Motorsport · IMSA SportsCar Championship · 2026

Date & time

18 Apr 2026, 22:05

Round

3

Venue

Long Beach Street Circuit

Location

Long Beach, California, United States

The third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship took place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, on the iconic Long Beach Street Circuit. The primary challenge for the field was mastering the tight, 1.968-mile concrete canyon, which serves as the first "sprint" race of the season with a duration of just 100 minutes. The objective for the GTP class was to halt the dominance of Porsche and Cadillac, while Acura—headquartered nearby in Torrance—sought its first home-race victory in the GTP era. Strategically, the goal was to capitalize on the Motul Pole Award performance of Nick Yelloly in the #93 Acura ARX-06, who broke the 1:12 barrier during qualifying. The tactical focus for the 11 GTP and 17 GTD entries was navigating the high-risk "Fountain" turn and the hairpin without sustaining damage that would necessitate a chassis change, as seen with the #60 Acura in practice. With 100 minutes on the clock, the ultimate goal was to execute a flawless single-stop strategy to secure a historic win for Acura’s 40th anniversary year.