Minor changes, strong brand presence
The IMSA SportsCar Championship has unveiled its provisional grid for the 2026 season. Despite some restructuring, the US endurance series remains at a high level: 45 vehicles are registered for the full season, with a further nine taking part in the Endurance Cup endurance races. Individual late entries are still possible.
IMSA President John Doonan presented the overview during the Petit Le Mans at his traditional “State of the Sport” press conference. Despite the withdrawal of some projects, the series remains stable – and continues to benefit from the decision of several manufacturers to prioritize their involvement in North America.
GTP class: slightly smaller, but still top-class
In the top class with the hybrid prototypes, the field is shrinking slightly. Lamborghini pauses its program with the SC63, and the private Proton Porsche is missing after its retirement at the Watkins Glen race. BMW is switching the deployment of its M-Hybrid V8 cars from previous partner Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to WRT. Aston Martin will remain represented with the Valkyrie project, while Genesis is planning to join in 2027.
LMP2: Two new teams, familiar structures
The LMP2 category remains stable in terms of numbers with twelve cars. Riley and AF Corse are no longer represented, but Team Tonis and the revived Intersport Racing are joining them. Bryan Herta Autosport moves up in cooperation with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.
GTD Pro: fewer full-time programs, more endurance projects
The GTD Pro class will comprise eight cars in future, two fewer than in 2025, with Paul Miller Racing reducing its involvement and DragonSpeed switching to GTD. Instead, several teams will join the field in the Endurance Cup, including Risi Competizione, Triarsi Competizione, 75 Express and Manthey Racing with the “Grello” Porsche.
GTD: Wide variety of brands
Interest remains high in the GTD class. New participants include Riley (from LMP2) and DragonSpeed (from GTD Pro). For the endurance races, RS1, Lone Star Racing and a second Manthey-Porsche have been added. The Korthoff, Cetilar, Forte Competition and Magnus Racing teams are no longer involved. AWA will compete under the name 13 Motorsports from 2026.
Pre-registered teams and vehicles (as of October 2025)
GTP (11 starters)
- #6 – Porsche Penske Motorsport – Porsche 963
- #7 – Porsche Penske Motorsport – Porsche 963
- #10 – Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing – Cadillac V-Series.R (Albuquerque/Taylor/Stevens)
- #23 – Aston Martin Thor Team – Valkyrie
- #24 – BMW M Team WRT – M Hybrid V8
- #25 – BMW M Team WRT – M Hybrid V8
- #31 – Action Express Racing – Cadillac V-Series.R (Aitken/Bamber/Vesti)
- #40 – Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing – Cadillac V-Series.R (J. Taylor/Deletraz/Herta)
- #60 – Acura Meyer Shank Racing – ARX-06
- #85 – JDC-Miller Motorsports – Porsche 963
- #93 – Acura Meyer Shank Racing – ARX-06
LMP2 (12 starters)
- #2 – United Autosports – Oreca 07-Gibson (Fayer/tba)
- #04 – Algarve Pro Racing – Oreca 07-Gibson
- #8 – Tower Motorsports – Oreca 07-Gibson (Farano/tba)
- #11 – TDS Racing – Oreca 07-Gibson
- #18 – Era Motorsport – Oreca 07-Gibson
- #22 – United Autosports – Oreca 07-Gibson (Goldburg/tba)
- #37 – Intersport Racing – Oreca 07-Gibson (Field/tba)
- #43 – Inter Europol Competition – Oreca 07-Gibson (Clarke/Dillmann/Garg)
- #52 – Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen – Oreca 07-Gibson
- #61 – Team Tonis – Oreca 07-Gibson (Kasemets/tba)
- #73 – Pratt Miller Motorsports – Oreca 07-Gibson
- #99 – AO Racing – Oreca 07-Gibson
GTD Pro (8 full-time + 4 endurance)
- #1 – Paul Miller Racing – Manufacturer tba
- #3 – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller – Corvette Z06 GT3.R
- #4 – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller – Corvette Z06 GT3.R
- #9 – Pfaff Motorsports – Lamborghini (model tba)
- #14 – Vasser Sullivan – Lexus RC F GT3
- #62 – Risi Competizione – Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo*
- #64 – Ford Multimatic Motorsports – Mustang GT3
- #65 – Ford Multimatic Motorsports – Mustang GT3
- #75 – 75 Express – Mercedes-AMG GT3*
- #77 – AO Racing – Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- #033 – Triarsi Competizione – Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo*
- #911 – Manthey Racing – Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)*
GTD (14 full-time + 5 endurance)
- #12 – Vasser Sullivan
- #13 – 13 Motorsports
- #16 – Riley
- #19 – Van der Steur Racing
- #21 – AF Corse*
- #023 – Triarsi Competizione*
- #27 – Heart of Racing Team
- #34 – Conquest Racing – Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Franco/tba)
- #36 – DXDT Racing
- #45 – Wayne Taylor Racing
- #57 – Winward Racing
- #66 – Gradient Racing
- #70 – Inception Racing – Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Iribe/Schandorff/Millroy)
- #80 – Lone Star Racing*
- #81 – DragonSpeed
- #83 – RS1*
- #96 – Turner Motorsport
- #120 – Wright Motorsports
- #912 – Manthey Racing* – Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) (Hardwick/tba)