a lot of people anticipated coming here (it was 77 degrees and cloudy for Friday’s practice), and that maybe threw a wrench in everyone’s plans, but I think we’re adapting well.”

 

Paul Di Resta turned an early lap of 1:54.166 (127.645 mph) in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 (co-drivers Daniel Goldburg and Rasmus Lindh) to lead the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class as the top three cars were separated by just 0.336 seconds. Dane Cameron was second fastest in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA, followed by Mikkel Jensen in United Autosport’s No. 2 entry.

 

International racing force Manthey Racing continued its impressive run in the Michelin Endurance Cup, which was most recently highlighted by the team’s No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3.R winning the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

 

At Road America, Thomas Preining was fastest Friday in the GTD PRO class in the No. 911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). Preining, whose co-driver is Klaus Bachler, clocked 2:05.384 (116.225 mph) to edge Ricardo Agostini (No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo) by just 0.034 seconds.

 

GTD was similarly close as the No. 068 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, that has made such an impressive IMSA debut starting with Watkins Glen this year, was quickest in the hands of Valentin Hasse Clot (co-drivers Marius Fossard and Trenton Estep). His 2:05.491 (116.125 mph) effort was 0.074 seconds quicker than Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 that he shares with two-time defending GTD class champion Russell Ward and endurance driver Indy Dontje.

 

While the race day forecast is currently dry, there’s a possibility of rain on Saturday, when WeatherTech Championship qualifying is set to take place starting at 4:25 p.m. ET, 3:25 p.m. CT and local time. The prospect of a wet track at some point in the day is positive for some competitors.

 

“I love driving in the rain,” said Wisconsin native Aaron Telitz, who shares the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 with Benjamin Pedersen and Frankie Montecalvo in the GTD class. “It’s a different challenge in the car; it’s more enjoyable in sports cars because you’re not getting soaked the whole time like you would be an open wheel car. And Road America is such a fun track in the wet. There’s a lot of different lines you can take in different parts of the racetrack, so it makes some really fun racing.”

 

The Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix runs from 11:40 a.m.-5:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 3. Flag-to-flag live coverage will be streamed on Peacock in the U.S., and via IMSA.TV and the official IMSA YouTube channel internationally.

Grisham Delivers Heart of Racing Team’s Third Straight IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Pole of Season at Road America

 Montour Records Fourth Straight Pole in TCR for Honda


 

July 31, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Qualifying Results


 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis.  – Hannah Grisham has won Heart of Racing Team’s third straight pole for either herself or Hannah Greenemeier in the all-Hannah lineup aboard the team’s No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO.


 

Similar to Greenemeier’s at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, a red flag interrupted the 15-minute session at Road America but Grisham was still able to set the pace. With a best lap of 2:14.505 (108.343 mph) around the 4.048-mile circuit, Grisham has her second Motul Pole Award of the season.


 

Now the job is improving upon a best finish of sixth in Grand Sport (GS) in Saturday’s Road America 120, Round 7 of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season.


 

“It’s really exciting with Hannah’s at Canada, and now me doubling at Road America,” Grisham said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks. We were saved a bit by the bell from the red flag, but the car was really amazing today.


 

“It was overcast skies, and cooler temps help our car. All the crew at Heart of Racing have done such a great job. It’s amazing to be here in IMSA and looking forward to tomorrow and hoping to close the deal!”


 

The No. 60 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, qualified by Evan Slater, will start second after he qualified just 0.042 of a second off the pole. He’ll share the car with Mike Skeen. The No. 23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 will start third, qualified by Ford Koch with Jaxon Bell due to finish.


 

GS championship leaders Robert Noaker and Nate Cicero will roll off fourth in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Cicero won the pole and he and Jenson Altzman won last year’s race here. Altzman is set to participate in Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix, the six-hour race aboard the No. 16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3.

LP Montour, meanwhile, secured his third straight and Honda’s fourth consecutive pole in Touring Car (TCR). The driver of the No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR set a flyer of 2:16.128 (107.451 mph) early and held on from there ahead of a similar Honda fielded by KMW Motorsport by TMR Engineering, qualified by Rocco Pasquarella. Montour will share the No. 93 Honda with Karl Wittmer; Pasquarella his No. 5 Honda with Tim Lewis Jr.


 

TCR championship leaders Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi start third in their No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR, ahead of the first Audi on the grid from Baker Racing (Sam Baker and James Vance, No. 52 Audi RS3 LMS TCR). Morris scored his first Michelin Pilot Challenge win at Road America last year, sharing the No. 33 Hyundai with veteran Mark Wilkins.


 

Saturday’s Road America 120 race goes green at 12:50 p.m. CT and local time (1:50 p.m. ET). Live race coverage streams flag-to-flag on Peacock and ad-free, courtesy of Michelin, on the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

Practice Results | WeatherTech Championship

Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Road America - Friday, July 31, 2026

Practice 1 Results


 

Additional results are available at results.imsa.com.

 

 

  

Entry List Notebook – Michelin GT Challenge at VIR

IMSA’s Annual GT Showcase Has Intense GTD PRO, GTD Title Battles


 

August 12, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The championship battles are intense as the two GT classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship take the spotlight in the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. Just 21 points cover the top three in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) while 45 points cover the top four in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). Crucially, both champions in 2025 won their class at VIR last year. It’ll be interesting to see if history repeats itself in either or both classes in 2026.


 

The 23-car field features 10 GTD PRO and 13 GTD entries racing at VIR. Car Blanche, which has scored podiums in both its GTD starts, returns to GTD PRO this race with Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sorensen sharing the team’s No. 68 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. 


 

Fast Facts

Michelin GT Challenge at VIR

VIRginia International Raceway – Alton, Virginia 

Aug. 21-23, 2026


 

Race Day/Time: Sunday, Aug. 23, 12:10 p.m. ET

NBC Network Coverage: LIVE – 12-3 p.m. ET

Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at noon (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube channel)

Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, Aug. 22, 4:45 p.m. (on Peacock in the U.S., internationally on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube channel)

IMSA Radio: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins at noon Sunday, Aug. 23 (XM 206, Web/App 996)

Circuit Type: 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course

Classes Competing: GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), GT Daytona (GTD)

Race Length: Two hours, 40 minutes

 

Track Social Media: 


 

Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #MichelinVIR


 

WeatherTech Championship Track Records

  • GTD PRO: Madison Snow, BMW M4 GT3, 1:43.206 / 114.062 mph, August 2024
  • GTD: Ross Gunn, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 1:43.356 / 113.897 mph, October 2021


 

2025 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Winners

  • GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims, No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R
  • GTD: Russell Ward/Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3


 

2025 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Motul Pole Award Winners

  • GTD PRO: Giacomo Altoè, No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 
  • GTD: Jack Hawksworth, No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3


 

Storylines

  • GTD PRO Title Battle: Just 21 points cover the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO in first, the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in second and No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) in third. Four other cars are also within 151 points of the lead. 
  • And the GTD Title Battle: Dudu Barrichello is hanging on to the GTD championship lead by a thread, as the top four in GTD are covered by just 45 points. Beyond Barrichello’s No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO and No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 are in hot pursuit.
  • Plus the Bob Akin Award Bronze Cup Battle: It’s looking to be another back-and-forth battle for the Bob Akin Award Bronze Cup in GTD, as Orey Fidani (No. 13 13 Autosport Corvette Z06 GT3.R) now leads Brendan Iribe (No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO) by just 10 points. 
  • GT Classes Front and Center: The FIA GT3-homologated spec cars covering the two GT classes take center stage in their first and only WeatherTech Championship race without prototypes this season.
  • CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award: The No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (WeatherTech Championship) and No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO (Michelin Pilot Challenge) won the CrowdStrike Endurance, Teamwork and Speed Award at Road America. Both will be recognized for wins during pre-race ceremonies at their next event they race (VIR for Heart of Racing Team, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta anticipated for Af Corse USA).


 

Who’s Hot?

