2026 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge

The 2026 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge season is the fourth season of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge after being established in 2023 as a replacement for the IMSA Prototype Challenge. The season will begin on January 16 at Daytona International Speedway and will conclude on October 3 at Road Atlanta. This season will mark the debut of the new, third-generation LMP3 cars in this series.[1][2] On October 29, it been announced that the new BMW M2 Challenge cars (BMC) will be added alongside the LMP3 class in the endurance rounds.[3]

Classes

Calendar

The provisional schedule was released on September 16, 2025, at IMSA's annual State of the Sport Address, featuring sixteen rounds split across ten race weekends, which will be made up of 6 Sprint and 4 Endurance rounds. All ten events had confirmed dates.[4]

Round Circuit Length Classes Date
1 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes LMP3, GSX January 16–19
2 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas (NASCAR Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes LMP3, GSX February 27–28
3 Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 hours LMP3 March 6–8
4 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 hours LMP3, BMC May 7–9
5 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes LMP3, GTDX, GSX June 5–7
6 Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 hours LMP3, BMC June 19–21
7 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville Ontario (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes LMP3, GTDX, GSX July 10–12
8 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 hours LMP3, BMC August 14–16
9 Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes GTDX, GSX August 21–23
10 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia (Grand Prix Circuit) 2 x 45 minutes LMP3, GTDX, GSX October 1–3

Entry list

LMP3

Team Car Engine No. Drivers Rounds
LMP3 Gen 3
Shopify Racing powered by TWOth[5][6] Ligier JS P325 Toyota V35A-FTS 3.5 L Turbo V6 2 Travis Hill[7] 1–3
Nicole Havrda 3
Toney Driver Development[8] Ligier JS P325 Toyota V35A-FTS 3.5 L Turbo V6 30 Brady Golan[7] 1
Wyatt Brichacek 2
Ari Balogh 3
Garett Grist 3
95 Lincoln Day[8] 1, 3
Titus Sherlock 2
Wyatt Brichacek 3
Forte Racing[8] Ligier JS P325 Toyota V35A-FTS 3.5 L Turbo V6 77 Brian Thienes[8] 2-3
Patrick Kujala 3
LMP3 Gen 2
Gebhardt Motorsport[9] Duqueine M30 - D08 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 1 Óscar Tunjo[9] 1–3
Valentino Catalano 3
11 Danny Soufi[9] 1–3
Jake Williamson 3
31 Jérémy Siffert[9] 1–2
Forbush Performance Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 18 Matt Forbush 3
Tom Long
Mishumotors Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 70 Mirco Schultis 1–2
Forte Racing[8] Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 77 Brian Thienes[8] 1–2
86 Jon Hirshberg[8] 1–2
FastMD with Remstar[8] Duqueine M30 - D08 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 87 Farhan Siddiqi[8] 1–3
Jagger Jones 3

GTDX

Team Car Engine No. Drivers Rounds
Ruckus Racing[10] Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Porsche M97/80 4.2 L Flat-6 45 Scott Blind[10] TBC
Rebel Rock Racing[11] Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo Aston Martin AMR16A 4.0 L Turbo V8 72 Frank DePew[11] TBC

