How to watch 2026 IMSA GT Challenge at VIR: Full schedule, TV/streaming info, start time, field

For the only IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race weekend this season, GT cars will own the spotlight Sunday in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

With prototypes absent from the 17-turn, 3.27-mile road course on the North Carolina-Virginia border, the GTD Pro and GTD categories will be competing for the overall victory in a two-hour, 40-minute race with coverage beginning at noon on NBC and Peacock.

The championship battles in both classes are tight with three races remaining in the 2026 season. In GTD Pro, 45 points are separating the top four, and a 21-point margin covers the top three in GTD (the gap between a first- and second-place finish is 30 points).

The title race will unfold at VIR without any interference from the Grand Touring Prototype and LMP2 cars that are typically several seconds faster and naturally increasing the gaps between the slower GT cars.

"The traffic inevitably splits you," said Tommy Milner, a three-time VIR winner who is ranked second in the GTD Pro standings with co-driver Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. "(At VIR), you just find yourself in a battle for the entire race as opposed to these ebbs and flows of traffic and gaps to the cars around you.

“Up and down in GTD Pro and GTD, the racing is really, really good and super competitive. It feels like every weekend there’s a couple different cars that have a chance to win. So, it’s nice to be featured as the top class with a little bit more attention to all of the racing that happens not just in our class but in GTD as well."

IMSA 2026 Road America results: Wayne Taylor Racing snaps long winless streak in GTPThe team wins a chaotic six-hour race for its first victory since June 2024.

• Nate Ryan,

The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO leads the GTD Pro standings. In GTD, No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO driver Dudu Barrichello has a 24-point lead over the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and is looking forward to rebounding from a 15th place at Road America with a .

“With all due respect to the LMP2 and the GTP drivers, I cannot wait to do that, because sometimes it’s just another variable,” said Barrichello, the 24-year-old son of former F1 winner Rubens Barrichello. “You cannot control really what the prototype guys are going to do. Of course they are very good drivers, and you always expect them to do good stuff, but I think it’s going to be great to not have them this time.”

GTD Pro WInners, #3: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, Corvette Z06 GT3.R, GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sim

Jake Galstad/Lumen Digital Agency

Ranked sixth in the GTD standings, the No. 3 Corvette is the defending overall champion at VIR. Antonio Garcia earned his series-leading fifth win at the track last year, and teammate Alexander Sims added his second victory there.

"They need a strong run here," said NBC Sports analyst Calvin Fish (video above), who will be announcing the race with Brian Till. "They really feel this is a great racetrack for them. They really put a lot of emphasis on qualifying while track position is key. Typically, the winner here comes from the top four or five on the grid."

Here are the start times, daily schedules and streaming info for the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway (all times are ET):

IMSA VIR TV schedule and broadcast coverage

• When: Sunday, Aug. 23 at 12:10 p.m.
• TV/streaming: The IMSA Michelin GT Challenge will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock from flag to flag beginning at noon ET on Sunday, Aug. 23.
• Radio: Selected sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage on SiriusXM channel 206, Web/App 996
• Distance: A two-hour, 40-minute race on the 17-turn, 3.27-mile road course in Alton, Virginia.
• Forecast: According to Weather Underground, it's expected to be 82 degrees with a 2% chance of rain at the green flag.
• Entry list: Click here to see the 23-car field at Virginia International Raceway
• Qualifying: Saturday, 4:50 p.m. ET on Peacock

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IMSA VIR race weekend schedule and start times

Here's a rundown of the IMSA schedule this weekend at Virginia International Raceway (all times are ET):

Friday, Aug. 21

• 8-8:40 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
• 8:55-9:25 a.m.: Mustang Challenge practice
• 9:40-10:20 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
• 10:40-11:40 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
• 12:40-1:20 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge practice
• 1:35-2:05 p.m.: Mustang Challenge practice
• 2:20-2:50 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup practice
• 3:10-4:40 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
• 5-5:15 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying
• 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
• 6:45-7 p.m.: Mustang Challenge qualifying

Saturday, Aug. 22

• 8-8:35 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
• 8:50-9 a.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup qualifying
• 9:25-10:10 a.m.: Mustang Challenge Race 1 (Peacock)
• 10:30 a.m.-noon: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
• 12:20-1:05 p.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 1 (Peacock)
• 2:15-4:15 p.m.: VIRginia Is For Racing Lovers GP Michelin Pilot Challenge (Peacock)
• 4:50-5:25 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Qualifying (Peacock)
• 5:45-6:30 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 1 (Peacock)

Sunday, Aug. 23

• 8:40-9:25 a.m.: VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 2 (Peacock)
• 9:45-10:30 a.m.: Mustang Challenge Race 2 (Peacock)
• 12:10-2:50 p.m.: Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (NBC, Peacock)
• 3:30-4:15 p.m.: Mazda MX-5 Cup Race 2 (Peacock)

Full entry list and classes competing this weekend

Sunday's race at Virginia International Raceway will feature 23 cars racing across two classes (click here for the full entry list):

• GTD Pro: 10
• GTD: 13

Drivers and teams to watch at IMSA VIR

• No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have won the past two races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America this season in mounting a charge for a third consecutive GTD title.
• No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992): Back in GT after a successful run wih Porsche Penske Motorsport, sports car ace Nick Tandy will be racing at VIR for the first time in five years. The former GTLM champion, who has three wins at VIR, has teamed with Harry King on four podium finishes this year, including two consecutive.
• No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3: The Canadian team won at Road America just before announcing a planned hiatus from IMSA next year. Pfaff has victories at VIR in GTD (2021) and GTD Pro ('22).