  • No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have risen like a phoenix with back-to-back wins at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America in pursuit of their third straight GTD title. With Winward’s back-to-back, all four classes have now had at least one car win consecutive races this season.
  • No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992): Quietly, the Nick Tandy/Harry King No. 77 Porsche has banked four podiums this season including two straight. Might a first win for “Rexy” in 2026 be in the offing at VIR? 


 

Who’s Good Here?

  • Antonio Garcia: At IMSA’s GT-showcase events, one of the best GT drivers of this generation leads the way in wins with five. 
  • Nick Tandy: Back at VIR for the first time in several years, Tandy knows how to win here with three past GT wins at the facility. 


 

Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winners in 2026 Field (9)

  • Antonio Garcia (5): GTLM – 2016, 2017, 2020; GTD PRO – 2023, 2025
  • Tommy Milner (3): GT – 2005, 2012; GTLM – 2021 
  • Nick Tandy (3): GTLM – 2015, 2019, 2021 
  • Philip Ellis (2): GTD – 2022, 2025
  • Alexander Sims (2): GTLM – 2018; GTD PRO – 2025 
  • Russell Ward (2): GTD – 2022, 2025 
  • Connor De Phillippi (1): GTLM – 2018 
  • Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2020 
  • Corey Lewis (1): GTD – 2017 


 

Previous Michelin GT Challenge Pole Winners in 2026 Field (6)

  • Jack Hawksworth (3): GTD – 2018, 2025; GTD PRO – 2023
  • Tommy Milner (2): GT – 2004; GTLM – 2021 
  • Giacomo Altoè (1): GTD PRO – 2025 
  • Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2021 
  • Nick Tandy (1): GTLM – 2015 
  • Russell Ward (1): GTD – 2022


 

Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winning Teams in 2026 Field (8)

  • Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (7): GT – 2012; GTLM – 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021; GTD PRO – 2023, 2025
  • Paul Miller Racing (3): GTD – 2016, 2023; GTD PRO – 2024 
  • Pfaff Motorsports (2): GTD – 2021; GTD PRO – 2022 
  • Turner Motorsport (2): GTD – 2014, 2020 
  • Wayne Taylor Racing (2): DP – 2004, 2007
  • Winward Racing (2): GTD – 2022, 2025
  • Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (1): GTLM – 2018 
  • Riley (1): GTD – 2019 


 

Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winning Manufacturers in 2026 Field (7)

  • Chevrolet – 14
  • Porsche – 11
  • BMW – 8
  • Ferrari – 5 
  • Mercedes-AMG – 4
  • Lexus – 3
  • Lamborghini – 2 

 

 

IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge Portion of P3 Season Concludes at Road America

Tunjo, Catalano Lead Endurance P3 Championship


 

August 11, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)


 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The four event, two-hour endurance race component of the 2026 Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) season comes to an end at Road America this weekend to cap off the IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge campaign. It also will see the first top scorers of the championship confirmed as part of the overall P3 season that spans the four endurance races and the 10 sprint rounds that make up the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.


 

The three previous Airbnb Endurance Challenge races have had three different winners. Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano took the Sebring opener aboard their No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D08. Titus Sherlock and Wyatt Brichacek tackled Circuit of The Americas in their No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325. Ari Balogh and Garett Grist triumphed at VIR in their No. 30 Toney Ligier.


 

With a win and two third-place finishes, Tunjo and Catalano, now in the No. 1 Gebhardt Duqueine D09 chassis, lead Brian Thienes and Patrick Kujala by 30 points (950-920). Thienes and Kujala, sharing the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325, have finished second twice and fourth once. Balogh and Grist sit third, 40 back.


 

As there are nine cars entered, the maximum points gain is 130 points (350 maximum for a win, 220 minimum for ninth). Although Brichacek in fourth (set to drive with Lincoln Day) and Danny Soufi and Jake Williamson in their No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine D09 remain mathematically alive at 110 and 120 points back, all of the top three would have to hit trouble for these two entries to leapfrog up the standings.


 

Tunjo leads the overall P3 championship by 460 points over Soufi, so he can’t lose that lead leaving Road America. Tunjo may be well positioned to secure the overall P3 title at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta depending on the Road America outcome.  


 

The Bronze Cup standings are even tighter, as these cover both sprint and endurance races. Thienes holds just a 10-point lead over Travis Hill (3,500 to 3,490). Hill has a new co-driver this race with Daniel Oliver set to share the No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325 at Road America. Thienes has maximized his Bronze Cup results in endurance races; he has scored 1,000 points in these three races compared to Hill’s 820. 


 

The remaining Bronzes entered include Balogh, Williamson, Matt Forbush returning in the No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09 with Jules Caranta, Jon Hirshberg with Patrick Liddy in the No. 86 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325, and Slade Stewart alongside Andy Lee in Riley’s No. 29 Ligier JS P320.


 

Airbnb Endurance Challenge competitors practice Friday afternoon and Saturday morning with qualifying Saturday afternoon. The two-hour race goes green at 10:05 a.m. CT and local time (11:05 a.m. ET) and streams live via the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

 

 

 

JDC-Miller Has Kept Heinrich in the Championship Frame

First Private Team to Win in New GTP Era Punches Above its Weight


 

August 10, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Arguably the most compelling storyline in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is Laurin Heinrich’s unlikely challenge for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) driver’s championship. In his first full season racing top-level prototypes, the 24-year-old German is locked in a battle with Whelen Cadillac’s Jack Aitken, with 118 points separating the pair with two races remaining. 


 

When Heinrich and Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm drove the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 to victory at the StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May – the first win for a ‘privateer’ team against the powerful factory efforts since the start of IMSA’s modern GTP era in 2023 – it was widely seen as a sensational, feel-good outcome. 


 

But the comparatively small team based out of Savage, Minnesota and its youth-oriented driver lineup have kept the momentum going. Heinrich and van der Helm, 22, were joined by 24-year-old Kaylen Frederick (an American of German descent) to score a third-place finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in June before recently notching another podium by placing second at the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America in early August.


 

Heinrich entered 2026 knowing he would compete only in the three longest rounds of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup as the third driver alongside Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. The talented trio promptly opened the season by claiming the GTP and overall wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway.

A few days before the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in early April, it was announced that Heinrich would partner van der Helm in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Porsche for five additional WeatherTech Championship races this year – all but Watkins Glen, for which Heinrich had a prior Porsche commitment to race in the Spa 24 Hours. Then when van der Helm and Heinrich won at Laguna Seca, thrusting Heinrich into the GTP drivers points lead – Porsche shifted some worldwide driver lineups to allow Heinrich to compete in the Sahlen’s Six Hours for JDC-Miller and give him a full shot at the championship.


 

The big points swing at Road America – where Aitken and the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R and Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 crashed late in the race, boosting the No. 5 JDC-Miller Porsche to second place – brought Heinrich back into championship contention after he fell 203 points behind Aitken following the No. 31 Cadillac’s victory at Watkins Glen. 


 

It was the culmination of a crazy six-hour race that at one point saw the No. 5 Porsche receive a mechanical black flag when its right-side door flew open. 


 

“It felt like a submarine exploded!” Henrich exclaimed.


 

“It looked like it would be a difficult day,” he added. “But sometimes, what I learned in IMSA racing, the race has to come towards you. It’s not always only down to you. You have to realize that if you have the chance to do something by yourself, you have to take it. But if you don’t have the chance to do it by yourself, also you shouldn’t force it. Today was one of these days. We fixed the car in the pit window, had some good restarts, kept our head cool, and obviously taking the podium is good for the championship.”


 

Success at Last

Van der Helm has been part of the JDC-Miller MotorSports GTP effort since it joined the WeatherTech Championship grid in mid-2023. After riding out a tough 2025 season that was topped by a sixth-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, the young Dutchman is thrilled to see results finally coming the team’s way.


