2026 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge

In 2026, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) will celebrate 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: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup North America, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge, IMSA HSR Prototype Challenge and the Mustang Challenge.

The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship consists of eleven race weekends.

January 16-18 - Roar Before the 24 - Daytona test
January 21-25 - Rolex 24 at Daytona
March 18-21 - Twelve Hours of Sebring
April 17-19 - Long Beach
May 1-3 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
May 29-30 - Detroit Street Circuit
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 - road course
September 30 - October 3 - Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans)

The IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup will be a separate championship that recognizes the top finishers in five events:

Rolex 24 at Daytona
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen
Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix
10-Hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

There are four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) - These are purpose-built race cars and the quickest in the series. They are prepared to either LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) or LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) guidelines. Chassis from Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic and Oreca are available to those teams choosing the LMDh rules. Cars built to LMH specifications are allowed greater freedom in design. However, all vehicles are subject to a Balance of Performance. This season, there are entries from Porsche (Porsche 963), BMW (BMW M Hybrid V8), Cadillac (Cadillac V-Series R) and Acura (Acura ARX-06).
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) - These are purpose-built race cars developed by four approved constructors. The LMP2 cars are powered by a 3.8-liter Gibson V8 engine. Competitors use chassis' from ORECA, Ligier and Riley Technologies. These vehicles can compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24-Hours of Le Mans.
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) - This production-based class uses FIA-GT3 technical regulations. Vehicles in the category include the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, Lamborghini Temerario, Mercedes AMG-GT3, Lexus RC F GT3 and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. The vehicles in this group weigh 2,915 lbs, and the engines produce approximately 540 horsepower. The IMSA technical staff uses many methods to ensure parity.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) - This category uses the same cars as GTD but adopts current GTLM Sporting Regulations on driver ratings, qualifying grid placement, and race procedures. GTD Pro is geared toward factory-supported teams and drivers; on-track performance levels achieved by the GTD Pro class are expected to exceed those of the GTD.

The GTP category did not compete at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The seventh race weekend of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Teams competed in the Chevrolet Grand Prix, a two-hour, forty-minute contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

The start of round four of the LMP2 category sees nine competitors funnel into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s corner one. At the front of the field is the pole-winning No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 shared by Tom Dillmann and Jeremy Clarke. Behind the leaders is the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA LMP2 07 driven by Ricky Taylor and local racer Misha Goikhberg.

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, Tom Dillman had a mechanical failure while leading the race. The resulting accident sent him to the hospital with two fractured vertebrae and forced him to miss the next round. This year, Dillman’s teammate, Jeremy Clarke, qualified on the pole in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07. The pair led 97 or 127 laps to collect their first victory of the season.

The GTD Pro victory went to the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. Drivers Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth had been winless for two years before the previous round at Watkins Glen International. Hawksworth started the race in the fifth position. After the driver change, Barnicoat moved past the No. 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO for the lead. The team held the position for back-to-back victories.

GTD competitors Russell Ward and Philip Ellis were gridded fourth in class for the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The No. 57 WINWARD RACING Mercedes-AMG GT3 ran fifth in the opening stint with Ward behind the wheel, but a superior pit stop moved Ellis into second place. He was trailing the leader, Trent Hindman, when he executed an aggressive move on the final restart. Ellis held the top spot to the checkered flag for the class victory.

The No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 shared by George Kurtz and Alex Quinn are the current LMP2 championship leaders. Their record includes a victory at Daytona, a runner-up result at Watkins Glen and a third-place finish at Sebring. The team was gridded fourth for the race. The pair moved into second place but were no match for the race-winning Inter Europol entry and finished as runners-up with the points lead intact.

There were two incidents at Moss Corner during the Friday practice session. The first involved the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. The car, shared by Costa and Patrese, went off course in corner 5A and hit the barrier. With assistance, the Ferrari was extricated and returned to the pits under its own power. The second incident involving the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R was more serious and required overnight repairs.

