IMSA confirms 10 events for the 2026 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, including endurance format

The 2026 season of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will feature 10 race weekends, an increase of four dates compared to the current six-event format. The main novelty is the inclusion of two-hour endurance races exclusively for the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class, which will be held under IMSA sanction during United States Auto Club (USAC) events.

The new format splits the calendar between six weekends with double sprint races of 45 minutes each, while the four additional dates will feature endurance competitions for LMP3. This category, which will debut a new technical specification in 2026, will participate in nine of the 10 scheduled events.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Sebring opens endurance calendar in March

The schedule of long races for LMP3 begins the weekend of March 6-8 at Sebring International Raceway, two weeks before the traditional 12 Hours of Sebring. Circuit of The Americas hosts the second endurance date from May 7-9, followed by VIRginia International Raceway from June 19-21 and Road America from August 14-16.

The endurance races will count towards the overall LMP3 championship alongside the sprint events, also creating an additional championship similar to the relationship between the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

GTDX and GSX maintain sprint format with debut at VIR

The Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) and Grand Sport X (GSX) categories will compete exclusively on the six sprint weekends. For the first time, both classes will race together at VIRginia International Raceway in August, specifically from the 21st to the 23rd as part of the WeatherTech Championship weekend.

The sprint calendar kicks off during the traditional Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway from January 16-19. This date recorded the highest number of entries for the series in 2025 with 33 total cars: eight LMP3, nine GTDX, and 16 GSX.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Full calendar maintains traditional venues

The second sprint round takes all three categories to Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, from February 27-28 as part of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course hosts the third date from June 5-7 during the event headlined by the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park hosts the fourth sprint round from July 10-12 alongside the WeatherTech Championship. The sprint season closes at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta during Motul Petit Le Mans from October 1-3.

The LMP3 championship will include points from both sprint and endurance races, while GTDX and GSX will define their titles solely based on results from the six sprint dates. IMSA will announce additional details about the LMP3 endurance races soon.