 

“The last four race weekends have been unbelievable,” van der Helm said. “I’ve been with this team for four years and we’ve been working as hard as possible to get a bit more to the podium side, sometimes even the chance of winning. It’s been a positive ride. 


 

“Of course, it took some time,” he added. “We got there, and we’ll keep it positive for the next couple races that are left.”


 

The Road America podium was especially gratifying for JDC-Miller MotorSports founder and team principal John Church, who counts the Wisconsin venue about a five-hour drive from the team shop as his home track.


 

JDC-Miller has now claimed five victories in IMSA competition across multiple prototype classes and continues to solidify its reputation as a “giant-killer.” The Laguna Seca win was as important for the team as it was popular to the outside world.


 

“Did it change my life? Well, after the last couple years we’ve had it probably did change my life!” Church said with his customary humor. “There were a lot of dark days the last year or so, where you wonder, ‘Why am I putting myself through this beating on a regular basis?’ But it was actually validating for everybody. And there’s no question that’s probably the thing I’m most proud of.  


 

“At the same time, I’m relieved, because we continue to invest in this program and every time you do that, it’s a bit of a gut check,” he continued. “But I always kept going because I believed in our program and our process, and the people in our program. Difficult as it was, oftentimes, we knew we had a good program, it’s just that all the pieces needed together at once. Now this year, we’ve kind of gotten to that point and continue to build on it. It makes a huge difference.”


 

Youth Movement


 

Perhaps even more impressive than the success itself, JDC-Miller is beating the factory teams with by far the youngest driver lineup in any form of prototype racing in the world.


 

Whether he wins the 2026 GTP championship or not, Heinrich has already been promoted to the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport team for 2027.


 

“It’s fun, because they’re all young and hungry and want to impress,” Church remarked. “To be able to do that with a young driver lineup means a lot, because you obviously want to continue that relationship down the road and keep it going. We’re having a good year in the championship and trying our best to help Laurin out there. Anything we can do to help him and support the Porsche brand, we’re trying as hard as we can.”


 

There’s a short break in the schedule for IMSA’s prototype classes, meaning Heinrich’s next race is in Japan at the Suzuka 1000km, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) for AO Racing in partnership with Absolute Racing. Heinrich won the 2024 IMSA Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) championship in an AO Porsche. 


 

He’ll be back in the No. 5 JDC-Miller 963 for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sept. 18-20, then hopes to be in contention for the GTP championship when he returns to the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche for the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sept. 30 - Oct. 3.


 

“Let’s see how things shake out,” Heinrich said. “Who would have thought I would fight for the championship? I didn’t even expect to do the full season! So, I am happy in the situation I am in. I’m happy with the races we pulled off together with JDC, which is a team with an upward trajectory. I can feel the momentum is still carrying. I’ve enjoyed the journey. It’s been a cool experience so far and I hope we can carry on like that. 


 

“(The points deficit to Aitken) is quite substantial, two races to go,” he added. “Indy now being a sprint race, we’ve seen there’s a lot which can happen. We all know Petit is Petit. I won’t give up. I will push hard and do the last races with two different teams, which is an interesting dynamic. It’s two good teams, and I’m always happy to race a Porsche.”

 

 

IMSA Statement on Review of Incident at Road America Between Nos. 6 and 31 Cars

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 7, 2026) - IMSA officials have completed a comprehensive review of an incident between the No. 6 and No. 31 GTP cars near the end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event at Road America on Sunday, Aug. 2 and the following penalties are being applied:


 

  • The No. 6 receives a post-race time penalty equivalent to a five-minute stop-and-hold penalty for incident responsibility, per Art. 57.3.5 of the 2026 IMSA Sporting Regulations.
  • No. 6 driver Kevin Estre will be placed on probation for two races for unjustifiable risk, per Art. 30.2.4 and Art. 57.3.3. Further penalties while on probation may lead to suspension.


 

Revised provisional results have been posted to results.imsa.com, with official results to follow next week.

 

 

Fervent, Fierce and Fabulous: A First-Timer’s Look at Road America

Connection Between IMSA Fans, Drivers and Paddock Evident in Expanded Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix 


 

August 6, 2026

By Holly Cain

IMSA Wire Service

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – There’s a strong argument to be made that the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has cornered the market on beautiful and historic racing venues – so significant for road course racing in America. 

 

There’s the sport’s obvious connection to Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Three traditional endurance races are renowned at Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Each of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and VIRginia International Raceway are among drivers’ favorites, while the pair of street course races at Long Beach and Detroit pose unique challenges. It doesn’t matter where; the calendar is filled with many “must-experience” events. 

 

And the weekend’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America again proved itself a top-shelf feature on the schedule – boasting a fabulous race at one of the most iconic racing venues in the world. It was a memorable experience for first-time visitors to Road America such as myself, but equally so for the many more long-timers filling the facility over the weekend.

 

Road America feels like the great “connection” between venerable old-schoolers and the burgeoning new fandom. The facility is tradition-filled, bustling with the track’s largest crowd of its 71st season of action. These are knowledgeable, fervent race fans of all ages, lined and set among a stunning backdrop of green pastures and beautiful towering trees. It absolutely provided enough fierce racing for six full hours of door-to-door competition.

 

Without exception, the fans, drivers and team members consider it a sort of racing sanctuary; an idyllic venue, the peaceful track surroundings belying the intensity of the racing on track. There’s a reason it’s long been referred to as “America’s National Park of Speed.” 

 

And undoubtedly Sunday’s endurance edition proved that true with close-quarter bravado from the drop of the green flag to the race’s checkered six hours later.

 

A drive into Elkhart Lake – located about an hour due north of Milwaukee – surrounds you with rolling green pastures dotted with red barns, silver silos and – at this time of year – fields filled with six to seven-foot corn stalks as far as the eye can see. It seems like an actual postcard image from a simpler, fictional time ago. 

 

There are notably few billboards along the interstate highway leading to the track – with occasional quaint exceptions such as a reminder of the “Spoonlickers Café” located near “Pleasant View” Road. Several routes to the race track off the highway make use of picturesque county roads marked simply with letters for names. XX, A, J, M and H are but a few nearby that amble into the track from various directions, with the intersection of Highway 67 and J quite close to track entry at the main gate.  

 

The famed Johnsonville sausage factory and a large Land O’Lakes dairy farm (in Kiel) are only a short 10-minute drive from the Road America gates. 

The long summer nights allow for what has become a new but special tradition here, a “Welcome Party” at Siebkens Resort – the renowned restaurant-bar-lodge combo in Elkhart Lake. It’s about a five-minute drive from the track, and where so much race-week activity revolves and centers. 

 

A classic rock cover band filled the air Thursday with good tunes. Cars lined the streets all around, people sipped on the local favorite Spotted Cow brew and brought their own lawn chairs to take in the scene on the grass between the restaurant and the lodge.

 

A short parade of race cars drove to Siebkens from the track in the early evening and sat proudly on display for the fans – a proper mix of sports car racing devotees, families, kids and even young people who opted for conversation and the sights instead of staring into cell phones. The people came from everywhere – literally – with varying accents all around.

 

IMSA President John Doonan was there. He notes he’s been coming to Road America races since he was six weeks old – insisting with a huge smile that he doesn’t have a “favorite” track, “anymore than ‘I could claim a favorite child.’” However, the Midwestern-raised executive does concede that Road America has been a consistent, well-appreciated staple in his life. His fondness is obvious – and he’s not alone. 

 

The drivers – who were raising money for charity in brief 15-minute shifts as quasi ‘bartenders’ on the lawn – say they absolutely love competing here. Throughout the race weekend, the big screen in the grandstands showed video interviews of foreign drivers being asked to pronounce Wisconsin town names from Waukesha to Oconomowoc to Ashwaubenon. It’s like a “third language,” joked one.

 

And it’s not just the famed track but also the fervent fans and welcoming vibe that they enjoy.

 

“It’s just a really nice part of America to come to,” said New Zealander Earl Bamber, who shares the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti. “Everyone’s so friendly and everything’s warm and the racetrack is probably one of the best layouts in terms of racing but also from the fans side. 

