2026 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - Michelin Pilot Challenge

In 2026, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) celebrated its 57th anniversary. IMSA was founded by NASCAR's Bill France, John Bishop (a former executive director of the Sports Car Club of America), and Bishop's wife, Peggy. They succeeded in creating their vision to build a sanctioning body for professional road racing in North America. From its humble roots, IMSA currently sanctions eight different race series: the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge, and the Mustang Challenge.

Introduced in 2022 was a new Bronze Cup award for participants in the Grand Sport (GS) class, available both on an event-by-event basis and on a season-long basis. To be eligible, every driver in a GS car's lineup must hold a Bronze rating.

The Bronze Cup winners will be recognized on the podium at each event, along with recognition and a season-ending award for the highest placing Bronze Cup combination in the championship standings.

The 2026 season features ten race weekends; each contest is two hours in length. The exceptions are Daytona and Mid-Ohio, which are four hours.

January 21-25 - Daytona International Speedway
March 18-21 - Sebring International Raceway
May 1 3 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
June 5-7 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
June 25-28 - Watkins Glen International
July 10-12 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
July 30 - August 2 - Road America
August 21-23 - Virginia International Raceway
September 18-20 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway
September 30 - October 3 - Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Two race groups compete in the Michelin Pilot Challenge:

Grand Sport (GS): This category underwent some changes in 2017. The new rules accepted cars prepared to GT4 technical requirements. The quicker of the two groups, this class includes cars such as the Ford Mustang GT4, BMW M4 GT4, Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Vehicles competing in this group produce between 400 and 450 horsepower and are capable of speeds over 175 mph.
Touring Car (TCR): TCR is a global touring car category that was added to the Michelin Pilot Challenge series in 2018. This category includes the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, Honda Civic TCR, Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and Audi RS3 LMS TCR. They use a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine which will produce between 300 and 350-horsepower.

Close, competitive racing with cars that fans could relate to contributed to the series' popularity. It also provided an environment for automotive manufacturers to test and showcase their products.

Round six of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park during the Chevrolet Grand Prix weekend. GS and TCR teams competed in a two-hour contest called the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The overall and Grand Sport pole-sitter, Hannah Greenemeier, in the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo, leads a field of forty-two IMSA Michelin Pilot entries through Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s corner one. Beside Greenemeier is the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4 driven by Paul Holton. Immediately behind the leaders are the No. 54 PANAM MOTORSPORT Toyota and No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren.

The overall and Grand Sport victory went to the No. 12 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 shared by Kiko Porto and Varun Choksey. The win came as a surprise as their best result this season was a sixth at Mid-Ohio and they were only fifth overall in qualifying. The pair remained in contention during the contest. A pit strategy moved them to the front of the field. Another late-race stop allowed Porto to retain the lead and secure the victory.

Round six of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge allowed TCR frontrunners Mason Filippi and Bryson Morris to extend their championship lead. They qualified third in class driving the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR. The duo was running third when a quick stop for fuel and a driver change moved Filippi into the lead. He remained at the front of the class and finished seventh overall and first in TCR.

Keeping the Bryan Herta Autosport team honest was the No. 93 pole-winning Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR shared by L.P. Montour and Karl Wittmer. The pair, who won last year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, kept the pressure on the No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR. However, they were unable to complete a pass, finishing eighth overall and second in class by a margin of 2.194 seconds.

A red flag late in the Grand Sport qualifying session meant there would be just one lap to grab the pole. Hannah Greenemeier accomplished that feat in the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. In the previous round at Watkins Glen, it was her teammate, Hannah Grisham, who earned the pole. Unfortunately, on the opening lap of the race, contact sent Greenemeier to the rear of the field. The pair finished twenty-third.

Thirteen IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR competitors charge into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s turn one for round six of the championship. Leading the pack is the No. 93 pole-winning Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR shared by L.P. Montour and Karl Wittmer. Behind the leaders are the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR and No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic FL5 TCR.

Finishing second in the Grand Sport category by a margin of 9.811 seconds was the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW M4 GT4 EVO of Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer. This was their first podium visit of the season. They came close at Mid-Ohio with a fourth-place result. In qualifying at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, they were twelfth fastest in class. The pair charged through the field for the runner-up result.

The Canadian Baker Racing team entered two Audi RS3 LMS TCRs. The No. 52 Audi was shared by James Vance and Sam Baker and qualified fourth in class. However, it was the No. 56 car that delivered the better final results. Sharing the Audi were team principal Dean Baker and former Indy Car driver Bruno Junqueira. The duo advanced to finish ninth overall and captured the final position on the TCR podium. Baker and Vance were fifth.

The No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 was driven by Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker. Cicero joined the team this year with three GS poles and a win at Road America. Noaker returned to the Pilot series after dominating the 2025 Mustang Challenge. They were gridded sixth in class at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park but moved up the order to finish third. More importantly, they vaulted into the points lead after the Turner BMW finished twenty-third.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	GS	Porto / Choksey	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2	73	-
2	GS	Krainz / McAleer	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	73	-
3	GS	Cicero / Noaker	Ford Mustang GT4	73	-
4	GS	Patten / Estep	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo	73	-
5	GS	Holton / Plumb	Ford Mustang GT4	73	-
6	GS	Uretsky / Cooper	McLaren Artura GT4	73	-
7	TCR	Filippi / Morris	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	73	-
8	TCR	Wittmer / Montour	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	73	-
9	TCR	Baker / Junqueira	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	73	-
10	TCR	Gottsacker / Bergstein	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	73	-
11	GS	McAlister / Westphal	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	73	-
12	GS	Chaves / Camilo	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2	73	-
13	GS	Burkhard / Scully	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	73	-
14	GS	Barletta / Foley	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	73	-
15	TCR	Baker / Vance	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	73	-
16	GS	Megennis / Hays	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	73	-
17	GS	Ammann / Trinkle	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	73	-
18	TCR	Lewis / Pasquarella	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	73	-
19	GS	Miller / Taylor	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	73	-
20	GS	Koch / Bell	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2	73	-
21	TCR	Gou / Gou	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	73	-
22	TCR	Dupont / Brown	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	73	-
23	GS	Grisham / Greenemeier	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo	73	-
24	GS	Slater / Skeen	Ford Mustang GT4	73	-
25	GS	Tan / Auberlen	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	73	-
26	TCR	Wilkins / Aust	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	73	-
27	GS	Veach / Browne	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	73	-
28	GS	Quinlan / Liefooghe	Ford Mustang GT4	73	-
29	TCR	Gonzalez / Clemons	Cupra Leon VZ TCR	72	Not Running
30	TCR	Pegram / Pegram	Honda Civic FL5 TCR	72	-
31	GS	Hill / Hill	Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS	71	-
32	GS	Ward / Arrow	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	71	-
33	GS	Straus / Murillo	Mercedes-AMG GT GT4	68	Not Running
34	GS	Machavern / Mars	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	61	-
35	GS	Hampton / Merrill	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo	32	Not Running
36	GS	Giovanis / Plumb	Ford Mustang GT4	25	Not Running
37	GS	Wetterau / Shields	BMW M4 GT4 EVO	24	Not Running
38	TCR	Neto / Reis	Cupra Leon VZ TCR	23	Not Running
39	TCR	Tally / Bacon	Cupra Leon VZ TCR	11	Not Running
40	GS	Williams / Thomson	Ford Mustang GT4	11	Not Running
41	GS	Michaelian / Johnson	Ford Mustang GT4	9	Not Running
42	GS	Weisenberg / Goodman	Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2	1	Not Running

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