GSX

Team Car Engine No. Drivers Rounds
Di Benedetto Racing[12] Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Porsche MDG.GA 4.0 L Flat-6 4 Justin Di Benedetto[12] 1
RAFA Racing Team[13] Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo2 BMW B58B30 3.0 L Turbo I6 8 Westin Workman[13] 1–2
68 Rafael Martinez[8] 1–2
Stephen Cameron Racing[14] Ford Mustang GT4 (2024) Ford Coyote 5.0 L V8 19 Sean Quinlan 1
Mad Joker Racing by Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 Mercedes-Benz M178 4.0 L Turbo V8 22 Marc Austin 2
Czabok-Simpson Motorsport[15] Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Porsche MDG.GA 4.0 L Flat-6 25 Ismaeel Ellahi[15] 1
Auto Technic Racing[8] BMW M4 GT4 Evo (G82) BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Turbo I6 26 Tiger Tari[8] 1–2
CarBahn Motorsports 35 Courtney Crone[16] 1–2
Kingpin Racing[17] Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo2 BMW B58B30 3.0 L Turbo I6 81 Jon Brel[17] 1–2
89x Motorsports[8] Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Mercedes-Benz M177 4.0 L Turbo V8 89 Mike Fitzpatrick[8] 1
Vintage Racing Company[8] Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Porsche MDG.GA 4.0 L Flat-6 91 Dan Ammann[8] 1–2
Panam Motorsport[8] Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo2 BMW B58B30 3.0 L Turbo I6 98 Cecilia Rabelo[8] 1
Goldcrest Motorsports[8] Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport Porsche MDG.GA 4.0 L Flat-6 808 Jim Jonsin[8] 1

BMC

Team Car Engine No. Drivers Rounds

Race results

Bold indicates overall winner.

Round Circuit P3 Winner GTDX Winner GSX Winner BMC Winner
1 R1 Daytona #1 Gebhardt Motorsport no entries #8 RAFA Racing did not participate
Óscar Tunjo Westin Workman
R2 #1 Gebhardt Motorsport #8 RAFA Racing
Óscar Tunjo Westin Workman
2 R1 COTA #30 Toney Driver Development no entries #8 RAFA Racing did not participate
Wyatt Brichacek Westin Workman
R2 #30 Toney Driver Development #8 RAFA Racing
Wyatt Brichacek Westin Workman
3 Sebring #1 Gebhardt Motorsport did not participate did not participate no entries
Valentino Catalano
Óscar Tunjo
4 COTA did not participate did not participate
5 R1 Mid-Ohio did not participate
R2
6 Virginia did not participate did not participate
7 R1 Mosport did not participate
R2
8 Road America did not participate did not participate
9 R1 VIR did not participate did not participate
R2
10 R1 Road Atlanta did not participate
R2

Championship standings

Points system

Championship points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Points are awarded based on finishing positions in the race as shown in the chart below.[18]

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30+
Race 350 320 300 280 260 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

Drivers' Championships

LMP3 Drivers' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS1
 SEB
 AUS2
 MOH
 VIR
 MOS
 ELK
 ATL
 Points
1 Óscar Tunjo 1 1 3 3 1 1650
2 Brian Thienes 5 2 7 7 2 1380
3 Danny Soufi 3 8 4 4 4 1370
4 Travis Hill 8 5 5 5 5 1270
5 Farhan Siddiqi 10 6 10 8 8 1130
6 Mirco Schultis 9 4 6 6 1000
7 Wyatt Brichacek 1 1 6 950
8 Lincoln Day 4 3 6 830
9 Jérémy Siffert 7 7 8 DNS 710
10 Jon Hirshberg 6 9 9 DNS 690
11 Titus Sherlock 2 2 640
12 Brady Golan 2 10 530
13 Valentino Catalano 1 350
14 Patrick Kujala 2 320
15 Ari Balogh
Garett Grist 		3 300
16 Jake Williamson 4 280
17 Nicole Havrda 5 260
18 Matt Forbush
Tom Long 		7 240
19 Jagger Jones 8 230
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points classification
Blue Non-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired, not classified (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold - Pole position
Italics - Fastest lap

LMP3 Drivers' Sprint Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 ATL
 Points
1 Óscar Tunjo 1 1 3 3 1300
2 Danny Soufi 3 8 4 4 1090
3 Brian Thienes 5 2 7 7 1060
4 Travis Hill 8 5 5 5 1010
5 Mirco Schultis 9 4 6 6 1000
6 Farhan Siddiqi 10 6 10 8 900
7 Jérémy Siffert 7 7 8 DNS 710
8 Wyatt Brichacek 1 1 700
9 Jon Hirshberg 6 9 9 DNS 690
10 Titus Sherlock 2 2 640
11 Lincoln Day 4 3 580
12 Brady Golan 2 10 530