 

“It’s so accessible but at the same time you can stroll through the beautiful forest alongside the track. You’ve also got the beach down at Turn 10 with the volleyball net. It just invites family and friends. And the fact we [the teams] all stay right here and you’ve got that amazing community in Elkhart Lake, this is what makes it great. All the fans are there and can interact outside the racetrack too. That’s what makes it so special.”

 

France’s Lilou Wadoux agreed with that sentiment. Other than a test last month, the race marked her first time turning laps at Road America. Clearly a quick study, she claimed the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) pole position for the race in the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. 

 

“When you come here we know it's always a nice track,” Wadoux said. “A little bit old school. To be honest, I really like this track and enjoy every moment because it's quite special.”

On a pre-race ride as part of IMSA’s Hot Lap Experience in a specially prepared Mercedes-AMG car with two-time GTD champion, Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis driving, I got to experience the track. And of course, going that fast it felt less than its four-mile length, but each of the 14 corners was exciting and you could see the fans pressed against the track fencing and perched atop the overlooks ready to catch all the action.  

 

As it turned out about seven hours later, Ellis enjoyed the ultimate view of the track, celebrating his second straight race win from the highest podium step.

 

There exists a certain unmistakable irony that a place so laid back also perpetually produces the kind of fierce door-to-door racing that thrills the crowds and tests the drivers and teams.

 

It’s exceedingly rare for a venue to be so well-liked by those racing and those watching them race – but Road America again proved itself that special place where reality absolutely lived up to the billing.

 

 

Schedule, Qualifying Information Set for 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship

Five-Round Season Features Qualifying via iRacing Time Attack Platform

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 5, 2026) – The countdown is on to the fifth season of the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship, which will premiere in September, the week between the last two IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds of the season. IMSA will be partnering with iRacing, VCO (Virtual Competition Organisation), AMD and Kinetic for the season. 


 

But before you can race in the IMSA Esports Global Championship, first, you must qualify. 


 

Here’s the qualifying and schedule details for the 2026 season, which starts Sept. 27:


 

Qualifying Information via iRacing Time Attack


 

With the first race set for Sept. 27 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the qualifying takes place a little over a month beforehand, starting Aug. 24.


 

The qualifying is open to all iRacing members via the iRacing Time Attack platform for one week, with registration opening Monday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET and closing Friday, Aug. 28, at 7:59 p.m. ET. During that timeframe, you can register here. 


 

Once registration wraps, the iRacing Time Attack will open Friday, Aug. 28 and close on Aug. 31. The qualifiers will occur at virtual WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and be open to both the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) classes.


 

Fastest eligible teams in both GTP and GTD will be invited to participate in the Car Shootout, which will determine each team’s manufacturer affiliation for the series. The Car Shootout is due to take place Sept. 12 and 13, with individual sessions hosted at five different times each day. 


 

Of note, invitations to the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship can be achieved in three ways:


 

  • Class Champions in 2025 IMSA EGC (pending eligibility)
  • 2026 VCO Grand Slam Broadcast Split GTP or GTD Class Winners
  • iRacing Public Pre-Qualifying


 

The 2025 class champions who have secured an invite are BMW M Team Redline in GTP and Coanda Esports in GTD.


 

Teams can accept up to two invites from winning VCO Grand Slam Broadcast Splits in the GTP and GTD classes. If a team wins more than two invites across the two classes, they may choose which two invites to accept. Teams who have solidified a spot for the 2026 season by winning the top-split of a special event are Grid-and-Go.com eSports and Verstappen Sim Racing.


 

Each race will once again feature a “wild-card” entry. Last year, wild-card entries included Porsche Motorsport, TC Esports, Moradness and CSM.


 

Up to 52 teams will compete in each race.


 

2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship Schedule


 

The 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship schedule follows a similar timeline as in 2025, starting near the end of the actual on-track IMSA season with esports races then coming every other Sunday from Sept. 27 through Nov. 22. 


 

Rounds at virtual Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway and Daytona International Speedway carry over from season four. 


 

New venues Watkins Glen International and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca come in Rounds 3 and 4, replacing a split-race concept from season four where GTP ran at the Streets of Long Beach and GTD at Virginia International Raceway.


 

  • Round 1: Sunday, Sept. 27 – Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
  • Round 2: Sunday, Oct. 11 – Sebring International Raceway
  • Round 3: Sunday, Oct. 25 – Watkins Glen International
  • Round 4: Sunday, Nov. 8 – WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
  • Round 5: Sunday, Nov. 22 – Daytona International Speedway


 

Eligible Cars for 2026


 

There are four GTP and eight GTD models available for the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship. 


 

  • GTP: Acura ARX-06, BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R and Porsche 963
  • GTD: Aston Martin Vantage GT3, BMW M4 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO and Porsche 911 GT3 R


 

Complete details for the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship, including information on how public iRacing drivers and teams may register for the pre-qualifying sessions, are included in the official series rulebook, which can be found here.

 

Three Takeaways: Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Expanded Event’s Buzz; WTR’s Welcome GTP Win Return; Tight Championship Battles


 

August 3, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – If there’s one clear takeaway from any race at Road America, it’s that ‘America’s National Park of Speed’ is a seriously popular venue in the eyes of just about everyone. 


 

The word "expansion" was a big part of the weekend proceedings, from the race length, to the car count, to the pit lane, and to the crowd itself.


 

Expanded Event Draws Expanded Buzz


 

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix was more than doubled in length this year to six hours, and it gave the entire Road America weekend an expanded feel. Motorhomes and tent campers began filling the spacious, rolling grounds Wednesday and Thursday, and even when a significant portion of Saturday’s activity was dampened by rain, the constant buzz of people roaming the paddock and exploring the track’s many vantage points for trackside viewing along its undulating 4.048 miles never slowed down.


 

“It’s so cool to do six hours here,” enthused Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsport’s Tommy Milner, who finished third in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R on Sunday co-driving with Nicky Catsburg. “It’s the right track for a longer endurance race like this one. The fans here are amazing. I think the number is like 31 percent more fans this year than last year and it is, in my opinion, the best IMSA racing track we go to all year long. 


 

“Some events may be a little better and some tracks are more exciting in some ways,” he elaborated. “But when you think about multi-class racing, Road America is the best. You’ve got big, long brake zones, nice high-speed sections. This is a staple of sports car racing and should be for a long time.”


 

Laurin Heinrich, who’s enjoyed a breakout season in the WeatherTech Championship’s top class to add to his already excellent GT accolades, finished second overall and in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class at Road America and echoed Milner’s thoughts.


 

“I said before, this place deserves an endurance race,” said the 24-year-old German. “It’s so historic and I think we all love driving around here. Now coming here in the prototype (the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963) is one of the best experiences you can have as a racing driver.”


 

A Welcome Wayne Taylor Racing Overall Win Return

The sense of “when is Wayne Taylor Racing going to win overall again?” has grown with each passing race in GTP. But finally, after more than two years, WTR was back in the win column overall and crucially, for the first time since its return to Cadillac to start 2025.


 

The emotion, joy and perhaps relief was palpable for the eponymous team owner, who not only won but also saw both his sons on the podium with Ricky Taylor in the winning No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R with Filipe Albuquerque and Jordan Taylor in third in the No. 40 Cadillac with Louis Deletraz. The latter overcame multiple issues to hit the podium.


 

“As you know, we’ve been having such a hard time,” Wayne Taylor admitted. “It’s been very much in my stomach. As long as you keep working harder, digging deeper and pushing everybody, it does happen. Today was just tremendous.”


 

He also expressed sincere thanks to General Motors leadership for their support as he noted, “We could have never done this without them.” 


 

Cadillac has now won its third straight GTP race of 2026 and equaled Porsche for most this season. Acura has a sole win in Long Beach with BMW and Aston Martin seeking their first GTP triumphs. 