The second wave of GTD Pro and GTD competitors charges into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s first turn one for round six of their respective championships. At the head of the field in the No. 1 pole-winning Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO piloted by Neal Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi. Immediately behind the leader is the No. 59 RLL Team McLaren McLaren 720S GT3 and No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

GTD competitors Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen are second behind the class points leader, Dudu Barrichello. They share the driving duties on the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. Their best result to date is a victory at Long Beach. They finished seventeenth overall at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and second in class. More importantly, they closed the gap to Barrichello, who finished sixth in GTD.

AO Racing entered two cars in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which have caught the imagination of fans: ‘Rexy the Porsche GT3’ and ‘Spike the LMP2 Dragon’. Sharing the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R are GTD Pro category drivers, Nick Tandy and Harry King. Their best result to date is at Serbring, where they finished second. They started in the seventh spot at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park but moved forward to finish in the runner-up position.

Sharing the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO are Robby Foly and Patrick Gallagher. They are third in the championship points for the GTD class with a season-high result of second place at Long Beach. They qualified six in their category for round six of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. During the race, the pair advanced three positions to capture the final spot on the rostrum.

Neal Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi lead the GTD Pro points chase with a victory at Daytona and a third place at Watkins Glen International. Verhagen was the fastest during the qualifying session at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, driving the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Their progress in the race was delayed by contact with an LMP2 competitor. Despite the incident, they were able to continue and finish third.

The other half of the AO Racing team is the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07, referred to as Spike the LMP2 Dragon. Sharing the No. 99 ORECA are Dane Cameron and P.J. Hyett. They collected their first and only win of the season in the previous round at Watkins Glen International. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, they qualified third but failed the post-qualifying technical inspection and were moved to the rear. The pair charged through the field to finish third.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	LMP2	Dillmann / Clarke	ORECA LMP2 07	127	-
2	LMP2	Kurtz / Quinn	ORECA LMP2 07	127	-
3	LMP2	Hyett / Cameron	ORECA LMP2 07	127	-
4	LMP2	Goikhberg / Taylor	ORECA LMP2 07	127	-
5	LMP2	Goldburg / Hanley	ORECA LMP2 07	127	-
6	LMP2	Fittipaldi / Cumming	ORECA LMP2 07	126	-
7	GTD Pro	Hawksworth / Barnicoat	Lexus RC F GT3	118	-
8	GTD Pro	Tandy / King	Porsche 911 GT3 R	118	-
9	GTD Pro	Verhagen / De Phillippi	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	118	-
10	GTD Pro	Milner / Catsburg	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	118	-
11	GTD Pro	Mies / Vervisch	Ford Mustang GT3	118	-
12	GTD Pro	Esterson / Johnson	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	118	-
13	GTD Pro	Barker / Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	118	-
14	GTD Pro	Caldarelli / Mitchell	Lamborghini Temerario GT3	118	-
15	GTD Pro	Garcia / Sims	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	118	-
16	GTD	Ward / Ellis	Mercedes-AMG GT3	118	-
17	GTD	Telitz / Pedersen	Lexus RC F GT3	118	-
18	GTD	Gallagher / Foley	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	118	-
19	GTD	Costa / Patrese	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	118	-
20	GTD	Formal / Hindman	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	118	-
21	GTD	Barrichello / De Angelis	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	118	-
22	GTD	Iribe / Schandorff	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	118	-
23	GTD	Monk / Fraga	Ford Mustang GT3	118	-
24	GTD	Adelson / Ilott	Porsche 911 GT3 R	118	-
25	GTD	Altoè / Stevenson	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	118	-
26	GTD Pro	Hasse Clot / Andrews	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	118	-
27	GTD	Walker / Lewis	Ford Mustang GT3	117	-
28	GTD	Fidani / Bell	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	117	-
29	LMP2	Fayer / Jensen	ORECA LMP2 07	117	-
30	LMP2	Farano / Alvarez	ORECA LMP2 07	117	-
31	GTD	Filippi / Wicken	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	115	-
32	LMP2	Lutke / Beche	ORECA LMP2 07	78	-

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