LMP3 Drivers' Endurance Championship

Pos. Drivers SEB
 AUS
 VIR
 ELK
 Points
1 Valentino Catalano
Óscar Tunjo 		1 350
2 Patrick Kujala
Brian Thenes 		2 320
3 Ari Balogh
Garett Grist 		3 300
4 Danny Soufi
Jake Williamson 		4 280
5 Nicole Havrda
Travis Hill 		5 260
6 Wyatt Brichacek
Lincoln Day 		6 250
7 Matt Forbush
Tom Long 		7 240
8 Jagger Jones
Farhan Siddiqi 		8 230

LMP3 Bronze Drivers' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS1
 SEB
 AUS2
 MOH
 VIR
 MOS
 ELK
 ATL
 Points
1 Brian Thienes 1 1 3 3 1 1650
2 Travis Hill 3 3 1 1 4 1580
3 Farhan Siddiqi 5 4 5 4 6 1330
4 Mirco Schultis 4 2 2 2 1240
5 Jon Hirshberg 2 5 4 DNS 860
6 Ari Balogh 2 320
7 Jake Williamson 3 300
8 Matt Forbush 5 260

GSX Drivers' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 VIR
 ATL
 Points
1 Westin Workman 1 1 1 1 1400
2 Courtney Crone 7 4 2 2 1160
3 Rafael Martinez 6 7 4 4 1050
4 Dan Ammann 5 5 7 5 1020
5 Jon Brel 8 9 5 7 950
6 Tiger Tari 11 11 6 6 900
7 Justin Di Benedetto 3 2 620
8 Marc Austin 3 3 600
9 Sean Quinlan 4 3 580
10 Ismaeel Ellahi 2 10 530
11 Cecilia Rabelo 9 6 470
12 Jim Jonsin 12 8 420
13 Mike Fitzpatrick 10 12 400

GSX Bronze Drivers' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 VIR
 ATL
 Points
1 Rafael Martinez 3 3 2 2 1240
2 Dan Ammann 2 2 5 3 1200
3 Jon Brel 4 5 3 5 1100
4 Tiger Tari 6 6 4 4 1060
5 Sean Quinlan 1 1 700
6 Marc Austin 1 1 700
7 Jim Jonsin 7 4 520
8 Mike Fitzpatrick 5 7 500

Teams' Championships

LMP3 Teams' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS1
 SEB
 AUS2
 MOH
 VIR
 MOS
 ELK
 ATL
 Points
1 #1 Gebhardt Motorsport 1 1 3 3 1 1650
2 #30 Toney Driver Development 2 10 1 1 3 1530
3 #95 Toney Driver Development 4 3 2 2 6 1470
4 #11 Gebhardt Motorsport 3 8 4 4 4 1370
5 #77 Forte Racing 5 2 7 7 2 1380
6 #2 Shopify Racing powered by TWOth 8 5 5 5 5 1270
7 #87 FastMD with Remstar 10 6 10 8 8 1230
8 #70 Mishumotors 9 4 6 6 1000
9 #31 Gebhardt Motorsport 7 7 8 DNS 710
10 #86 Forte Racing 6 9 9 DNS 690
11 #18 Forbush Performance 7 240

LMP3 Teams' Sprint Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 ATL
 Points
1 #1 Gebhardt Motorsport 1 1 3 3 1300
2 #30 Toney Driver Development 2 10 1 1 1230
3 #95 Toney Driver Development 4 3 2 2 1220
4 #11 Gebhardt Motorsport 3 8 4 4 1090
5 #77 Forte Racing 5 2 7 7 1060
6 #2 Shopify Racing powered by TWOth 8 5 5 5 1010
7 #70 Mishumotors 9 4 6 6 1000
8 #87 FastMD with Remstar 10 6 10 8 900
9 #31 Gebhardt Motorsport 7 7 8 DNS 710
10 #86 Forte Racing 6 9 9 DNS 690

