The 2026 Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic delivered everything the 1.645-mile downtown street circuit is known for — tight racing, strategy calls under pressure, and a last-lap pass that decided everything. Renger van der Zande made his move at Turn 1 with under four minutes remaining, diving to the inside of Ricky Taylor's Cadillac and holding on to win by less than a second.
Nick Yelloly qualified the No.93 Acura ARX-06 on pole on Friday evening, becoming the first GTP polesitter to convert to a race win since Meyer Shank Racing did so at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2023. Yelloly ran the opening stint cleanly, but the race turned on the pit cycles. Felipe Nasr's Porsche briefly led, then Ricky Taylor's Cadillac took over after a bold pass at Turn 4. Van der Zande, now in the car for the Acura, tracked him down methodically in traffic and struck late.
"To win Detroit for Acura on their home ground — it's a special feeling," van der Zande said after the race. The win is his 22nd career IMSA victory and Yelloly's second. The result significantly shakes the GTP championship, with Nasr and Tandy still leading but the Acura crew now firmly in the title conversation.
In GTD Pro, Seb Priaulx and Mike Rockenfeller were untouchable for Ford Multimatic Motorsports, leading 55 of 81 laps from their pole position. The No.64 Mustang GT3 Evo crossed the line 1.623 seconds ahead of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R. It is Ford's second consecutive Detroit GTD Pro win following Priaulx and Rockenfeller's 2025 victory on the same circuit.
| Pos | No. | Drivers | Car | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #93 | R. van der Zande / N. Yelloly | Acura ARX-06 | Meyer Shank Racing | WINNER |
| 2 | #10 | R. Taylor / F. Albuquerque | Cadillac V-Series.R | Wayne Taylor Racing | +0.947s |
| 3 | #6 | M. Jaminet / M. Campbell | Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | +8.412s |
| 4 | #7 | F. Nasr / N. Tandy | Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | +14.2s |
| 5 | #5 | L. Heinrich / T. van der Helm | Porsche 963 | JDC-Miller MotorSports | +19.8s |
| 6 | #31 | J. Aitken / E. Bamber | Cadillac V-Series.R | Cadillac Whelen | +25.1s |
| Pos | No. | Drivers | Car | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #64 | S. Priaulx / M. Rockenfeller | Ford Mustang GT3 Evo | Ford Multimatic Motorsports | WINNER |
| 2 | #3 | A. Garcia / A. Sims | Corvette Z06 GT3.R | Corvette Racing / Pratt Miller | +1.623s |
| 3 | #4 | T. Milner / N. Catsburg | Corvette Z06 GT3.R | Corvette Racing / Pratt Miller | +9.4s |
| 4 | #75 | C. Mostert / A. Telitz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Vasser Sullivan / 75 Express | +15.7s |
| 1 | Nasr / Tandy | Porsche 963 | 108 pts |
| 2 | Jaminet / Campbell | Porsche 963 | 96 pts |
| 3 | van der Zande / Yelloly | Acura ARX-06 | 88 pts |
| 4 | Aitken / Bamber | Cadillac V-R | 82 pts |
| 5 | Heinrich / van der Helm | Porsche 963 | 74 pts |
| 1 | Milner / Catsburg | Corvette Z06 GT3 | 112 pts |
| 2 | de Phillippi / Verhagen | BMW M4 GT3 | 98 pts |
| 3 | Tandy / King | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 92 pts |
| 4 | Priaulx / Rockenfeller | Ford Mustang GT3 | 88 pts |
| 5 | Garcia / Sims | Corvette Z06 GT3 | 82 pts |
The tightest street circuit on the IMSA calendar, encircling Detroit's Renaissance Center in the heart of Motor City.
The next round is the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen on June 25-28. It starts at 10:10 AM ET and runs until evening. If you are watching from a different timezone, or planning to catch the night-running final hours of Road America or Petit Le Mans later in the season, our free bedtime calculator tells you exactly when to sleep so you wake at the natural end of a 90-minute cycle rather than in deep sleep.
For fans in the UAE, Singapore, Jordan and other high-timezone countries, watching IMSA means late nights. A 4 PM ET race start is midnight or 1 AM local time. Planning your sleep with a bedtime calculator prevents the next-day grogginess that comes from being woken mid-cycle.
The IMSA Detroit race started at 4:10 PM ET — that is 12:10 AM UAE time, 4:10 AM Singapore time. If you stayed up to watch it, your next-day sleep recovery matters. Use the sleep debt calculator to find out how much recovery sleep your body needs tonight.
For the next race at Watkins Glen, the 10:10 AM ET start means 6:10 PM UAE, 10:10 PM Singapore — much more manageable. Use the bedtime calculator to plan the night before so you wake up sharp for the full race.
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