DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Three of the four classes spread cross IMSA’s Challenge championships – IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge – saw their champions take relatively clean paths to their respective titles.
But in Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS), the number of twists and turns matched the 10 races and 24 hours of competition because it was never apparent who was leading or how long they’d hang on. Five different entries led the championship. Only two of 10 races saw a gap of 100 points or more. The lead changed five times during the season.
When all was said and done, the GS champions didn’t win a single race; which stood in stark contrast to Michelin Pilot Challenge (TCR) and both VP Racing Challenge classes (Le Mans Prototype 3, P3 and Grand Sport X, GSX) that saw their eventual champs win frequently.
Michelin Pilot Challenge
AutoTechnic Racing is a newer entry to Michelin Pilot Challenge compared to longtime stalwarts such as past champions from TeamTGM, Turner Motorsport, KOHR Motorsports and CarBahn by Peregrine Racing. But the New Milford, Connecticut-based outfit has delivered two of the most consistent years back-to-back in a GS field that requires it and can now call themselves champions.
In 2025, perennial title contender Stevan McAleer and up-and-comer Austin Krainz (furthest two left on stage) authored their first run of form aboard their No. 27 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, with seven top six finishes including two podiums (one second and third apiece) en route to third in the GS points, scoring a total of 2,470 points. Their 2026 season was nearly a perfect mirror image, with seven top-six finishes, two podiums (one second and third) and a total of 2,490 points.
The difference? What was a 280-point gap behind the 2025 champions, Jan Heylen and Luca Mars in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, converted into a 50-point title win over Mars and new teammate Dillon Machavern in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO.
Befitting of the roller coaster year where the No. 27 and 95 BMWs and No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 all led the points, 32 minutes into the Fox Factory 120 season finale, all three cars were tied on 2,400 points. That stood as McAleer’s reference point to follow – and fix.
“We were all tied on points at 2,400 apiece, and I’m like, that’s not good,” McAleer said, and he was correct because in that hypothetical three-way tie, the No. 95 Turner BMW’s win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was the tiebreaker.
“But the mindset was to do everything we’ve done all season, don’t mess it up and the guys really nailed it.”
Indeed they did, and McAleer’s typical in-race determination moved the No. 27 car up to third in the race, one spot ahead of the No. 95 Turner BMW in fourth. McAleer matched Matt Plumb for the record length with an 11-year gap between titles, his first coming in 2015 in the former Street Tuner (ST) class.
Krainz noted the goal to win the title came from his father Roland. McAleer’s been both a mentor and friend to the Krainz family for several years, and they’ve developed into one of the marquee pairings in the championship.
“I was like, you know what, I really think we can win this thing,” Krainz said. “I got one more shot. I’m glad I made him proud. Stevan’s been a great mentor, friend, coach and co-driver.”
Turner’s No. 95 pair was an unlucky second, Machavern and Mars (center and center right) having been the early season standard bearers in GS with four straight top four finishes and a 200-point lead leaving Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in June.
Back-to-back bad breaks outside their control at Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park dented their progress, and despite rising back to the title lead at VIR, last-lap pain at Indianapolis in the penultimate race dropped them out of the title lead. That said, both BMWs contributed to ensure they won the GS manufacturer championship.
Robert Noaker (far right) finished third on his own in the No. 13 MMR Ford, owing to a midseason co-driver swap. He scored three podiums and new co-driver Finn Wiebelhaus impressed in his first few outings; this will be a pairing to watch if it continues into 2027.
The qualifying revelations of the season were the Heart of Racing Team’s pair of Hannahs, as both Hannah Grisham and Hannah Greenemeier scored two poles apiece in their No. 26 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. Although they didn’t finish a race higher than sixth owing to a bulk of late-race heartache, they banked eight top-12 results in 10 races which netted them an impressive fourth in points.
Rounding out the top five were Michael Cooper and Moisey Uretsky, GS’ boom-or-bust pairing in the No. 44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4. They led the way with three wins but those were offset by four finishes of 18th or worse.
The No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing, No. 66 OORE (formerly Car Blanche) and No. 14 Circle H Racing Aston Martins, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4, No. 12 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 and No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4 also won GS races.
Fifteen cars scored a podium, with six of seven GS manufacturers winning and all seven making the podium at least once. Field size ranged from 28 to 35 cars, averaging 30.7 in a year where success was harder to achieve. Those that limited their bad days were rewarded at year’s end.
Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR
If GS was a roller coaster ride to see which of five different title-contending entries emerged victorious at Michelin Raceway, Touring Car (TCR) was a much easier story to follow as the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai juggernaut rolled on to its seventh driver, team and manufacturer championships.
Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi opened the season with back-to-back third places in their No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR, taking the points lead at Round 2 at Sebring and never relinquishing it the rest of the way. Other than leaving Round 4 at Mid-Ohio when teammates Denis Dupont and Preston Brown closed to within 20 points, Morris and Filippi put together a dynamic campaign to ultimately enter Michelin Raceway needing only to start to secure the title.
The pairing won three races – tied for most in class – but also scored eight podiums, nine top fives and two poles in the year. Filippi got his long deserved first driver title after missing a round in 2025, where he would have shared the TCR crown with Harry Gottsacker, while emerging star Morris is on the board after three progressively better seasons.
“Racing with Mason has been stellar all year,” Morris said. “The crew has been flawless all year as we won the (Michelin All-Hands for the Win for the) least time on pit lane award too! Overall, a super great year for our first championship together and can’t wait to go for it again.”
Filippi added, “It’s been amazing. Bryan Herta Autosport has been my home since I first stepped foot in the IMSA paddock in 2019. It’s so cool to get this championship with Bryson, too. He’s super quick and I was so excited to get to pair with him.”
Dupont and Brown finished second and won two races for a second straight year in their No. 76 car. Honda was the qualifying pacesetter with seven poles, and both its No. 93 MMG and No. 5 entries secured a win apiece with their Civic FL5 TCRs.
The No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra Leon VZ TCR won three races with Tyler Gonzalez on board for all three. Three of the four manufacturers entered won a race and 11 cars scored podiums.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
The IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge had a dual element for P3 competitors, with points scored across both two-race, 45-minute sprint weekends and single-race, two-driver, two-hour endurance races as part of the new IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge.
That produced two different champions, with Oscar Tunjo claiming both overall and sprint honors in the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. entry. First driving a Duqueine D08 chassis before the team upgraded to a new generation Duqueine D09, the Colombian won six races (five sprint, one endurance) to lead a Gebhardt 1-2 in points over Danny Soufi (No. 11 PINAXIS-ZONE 4 Racing Duqueine).
Ari Balogh and Garett Grist had the best consistency across the Airbnb Endurance Challenge races to claim that title in the No. 30 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325.
Two young drivers impressed in partial seasons. Wyatt Brichacek scored five P3 wins across both sprint and endurance races in either of Toney’s No. 30 and 95 cars, while French teenager Jules Caranta swept the Michelin Raceway sprint finale weekend aboard the No. 18 Forbush Performance Duqueine D09.
The GSX class was very nearly a perfect season for Westin Workman, as the Charlotte native won 11 of 12 races (with mechanical issues in Race 2 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park denying him a perfect season) and scored all 12 poles aboard his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota G4 Supra GT4 EVO2.
Workman’s talent has been readily apparent in his formative IMSA seasons, and on top of capturing the title, he was also awarded IMSA’s 3D Scholarship for the 2027-28 season.
Past 3D Scholarship recipient Courtney Crone was best of the rest here, scoring seven podiums in her No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO including five straight to end the season. Ismaeel Ellahi won the one GSX race not won by Workman, holding off Crone in a race-long battle in the second CTMP race.
Bronze Cup Battles
Both Bronze Cup battles across Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing Challenge came down to the wire at Michelin Raceway.
Dan Ammann and Owen Trinkler took their No. 91 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS to the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS Bronze Cup title over Ted Giovanis’ No. 64 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4. The No. 91 car ran under the VRC Motorsports Group LLC banner through Indianapolis before RS1 ran it at Michelin Raceway.
In VP Racing Challenge P3 Bronze Cup, Travis Hill made a daring, late-race pass of his closest rival Brian Thienes at Michelin Raceway to avoid a potential tiebreaker and bank a title in his No. 2 Shopify Racing Ligier JS P325 over Thienes in his No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier (Hill, Thienes and Balogh on the Michelin Raceway P3 Bronze Cup podium, above).
The GSX Bronze Cup battle was generally a three-horse race among Ammann, Jon Brel (No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2) and Rafa Martinez (No. 68 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2) before Brel went on a late-season hot streak to pull away and win that title by a comfortable margin.