LMP3 Teams' Endurance Championship

Pos. Drivers SEB
 AUS
 VIR
 ELK
 Points
1 #1 Gebhardt Motorsport 1 350
2 #77 Forte Racing 2 320
3 #30 Toney Driver Development 3 300
4 #11 Gebhardt Motorsport 4 280
5 #2 Shopify Racing powered by TWOth 5 260
6 #95 Toney Driver Development 6 250
7 #18 Forbush Performance 7 240
8 #87 FastMD with Remstar 8 230

GSX Teams' Championship

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 VIR
 ATL
 Points
1 #8 RAFA Racing Team 1 1 1 1 1400
2 #35 CarBahn Motorsports 7 4 2 2 1160
3 #68 RAFA Racing Team 6 7 4 4 1050
4 #91 Vintage Racing Company 5 5 7 5 1020
5 #81 Kingpin Racing 8 9 5 7 950
6 #26 Auto Technic Racing 11 11 6 6 900
7 #4 Di Benedetto Racing 3 2 620
8 #22 Mad Joker Racing by Lone Star Racing 3 3 600
9 #19 Stephen Cameron Racing 4 3 580
10 #25 Czabok-Simpson Motorsport 2 10 530
11 #98 Panam Motorsport 9 6 470
12 #808 Goldcrest Motorsports 12 8 420
13 #89 89x Motorsports 10 12 400

Manufacturers' Championships

GSX Manufacturers'

Pos. Drivers DAY
 AUS
 MOH
 MOS
 VIR
 ATL
 Points
1 Toyota 1 1 1 1 1400
2 BMW 4 7 2 2 1160
3 Porsche 2 2 7 5 1160
4 Mercedes-AMG 3 3 600
5 Ford 4 3 600
6 Aston Martin 10 12 520

References

  1. ^ "ACO announces next-gen LMP3 from 2025". 24 Hours of Le Mans. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. July 11, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  2. ^ "IMSA Expands, Enhances Next Era of LMP3 Competition". imsa.com. International Motor Sports Association. August 1, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "BMW M2 Challenge Class Added to VPRC Enduros". Sportscar365. John Days Media. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "Expanded VP Racing Challenge 2026 Schedule Revealed". Sportscar365. John Days Media. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  5. ^ "TWOth Autosport Sets Sights on IMSA LMP3 in 2026 with New Ligier JS P325". IMSA.com. International Motor Sports Association. November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  6. ^ Dagys, John (January 8, 2026). "TWOth Autosport Rebrands to Shopify Racing for IMSA Efforts". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Set to Start 2026 Season in Daytona". imsa.com. January 13, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Dagys, John (January 7, 2026). "GTDX Remains Eligible Class Despite No Entries for Daytona". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d Dagys, John (December 31, 2025). "Siffert to Make IMSA Debut in Gebhardt LMP3 Entry at Daytona". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Grace, Jonathan (October 8, 2025). "Blind Lining Up GT3 Effort After Single-Make Success". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Dagys, John (November 14, 2025). "Rebel Rock Steps Up to Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Dagys, John (January 6, 2026). "Di Benedetto to Continue in Porsche GSX Entry". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  13. ^ a b Staff (January 6, 2026). "GR Cup Champion Workman Joins RAFA; Set for GSX Debut". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  14. ^ Staff, Sportscar365 (November 19, 2025). "Quinlan, Liefooghe to Continue in Stephen Cameron Mustang GT4". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b "Czabok-Simpson Motorsport Announces Ismaeel Ellahi for VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Program". IMSA.com. International Motor Sports Association. December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  16. ^ RACERS (January 16, 2026). "Courtney Crone returns to IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge with Peregrine Racing for GSX campaign". Racers. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  17. ^ a b Dagys, John (January 7, 2026). "Kingpin Signs Brel for Toyota GSX Campaign". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  18. ^ "2026 VP Racing SportsCar Racing Challenge Regulations" (PDF). Retrieved January 17, 2025.
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