 

“These guys work so hard,” said Eric Warren, Vice President, Global Motorsports Competition for General Motors. “It takes a lot to put it together. You see the chaos of the race; that’s what makes IMSA and sports cars so exciting. It comes down to the very end, just incredible racing. What a great job Filipe did on some of those restarts. I couldn’t be happier for everybody.” 


 

Championship Battles Intensify


 

We’re into the home stretch of the season for the WeatherTech Championship. The GT classes have three more races while prototypes have a pair. It’s an interesting split, too, with two standard-length rounds at VIRginia International Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the last IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 


 

Unofficially, the Road America results have drawn all four class championship battles closer. 


 

The GTP gap is unofficially 108 points between Jack Aitken and Heinrich, down from 203 entering the weekend. 


 

In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke of Inter Europol Competition have cut the deficit from 70 down to 36 points behind George Kurtz and Alex Quinn of CrowdStrike Racing by APR. AO Racing’s PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron fell from 81 to 119 back. 

The points shifts were even more dramatic in the GT classes. Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen of Paul Miller Racing now find themselves with a substantially reduced points cushion over three different opponents after arriving at Road America 108 points to the good. 


 

The No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports with Milner and Nicky Catsburg are the closest challengers, now only 15 points back, closely pursued by the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) duo and drivers Harry King and Nick Tandy 31 back. In total, the top seven pairs are within 151 points with the three races remaining.  


 

In GTD, the victorious No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 massively cut its deficit from 203 to 24 points as Russell Ward and Philip Ellis chase their third consecutive class championship. Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello is holding on to that top spot in his Heart of Racing Team entry while the top four pairs are within just 45 points. 


 

There’s also an increasingly tight battle for the Bob Akin Award in GTD, and the 13 Autosport car’s top result there has moved Orey Fidani back ahead of Inception Racing’s Brendan Iribe by just 10 points after Fidani entered the weekend down 20. 


 

The GT battles will continue at VIR with the Michelin GT Challenge on Aug. 23, with all four classes back in action at IMS for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 20. 

What to Watch for: Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix

Michelin Endurance Cup Round 4; Pursuit of Cooperation; GTD Endurance

Extra Stars


 

July 30, 2026

By David Phillips

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – What more could a bona-fide sports car racing aficionado ask for than an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Road America? Set in the bucolic Wisconsin countryside a stone’s throw from the timeless hamlet of Elkhart Lake, America’s “National Park of Speed” has been hallowed ground for sports car racing since founder Clif Tufte opened its gates for a Sports Car Club of America event in 1955. Road America’s 14 turns and four miles have long been a fixture on the IMSA calendar, and the WeatherTech Championship era has witnessed an epic battle from start to finish of the yearly two-hour and forty-minute sprint races.

 

But again… what more could a bona-fide sports car racing aficionado ask for than a WeatherTech Championship race at Road America? How about a WeatherTech Championship endurance race – all six hours of it – at Road America? That’s right. This weekend sees the renewal of the tradition of endurance sports car racing at Road America that dated back to a six-hour enduro in 1956 as well as the 500 milers that annually drew the sports’ top drivers, teams and marques to the Dairy State over the following decades.

 

2026 Michelin Endurance Cup Take Four

This weekend marks Round 4 of this season’s five-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. With the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in the books, competitors jockeying for position heading to the finale in the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will look to maximize their points haul at Road America. With points awarded based on a car’s position at the three-hour mark as well as the finish, watch for some teams to adopt a key points-scoring approach at these two markers.

 

There’s an interesting wrinkle within these Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) standings. Laurin Heinrich has 40 points across both the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport and No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963s through three races, just one point ahead of the No. 7 full-time pair of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer. It'll be interesting to see if the trailing No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, on 30 points, will eat into the nine-point deficit to the No. 7 car and 10-point deficit to Heinrich this weekend.

 

Among the other three classes, the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 leads by just two points over the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA. Paul Miller Racing holds a nine-point lead in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), as the No. 1 Paul Miller BMW M4 GT3 EVO (34) is nine points clear of both the No. 911 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Meanwhile, the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) race features the No. 21 Af Corse Usa Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO on 29 points, four better than the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO but with no fewer than 10 other competitors within 10 points of the lead.

 

When it comes to the 2026 Michelin Endurance Cup, it’s still anybody’s game in all four categories. Road America will set the stage for the season finale in October.   

   

The Pursuit of Cooperation 

 

It was fair to call last year’s Road America race a rough-and-tumble affair with a high volume of paint traded, fenders rubbed and car parts scattered over the course of the 4.048-mile layout. It triggered a response to clean up the driving standards for the remaining rounds of 2025.

“It's not a very forgiving track, so if you do go off, there's a high chance that you'll either hit something or get stuck in the gravel,” says Cadillac Whelen driver Jack Aitken. “That’s a common feature in a lot of the IMSA tracks, so it's not the only reason.


 

“I think the track itself does produce pretty good racing, but it's difficult to make a pass. There are a few big braking zones where you can try. And a lot of places where you can go side-by-side, but it needs cooperation. And we've had plenty of races … where cooperation is not always given. You get body parts, debris, cars off in the gravel, and all of those things can lead to cautions.”


 

Theoretically, a six-hour enduro could produce more cooperation as the prime directive for drivers to arrive on the lead lap and with cars intact for the finish. As a new Michelin Endurance Cup round, there will be some Road America first-timers and others not as familiar with either the track or IMSA’s style of racing on a full-time basis.


 

“Being an endurance round now, you do have a lot of cars, a lot of drivers that are not full-time, full-season entries, with a bit less time in the seat, and that can also contribute to yellows,” Aitken says.


 

GTD second-place man and Birchwood, Wisconsin native Aaron Telitz is optimistic, meanwhile, of a cleaner 2026 race. He’ll share the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 with Benjamin Pedersen and Frankie Montecalvo.


 

“I'm gonna say this year at Road America I think there will be significantly less yellow than we actually saw on the sprint race,” Telitz said. “It’s just because people will want to try to get to the end and try to make it more than in the sprint race format. Some of the restarts on in the sprint race the last couple of years have been absolutely wild. But I think we'll see some more green flag running this time and hopefully that'll make for some really exciting racing.”


 

Endurance Cup Extra Stars in GTD

If you’re looking for an interesting trend to note in Michelin Endurance Cup races, look to GTD.


 

Two of the three GTD endurance races this year have seen a Michelin Endurance Cup-only entry claim the win, with other newer or part-time entries also featuring.


 

Af Corse USA won in Sebring courtesy of Antonio Fuoco’s ferocious, frenetic comeback and final lap charge to pass Tom Gamble’s Aston Martin. Then Manthey 1st Phorm broke through at Watkins Glen.


 

Veteran squad but now part-time entry Magnus Racing nearly won the Rolex 24, while Car Blanche debuted on the GTD podium in its first start at Watkins Glen.


 

Might Triarsi Competizione continue this trend in Road America? Kenton Koch and Onofrio Triarsi won here last year in just their second start together. Together with Robert Megennis, the trio seeks a complete weekend in 2026 as they make their fourth start aboard the No. 023 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Koch noted it’s the first time in 2026 he’s actually driven the Ferrari in consecutive years at the same track, albeit in evo spec.


 

“You go into any weekend wanting to just do your best,” Koch explained. “Going into a sprint weekend versus an endurance weekend, you approach the endurance weekend like you would approach an endurance weekend regardless of if you're full season or not. Yes, it’s a year of driving a little less GT3 cars, and that’s probably the only thing that I’m bummed about. I would love to be driving some more GT3 cars this year. But I'm very happy and fortunate to be in this situation with a good program.”


 

A Triarsi win would add to a run of streaks potentially on the line at Road America. It’d be a third straight Ferrari win at the track across either GT class, after Conquest Racing won in GTD PRO in 2024. BMW has also been strong at Road America with GTD wins in both 2023 and 2024, and a double win last year across GTP and GTD PRO.


