By Chris Perkins, writer and editor, GM News

The Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Chevrolet’s entrant for production-car-based GT3 racing around the globe, enjoyed a great 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Highlights include a GTD class win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, an overall win at VIRginia International Raceway, and , and the Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in the GTD PRO class. Expectations for 2026 are high for the Corvette teams.

The 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off this weekend with the Rolex 24 Hours At Dayona. Five Corvettes will contest the entire season with entries in IMSA’s all-professional GTD Pro class and Pro-Am GTD class. The lineups are as follows:

No. 3: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (GTD PRO)

• Antonio Garcia

• Alexander Sims

• Marvin Kirchhoffer (Endurace)

No. 4: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (GTD PRO)

• Tommy Milner

• Nicky Catsburg

• Nico Varrone (Endurance)

No. 13: 13 Autosport (GTD)

• Orey Fidani

• Matt Bell

• Lars Kern (Endurance)

• Ben Green (Daytona)

No. 36: DXDT Racing (GTD)

• Charlie Eastwood

• Mason Fillipi

• Salih Yoluc (Endurance)

• Scott McLaughlin (Daytona)

No. 81: DragonSpeed (GTD)

• Henrik Hedman

• Giacomo Altoe

• Casper Stevenson (Endurance)

• Matteo Cairoli (Daytona)

The race-winning DragonSpeed team left Ferrari to join the Corvette family, while 13 Autosport is simply a new name for AWA, the defending Rolex 24 GTD winner. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports continues with the long-running No. 3 and 4 entries, and its driver lineups are unchanged except for the addition of Marvin Kirchhöffer in the No. 3 for endurance rounds.

IMSA presents a unique challenge for competitors, with the season beginning with the longest race on the calendar: 24 grueling hours around the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in Daytona Beach, Florida. “It’s our biggest race of the year,” says No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver Tommy Milner. “With IMSA being so competitive, we have to be really on top of our game, making sure that we’re doing everything right.”

Even for Milner, a 15-year Corvette veteran with a previous Daytona class win, the Rolex 24 carries added pressure. It’s a race everyone wants to win, not just for its own sake, but also to get a good start for the championship to come. “There’s no better way to set the tone for the rest of the season.”

The IMSA SportsCar Championship crisscrosses North America over 11 rounds, ending with the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October. This year, the schedule is largely unchanged, with the round at Road America now a six-hour endurance and the round at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course becoming a two-hour, 40-minute sprint.

“There’s not a lot of variables going into this season,” Millner says. The Z06 GT3.R is largely unchanged from 2025, and though the whole IMSA GTD PRO and GTD field is using a new design of tire, it isn’t much different than what came before.

The four Corvette teams have a big challenge ahead of them with huge grids of competing production-based cars from rival manufacturers to contend with. However, as years of race and championship victories prove, Corvette teams know what it takes to win.