IMSA confirms 21-car field for Detroit GP

The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season continues next week at the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, taking place as part of the Detroit Grand Prix weekend on Saturday, May 30. It’s the second of two 100-minute street races, featuring 11 entries in GTP and 10 entries in GTD Pro for a total of 21 cars.

Four races into the season for the premier GTP class, Porsche leads the manufacturers’ championship, Cadillac Whelen leads the teams’ championship – and the hero of last round at Laguna Seca, Laurin Heinrich, leads the drivers’ championship on his own. This will be Heinrich’s third race in the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 alongside Tijmen van der Helm, and he currently leads Cadillac Whelen driver Jack Aitken by 21 points after four rounds. But the 2024 IMSA GTD Pro champion was recently confirmed to honor his prior commitments to Porsche at the 24 Hours of Spa on June 27–28, meaning he will miss the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.

Aitken (-21 points) has led the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R to four straight podium finishes in 2026, and alongside co-driver Earl Bamber, he hopes to grab Cadillac’s first win of the season, right in front of GM’s global headquarters.

Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two factory 963s sit behind them, with the No. 7 of Felipe Nasr/Julien Andlauer sitting third in the drivers’ standings (-73), ahead of the No. 6 Penske Porsche of Kévin Estre/Laurens Vanthoor (-146) and the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 of defending Detroit race winners, Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly (-154).

The title race in GTD Pro, though still in its early days, is very close after three races. The top four teams are covered by just 74 points, representing four manufacturers and teams.

The No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg, with top-four finishes in every round, carries a 51-point lead over Daytona winners Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO. AO Racing’s Nick Tandy and Harry King (-63 points) have shot back into title contention with back-to-back podiums in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Meanwhile, Ford Racing returns to Detroit as last year’s GTD Pro class winner, and coming off the first IMSA victory for the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo, recorded by the No. 65 car of Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch (-74). Last year, it was Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx who scored the victory for the factory Ford team.

The nine full-time GTD Pro regulars are joined by just one guest entry, the No. 15 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Aaron Telitz and defending Australian Supercars champion, Chaz Mostert, who will make his first IMSA street race start in Detroit.