 

Cadillac Whelen, meanwhile, seeks its ninth straight GTP podium. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 has won the last two GTD PRO races. Both the Nos. 99 AO and No. 04 CrowdStrike ORECAs have back-to-back podiums in LMP2. 


 

Which streaks will continue and which will end? Could another surprise winner or two emerge? Find out at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday for the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix, streaming live, flag-to-flag on Peacock domestically and IMSA’s Official YouTube channel internationally. 

 

McLaren Trophy America Joins IMSA For 2027 And Beyond



McLaren Trophy America to Move to IMSA Sanctioning on a Long-Term Agreement

Both Brands to Write Exciting New Chapter Based on Rich Motorsport Heritage 

Deal Confirms McLaren Trophy’s Growing Stature as a Global Racing Platform

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 30, 2026) — The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and McLaren have confirmed that IMSA will sanction McLaren Trophy America from the start of the 2027 season after the signing of a long-term deal. The move reflects the continued growth of McLaren’s high-performance racing platform, McLaren Trophy.


 

IMSA, founded in 1969 to run open-wheel racing in North America has sanctioned sports car endurance racing in the region since 1971. IMSA has since developed into the premier sports car & GT racing platform in North America, and one of the leading motorsport organizations in the world. It has run top-level endurance racing through the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship since 2014. 


 

Conceived to encourage and nurture the desires of road car customers to race, McLaren Trophy allows McLaren enthusiast amateur racers to compete in bespoke McLaren Automotive racing cars. Free from regulation, the engineers are allowed to enhance the aerodynamics, performance and handling of the successful GT4 platform racers. The most recent iteration of this formula was revealed in 2024, with the McLaren Artura Trophy Evo race car. 


 

Coinciding with the expansion of the McLaren Trophy one-make racing platform into the North American market, the introduction of the Artura Trophy Evo also brought in regulation changes allowing professional driver line-ups to compete – a strategic move to broaden the talent pool for McLaren Motorsport’s burgeoning factory driver program.


 

This summer, selected drivers from both Trophy Europe and America will be invited to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to take part in a driver assessment program, that could see successful candidates join the 2027 McLaren Motorsport factory driver program. This commitment clearly demonstrates the strategic important of the McLaren Trophy platform as an integral element of the McLaren Motorsport ladder, taking drivers and teams to the top of the endurance racing ladder.


 

GIORGIO SANNA, HEAD OF MOTORSPORT, MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE: “The prospect of racing on the IMSA package is a very exciting one for McLaren Trophy America. IMSA, like McLaren, has a long and storied racing history. It is for that reason that we feel this is an exciting opportunity to work together, as we continue to develop and strengthen the McLaren Trophy package globally.”


 

JOHN DOONAN, IMSA PRESIDENT: “We are honored that McLaren has chosen to expand the partnership between our companies and selected IMSA as the sanctioning body for McLaren Trophy America beginning in 2027. We pride ourselves on delivering unparalleled value to our automotive partners and operating professional motorsports events at the highest level. By selecting IMSA to sanction McLaren Trophy America, McLaren is reinforcing the value we provide and trusting us with one of its prized possessions. We cannot wait to welcome McLaren Trophy America into the IMSA paddock beginning next year and for many years to come.”


 

About McLaren Automotive:

McLaren Automotive is a producer of ultra high-performance, lightweight supercars. Launched in 2010, the company is part of McLaren Group Holdings.


 

Headquartered at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey, England, McLaren Automotive is driven by the challenge of creating the world’s most exhilarating, engaging and benchmark setting vehicles. Leveraging over 60 years of history in authentic, racing performance, McLaren has delivered some of the most spectacular supercars ever made. 


 

The company’s product portfolio of GTS, supercar, Motorsport and Ultimate models are retailed in over 40 markets around the world. Its cars are assembled by hand at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC), based on the same MTC campus that is also the home of McLaren Racing.


 

About McLaren Group Holdings:

Established in April 2025, McLaren Group Holdings Limited is the holding company for McLaren Automotive. The Group also includes the McLaren Licensing business and a non-controlling stake in McLaren Racing. 

 

With a reputation for innovation and technological excellence, McLaren is one of the UK’s largest independent companies.


 

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA):

The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), as well as five one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, Mustang Challenge North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR family – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. This partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information, please visit IMSA.com, and follow IMSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

 

Expect The Unexpected in Six-Hour Road America Tilt

Drivers Seek a Cleaner Race While Still Maintaining IMSA’s Legendary Intensity


 

July 29, 2026

By John Oreovicz

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Road America is familiar (and popular) territory to IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors, and six hours is a common race length in endurance sports car racing. But six hours at Road America is a combination that hasn’t been seen in the modern era.


 

That all changes this weekend as the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix more than doubles from the two-hour, 40-minute format used since 2015 (was two hours, 45 minutes in 2014) to six hours, making it the fourth of five rounds in the 2026 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. The expanded race length was greeted with enthusiasm by fans and participants, and the change will no doubt add a magnitude of unpredictability to what unfolds on the 14-corner, 4.048-mile road course over the span of six hours. 


 

Last year’s sprint race at Road America featured enough door-banging action to rival a NASCAR short track, and IMSA officials responded accordingly with penalty assessment for incident responsibility in subsequent races. 


 

When the law gets laid down, self-policing among the drivers has a way of calming down the aggression level. But there’s a healthy level of debate whether the six-hour format will also contribute to a cleaner Road America race than a year ago – an argument that rages even within the same team.

“I think if Watkins Glen is anything to go by, no. That was a pretty disastrous race, with a lot of guys crashing,” said Jack Hawksworth, who has teamed with Ben Barnicoat to win the last two Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) races at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Chevrolet Grand Prix in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. 


 

The Watkins Glen race featured nine full-course cautions, while Canadian Tire Motorsport Park eased off with just two. 


 

“I was really surprised the amount of stuff that went down in Watkins Glen, but I do think Road America was just a one-off last year,” countered Barnicoat. “For a two-hour, 40-minute race, that was a lot of chaos. I just think sometimes it happens where people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it just kind of compounded. People just try a bit too hard to make something happen when it’s not really happening on some days. So, I do think it’ll be calmer than last year.”

Aaron Telitz stands second in the GTD class standings in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 12 Lexus with Benjamin Pedersen. He’s also a Wisconsin native who has a wealth of experience at Road America over the last 15 years.


 

“Funny enough, in IMSA, these six-hour races just inevitably end up being sprint races,” Telitz remarked. “Track position matters almost the entire way through the race. But I’m gonna say this year at Road America, I think there will be significantly less yellow than we actually saw in the sprint race - just because people will want to try to get to the end more than in the sprint race format. 


 

“I mean, some of the restarts on in the sprint race the last couple of years have been absolutely wild. But I think we’ll see some more green flag running this time and hopefully that’ll make for some really exciting racing.”


 

Nicky Catsburg was behind the wheel when the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R was involved in contact in two of the most recent three races (Detroit and Watkins Glen). The Dutchman was assessed drive-through penalties for incident responsibility in both cases. 


 

“I feel like [IMSA] made a good decision there last year after the race to kind of tone everyone down,” Catsburg observed. “But the way IMSA races, the way the championship works with the yellows and the restarts, you just get in many situations where it’s easy to have contact. I just feel like that kind of belongs in IMSA.


 

“Of course, we as drivers need to try and not constantly hit each other off,” added Catsburg, who ranks second in the GTD PRO standings with co-driver Tommy Milner. “But that’s part of it, you know. I like to go racing hard, and then you win some, you lose some.”

Kenton Koch, who shares the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO with Onofrio Triarsi and Robert Megennis, is another who believes the longer race format will make a difference in the mindset of competitors. Koch and Triarsi won last year in GTD.


 

“Your strategy on long green flag runs can sometimes change, and when you throw a yellow in there, some people take it, some people don’t,” he explained. “When you just lengthen the race, it kind of changes the strategy and how people execute the race. You’ll get to the end and one guy that's been leading for four hours ends up at the tail end because he’s just on a different cycle. Things just are gonna have a little bit more ebb-and-flow, depending on what stage of the race you’re in, just because it’s a longer format.”


