DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will expand from six to 10 total race weekends in 2026, covering both sprint and endurance racing formats.
The series will continue to run two 45-minute races on sprint weekends, while the four new weekends will include a two-hour endurance race component for Le Mans Prototype 3 cars.
The Le Mans Prototype 3 class – which will see the introduction of a new car specification in 2026 – will compete on nine of the 10 total weekends for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Those will be split between five sprint weekends and four two-hour endurance races sanctioned by IMSA that will take place on four United States Auto Club event weekends.
Both sprint and endurance race components will count towards the overall VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Le Mans Prototype 3 championship, with the endurance events comprising an additional championship akin to the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup’s relationship to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) and Grand Sport X (GSX) classes will compete only on the six sprint weekends, including the first GTDX/GSX combination appearance at VIRginia International Raceway in August. These two class championships will be decided by the sprint races.
The series’ three 2025 classes – LMP3, GTDX and GSX – reprise most races and venues in 2026. The only change is a standalone sprint race at VIR for GTDX and GSX, although VIR still factors in the LMP3 portion of the schedule.
The season kicks off for LMP3, GTDX and GSX at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test weekend at Daytona International Speedway from January 16-19. This race posted a season-high car count for the series in 2025 with eight LMP3, nine GTDX and 16 GSX cars for a total of 33 cars entered.
From there, the trio of classes head to Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas as part of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend February 27-28 for the second sprint round of the season.
This batch of entries resumes for their third weekend June 5-7 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as part of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series-headlining weekend.
A trip to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park follows on July 10-12, as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship-headlining weekend.
New for 2026 is a race featuring only the GTDX and GSX classes at VIR on August 21-23, as part of the WeatherTech Championship weekend there.
The final LMP3, GTDX and GSX race weekend of the year occurs as part of Motul Petit Le Mans weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 1-3.
The LMP3 portion of the schedule adds the four endurance races at four classic road courses: Sebring International Raceway, Circuit of The Americas, VIRginia International Raceway and Road America.
A trip to Sebring on March 6-8 comprises the first LMP3 two-hour endurance race. This weekend occurs two weeks before the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring weekend, which will feature multiple IMSA-sanctioned championships.
The second endurance race comes with a trip to Circuit of The Americas on May 7-9, followed by subsequent rounds at Virginia International Raceway on June 19-21 and Road America on August 14-16. The Road America event is one weekend later than what was announced previously.
2026 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Schedule
January 16-19 Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona Beach, Fla.
February 27-28 Circuit of The Americas Austin, Texas
March 6-9 Sebring Int’l Raceway Sebring, Fla.
June 5-7 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Steam Corners, Ohio
June 19-21 Virginia Int’l Raceway Alton, Va.
July 10-21 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario
Aug. 14-16 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Aug. 21-23 Virginia Int’l Raceway Alton, Va.
Oct. 1-3 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Braselton, Ga.
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