IMSA 2026 GTD-PRO, GTD, LMP2 Championships
By Eddie LePine. Photos by Jack Webster and Russell Cole
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship consists of four distinct classes of
competition, each unique. We have already covered the 2026 GTP results, now for the
other classes.
GTD-PRO
Paul Miller BMW M4
The GTD-PRO class is for factory backed teams and professional drivers racing state of
the art GT machinery. The manufacturers who participated in 2026 were Aston Martin,
BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren and Porsche. The class is
very healthy and extremely competitive. Generally speaking, the drivers are all Gold or
Platinum rated and many are employed by the manufacturers.
As is usually the case in IMSA racing, the championships in this class (drivers, teams
and manufacturers) were not determined until the conclusion of the last race of the
season – Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
When the dust had settled and the results were tabulated, it was Paul Miller Racing
taking the drivers and team titles, while after a disappointing result at Petit cost them the
team and driver titles, Chevrolet with Corvette took home the manufacturers title.
The #1 Paul Miller Racing driving team of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen were
crowned champions after finishing third in class at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Connor De Phillippi: “When I had the chance to join Paul Miller Racing for the full
season, I knew it was a huge opportunity to try and win the championship. When we
won Daytona, we started off strong. At Daytona, there’s always the most amount of
entries there. Starting off with a strong Daytona is huge for the overall title.”
Ford with their constantly improving Mustangs were second in the manufacturers battle,
while Pfaff Motorsport as a team and their drivers (Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy
Mitchell) secured the other second place spots in the championship.
Paul Miller Racing’s future is currently in some doubt, with a lot of speculation in the
paddock about what form their participation in the IMSA WeatherTech series in 2027
and beyond will look like. Also, Pfaff Motorsports has announced that they are ending
their successful multi-year run in the IMSA WeatherTech series. Their plaid colors were
always a fan favorite and will be missed.
“We went on a five-race streak with podiums, four wins and a second in Indianapolis”
– Russell Ward
Winward AMG Mercedes
GTD
The GTD machinery and rules are the same as for GTD-PRO, except for the driver combo
permitted. This class is intended as a ‘Pro-Am’ division, where professional drivers are
paired with non-pro/gentlemen pilots. In GTD a single Platinum or Gold rated pro driver
is paired with Silver or Bronze rated drivers in the same car. Only one Pro driver is
allowed per car, except for the Rolex 24, where two Gold drivers are allowed.
The same manufacturers who participate in GTD-PRO also race in the GTD class, with
the exception of McLaren, who currently races in GTD-PRO only with RRL, and
Mercedes AMG, which does not currently have an entry in GTD-PRO.
In GTD it was a clean sweep for Winward Racing and their AMG Mercedes GT3 EVO
as they took driver, team and manufacturer titles. It also marked their third
championship in a row – a new record in the modern era of IMSA.
Drivers Phillip Ellis and Russell Ward capped off a stellar season by winning class at
Motul Petit Le Mans, their fourth win of the 2026 season.
Russell Ward: “Hats off to the dedicated group of people. When we got taken out at
Watkins Glen, involved in the incident between the 70 car (Ferrari) and the 13
(Corvette), I mean, us three drivers were pretty sorry in the paddock, looking at the car,
watching the mechanics just jump all over it. From our standpoint we thought the race
was done, let’s pack this thing up, move on to the next. Those guys were like, ‘Hell no.
We need to get out there and capitalize on points!’ They (our crew) really set the tone for
the second half of the season. We can’t quit, keep pushing as hard as we can. We went
on a five-race streak with podiums, four wins and a second in Indianapolis, which very
well could have been a win as well. Could have been five wins in a row. That really set
us up.”
LMP2
Crowdstrike Oreca
Like GTD, the LMP2 class requires gentlemen drivers paired with a maximum of a
single Gold or Platinum driver (the only exception is the Rolex 24, where two Gold
drivers are permitted as in GTD). In addition to driver standards, the cars are spec, each
approved chassis using the same Gibson engine. In 2026, all the teams elected to use
the ORECA 07 Chassis.
In the LMP2 class, team and driver’s titles were up for grabs at Motul Petit Le Mans
(there is no manufacturer title in this class, as the cars all use the same Gibson
powerplant).
“For me it’s a year of redemption”
– George Kurtz
Once again, it was a season long hard-fought battle among several very stong team
and driver lineups, but in the end, it was the #04 ORECA 07 Gibson of CrowdStrike
Racing by APR and drivers George Kurtz and Alex Quinn taking the championship with
a win at the final race of the season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Finishing second was the #43 Inter Europol Competition team of Jeremy Clarke and
Tom Dillmann, while third was captured by United Autosports and Daniel Goldberg. Fan
favorite ‘Spike’, campaigned by AO Racing’s Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett ended up
fourth in the championship (they were defending class champions, having won the title
in 2025).
George Kurtz
George Kurtz: “This is incredibly special because it was really a team effort. My co-
drivers were phenomenal. Team gave us a great car. There was so much adversity we
had to overcome for the entire season, but obviously this race. It was up and down, up
and down. It really was a shootout with the 43 (Europol). From my perspective, this is
probably one of the best seasons I’ve ever had with all the wins up and down the board, to crown it with the championship. We’ve come so close. In ’23 we lost by a point in the
championship. We were close at Daytona in ’23. This year we won Daytona, won this.
For me it’s a year of redemption.”
That’s a wrap on the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar season. Old winners, new
winners, repeat winners, and future plans both known and unknown for several teams
and drivers.
Stay tuned for 2027.
Read about the GTP battle!
Additional gallery by Russell Cole from Petit Le Mans