 

Jack Aitken is also coming off two consecutive race wins (at the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen) overall and in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP). With assistance from co-drivers Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, Aitken leads the GTP standings, and he insists he’s not going to change anything in his approach as he attempts to build on a streak of eight consecutive podium finishes. 


 

Nor does he expect the fundamental character of the Road America race to change despite the extended length.


 

“We’re kind of expecting it to be a very yellow-heavy race, just going on previous years and the way that the endurance races often go,” Aitken commented. “The two-hour, 40-minute races are long enough that you get multiple stops, so it doesn’t affect as much as you might think.


 

“There’s no reason to change the way that we’ve been racing. because it’s been working well,” he added. “We’re certainly not doing the ‘Win it or bin it’ strategy at the moment, and obviously it wouldn’t make sense to switch over. I think we’re just looking to be as quick as we can and then make sensible decisions in the race. That gets you 99 percent of the way there, and it always will.”


 

Flag-to-flag livestream coverage of the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 2, available via Peacock in the U.S. and IMSA.TV and the official IMSA IMSA YouTube channel internationally.

 

MSA’s Global Audience Reaches New Heights Across Broadcast and Digital Platforms

Expansive International Options Continue to Enhance, Amplify IMSA Content

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 28, 2026) – Fans around the world are consuming IMSA content at record levels, as the sanctioning body continues to expand its reach through a combination of international television distribution, live streaming and digital-first storytelling.


 

Through a longstanding partnership with Greenlight International and the continued momentum of IMSA’s official YouTube channel, the organization is connecting with audiences in more countries, on more platforms and in more ways than ever before.


 

The growth reflects a significant shift in how motorsport fans engage with content. While traditional linear television remains an important component of IMSA’s international strategy, digital platforms have become an increasingly vital gateway for new fans to discover sports car racing.


 

Greenlight International continues to play a major role in that effort. Since partnering with IMSA in 2017, the agency has expanded the championship’s footprint worldwide, helping deliver IMSA content to more than 450 million households across 148 countries outside the United States. Live race coverage now reaches more than 120 international territories, complemented by magazine-style programming that showcases the personalities, manufacturers and stories that define the IMSA paddock. 


 

Programs including Motorsport Mundial and Planet Speed continue to feature IMSA content throughout the year, helping drive awareness of the championship beyond race weekends and introducing new audiences to the sport.


 

“IMSA continues to resonate with broadcasters and viewers across the globe,” said Jon Quayle of Greenlight International. “The combination of elite manufacturer participation, world-class drivers and compelling competition creates a product that consistently performs well for our distribution partners. We have seen continued demand from both established and emerging markets, reflecting the growing international appeal of the championship.”


 

At the same time, IMSA's digital audience has accelerated at a remarkable pace. The official IMSA YouTube channel now exceeds 1.86 million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed motorsports property in North America and one of the largest motorsport channels in the world.


 

The channel has evolved far beyond a race-streaming platform. The bedrock of the channel is live international streaming of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship events and global live streaming – including U.S. coverage – of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and IMSA-sanctioned single-make races. In addition, it serves as a destination for documentary-style features – such as the popular "Win The Weekend presented by Michelin" docuseries, race replays, onboard camera feeds, archival content, short-form highlights and behind-the-scenes storytelling.


 

Long-form race broadcasts continue to generate substantial viewing hours from audiences around the world, while shorter digital formats are attracting new fans seeking highlights, driver features and easily consumable race content.


 

The success of IMSA’s YouTube strategy underscores the growing appetite for always-available motorsports content. Viewers are increasingly engaging with races and original programming on their own schedules, creating year-round opportunities for fans to connect with the championship.


 

“Accessibility remains one of the foundations of our content strategy,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “Whether fans are watching through one of our global broadcast partners or engaging with us digitally, our goal is to make IMSA content available wherever they choose to consume it.


 

“The growth we've experienced on YouTube has been extraordinary. Reaching 1.86 million subscribers and becoming the most-subscribed motorsports property in North America is a significant milestone, but more importantly it reflects the passion of our fans around the world and the strength of our competition. Combined with the continued support of partners like Greenlight International, we're introducing IMSA to and engaging with new audiences every day.”


 

As fan viewing habits continue to evolve, IMSA's combination of worldwide television distribution, free international streaming and original digital content positions the organization to reach more motorsports enthusiasts than ever before, ensuring that the excitement of sports car racing remains accessible to a truly global audience.

 

 

 

 

Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Heads to Road America

LB Cup Is Closest Championship Battle Among the Four Classes


 

July 28, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America teams head to Road America for Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2026 season, where the class battles for championships may intensify. LB Cup is the closest of the four battles with Pro and Am also relatively tight, while ProAm has a clear leader. 

 

Pro


 

A weekend sweep at Watkins Glen International moved Elias De La Torre (No. 29 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2) to the head of the championship table over his former teammate, Will Bamber (No. 33 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Huracán). De La Torre has Dennis Lind back alongside him this weekend; a win for the young driver would mean he’d have captured a checkered flag alongside three different co-drivers in what could be a championship season.


 

Bamber and Darius Trinka will look to reclaim the top spot, after winning their first race together at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May and scoring two important podium finishes in Watkins Glen.


 

Wayne Taylor Racing seeks a bounce back weekend after a tough Watkins Glen, and Road America may be the perfect venue for them to do so. Hampus Ericsson and Danny Formal swept the weekend here last year and Ericsson, along with Nick Persing, need a big weekend to stay in the title battle now down 29 points in their No. 1 WTR, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán.


 

RAFA Racing Team impressed at Watkins Glen with a pair of podiums for Tyler Gonzalez and Kiko Porto in their No. 2 Lamborghini Austin Huracán, with the duo set to continue for a second consecutive race weekend. 

 

ProAm


 

Formal and Graham Doyle, in their No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán have enjoyed a dream season to date with six wins from six starts and a 36-point lead heading into Road America. They’ve claimed 92 of a possible 96 points so far in 2026 and with six races remaining, may put themselves in position to wrap up the title early. 


 

Best of the rest so far have been Lindsay Brewer and Keawn Tandon, who have four podiums from six races in their No. 77 Forty7 Motorsports, Lamborghini Houston, Huracán. They’re at the head of a four-car battle for second, covered by just 16 points. Brewer won here last year in Am with Jem Hepworth as part of an all-female lineup. 

 

Am


 

With six podiums from six starts, David Staab is writing the book on consistency in Am. The driver of the No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports, Lamborghini Palm Beach, Huracán only has one win but has consistently featured on the box as his nearest rivals have changed from race-to-race.


 

Dean Neuls, in his No. 70 TR3 Racing, Lamborghini Miami, Huracán, was the first driver to two wins in the class and sits second, just 10 points in arrears. Two-time LB Cup champion Nick Groat won his Am debut in his No. 57 XONINE Racing, Lamborghini Chicago, Huracán at Sebring but hasn’t been back to the top since. Groat did win twice here last year in LB Cup. He’s part of a close battle for third, also featuring teammate Anthony Bullock – a two-time winner in his own No. 12 XONINE entry – and Johan Schwartz, who shares the No. 89 89X Motorsports, Lamborghini Sarasota Huracán with Mike Fitzpatrick.

 

LB Cup


 

The closest championship battle resides in the hotly contested LB Cup division. A post-race penalty in Race 2 at Watkins Glen flipped the race results and the standings; Philippe Touchette (No. 11 TB Autosports, Lamborghini Montreal, Huracán) now leads Rocky T. Bolduc (No. 99 Topp Racing, Lamborghini Greenwich, Huracán) by just one point.


 

Five different drivers have already won races in LB Cup this year, as beyond Touchette and Bolduc, Ray Shahi (No. 65 Taurino Racing) and Forty7 Motorsports teammates Christopher Koebbe (No. 66) and Christopher Tasca (No. 95) all have a win apiece. It’s made for an intense and deep LB Cup field. 


 

Lamborghini Super Trofeo practices on Thursday with qualifying Friday morning and the two 50-minute races Friday at 4:45 p.m. ET (3:45 p.m. CT and local time) and Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT). Races stream via Peacock, IMSA’s YouTube channel and Lamborghini’s YouTube channel.


 

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Road America Race 1 Winners:

  • Pro: Danny Formal/Hampus Ericsson, No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing
  • ProAm: Trent Hindman/Jackson Lee, No. 69 Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Am: David Staab, No. 48 Precision Performance Motorsports
  • LB Cup: Nick Groat, No. 57 ONE Motorsports


 

2025 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Road America Race 2 Winners:

  • Pro: Danny Formal/Hampus Ericsson, No. 1 Wayne Taylor Racing
  • ProAm: Conrad Geis/Jason Hart, No. 67 TR3 Racing
  • Am: Jem Hepworth/Lindsay Brewer, No. 2 RAFA Racing
  • LB Cup: Nick Groat, No. 57 ONE Motorsports

Entry List Notebook - IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Road America 120

Six Different Manufacturers Have Won Last Six GS Races in Elkhart Lake


 

July 27, 2026

By Tony DiZinno

IMSA Wire Service

Entry List (Click Here)


 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Road America has emerged as a bit of a wild card round for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competitors the last several years. A total of 42 cars are entered for the Road America 120, split 28 Grand Sport (GS) and 14 Touring Car (TCR), for Round 7 of the season. 


 

Six different manufacturers have won overall and in GS since 2020: McLaren, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Chevrolet, Porsche and Ford. Of those six, all but Chevrolet are still active. 


 

Aston Martin or Toyota could continue the parity streak if either manufacturer wins their first Road America race, and both are coming off highs at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Aston Martin won its second straight pole, with Heart of Racing Team’s Hannah Greenemeier following Hannah Grisham as the fastest GS qualifier two weeks earlier at Watkins Glen. Then Toyota won the race in Canada with RAFA Racing’s Kiko Porto and Varun Choksey parlaying their pace into a first victory. 


 

The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park round shifted the GS title battle to where only 40 points covers the top three. McCumbee McAleer Racing’s Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker now lead by 30 points over Ibiza Farm Motorsport’s Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky, with Auto Technic Racing’s Stevan McAleer and Austin Krainz just 10 points further back in third. Tough recent weekends have dropped Turner Motorsport’s Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars and Winward Racing’s Bryce Ward slightly down the order, but still with enough time to claw back the deficit as they’re both within 190 points.


 

TCR saw a new Road America winner last year with Hyundai back on top at the track for the first time since 2020; Bryson Morris and Mark Wilkins delivered the Elantra N TCR’s first win at the venerable 4.048-mile circuit.


 

Morris and Mason Filippi have been the model of consistency in TCR this year, with two wins including last time out at CTMP and five podiums achieved in six races. That sees them 200 points clear of teammates Denis Dupont and Preston Brown. Although that 200-point gap is strong, a tough result for the No. 33 car could bring any of the next five cars into title contention, as they’re only covered by 80 points. 


 

Among the handful of changes throughout the grid, Celso Neto is listed alongside Eddie Gou in the No. 55 Gou Racing with Stallion Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Both Medusa Motorsports and RVA Graphics by Speed Syndicate Motorsports return after at least one-race absences, while LAP Motorsports has entered the No. 6 rather than No. 30 Ford Mustang GT4.


 

Michelin Pilot Challenge teams have one practice Thursday, a second Friday morning before qualifying Friday afternoon, and race Saturday at 12:50 p.m. CT and local time (1:50 p.m. ET). Live race coverage streams flag-to-flag on Peacock and ad-free, courtesy of Michelin, on the IMSA Official YouTube channel. 

Fast Facts

Road America 120

Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

July 30-August 1, 2026


 

Race Day/Time: Saturday, August 1, 1:50 p.m. ET (12:50 p.m. CT and local time)

Live Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 1:45 p.m. ET, Peacock in the U.S., globally on IMSA YouTube ad-free courtesy of Michelin

Circuit Type: 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course

Classes Competing: Grand Sport (GS), Touring Car (TCR)

Race Length: Two hours


 

Michelin Pilot Challenge Track Records

  • GS: Jesse Lazare, McLaren Artura GT4, 2:13.840 / 108.881 mph, August 2024 (Qualifying) 
  • TCR: LP Montour, Honda Civic FL5 TCR, 2:16.207 / 106.989 mph, August 2025 (Qualifying) 


 

2025 Road America 120 Winners

  • GS: Nate Cicero/Jenson Altzman, No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4
  • TCR: Mark Wilkins/Bryson Morris, No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR


 

Storylines

  • GS with Three Within 40 Points: Just 40 points cover the top three championship contenders in GS, while 190 points cover the top five. 
  • Hyundai vs. Honda in TCR: Hyundai won its first TCR race at CTMP since Monterey after Honda went back-to-back at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen. The TCR manufacturer battle sees Hyundai only 50 points clear of Honda. 


 

Who’s Hot?

  • No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford: With six top-10s in six races, Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker now lead the GS points and return to the site where Cicero and Jenson Altzman won last year. 
  • No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai: Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris have secured five podiums in six races, including two wins, and Morris returns to where he won last year with Mark Wilkins. 


 

Who’s Good Here?

  • Stevan McAleer: A two-time Road America winner, McAleer also finished third here last year in his No. 27 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO he shares with Austin Krainz. 
  • Tim Lewis: Lewis reeled off four straight TCR wins in KMW’s Alfa Romeo from 2021 to 2024 and got his first Honda win with the team at Watkins Glen. 


 

Previous Road America IMPC Winners in 2026 Field (15)

  • Tim Lewis (4): TCR – 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Matt Plumb (3): GS – 2012, 2013, 2015 
  • Stevan McAleer (2): ST – 2017; GS – 2024
  • Bill Auberlen (1): GS – 2021 
  • Nate Cicero (1): GS – 2025 
  • Mason Filippi (1): TCR – 2019
  • Chad Gilsinger (1): ST – 2015 
  • Harry Gottsacker (1): TCR – 2019 
  • Billy Johnson (1): GS – 2016 
  • Greg Liefooghe (1): ST – 2013 
  • Dillon Machavern (1): GS – 2021
  • Bryson Morris (1): TCR – 2025 
  • Hugh Plumb (1): GS – 2015 
  • William Tally (1): TCR – 2024
  • Mark Wilkins (1): TCR – 2025 


 

Previous Road America IMPC Pole Winners in 2026 Field (8)

  • Paul Holton (2): GS – 2017, 2018
  • Nate Cicero (1): GS – 2025 
  • Harry Gottsacker (1): TCR – 2023
  • Tim Lewis (1): TCR – 2022 
  • Dillon Machavern (1): GS – 2021 
  • Luca Mars (1): GS – 2022 
  • Robert Megennis (1): GS – 2023 
  • LP Montour (1): TCR – 2025


 

Previous Road America IMPC Winning Teams in 2026 Field (7)

  • KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering (4): TCR – 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
  • Bryan Herta Autosport (3): TCR – 2019, 2020, 2025
  • HART (2): CDK – 2001; ST – 2015 
  • KohR Motorsports (1): GS – 2017 
  • McCumbee McAleer Racing (1): GS – 2025 
  • Murillo Racing (1): GS – 2022 
  • Turner Motorsport (1): GS – 2021 


 

Previous Road America 120 Winning Manufacturers in 2026 Field (8)

  • Porsche – 6 
  • BMW – 5
  • Ford – 4
  • Hyundai – 3
  • Honda – 2 
  • Audi – 1 
  • McLaren – 1 
  • Mercedes-AMG – 1 
 

International Motor Sports Association    Lamborghini Super Trofeo series  

 

 

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