Victor Gonzalez Racing is the latest team to run CUPRA equipment, having switched from Hyundai a few months ago. The team quickly made history this weekend at Indianapolis by giving IMSA’s newest OEM its first Michelin Pilot Challenge class victory.

CUPRA debuted in January at Daytona, partnering with the family-operated Gou Racing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge’s TCR class. Since that debut, the brand has shown rapid progress—earning its first IMSA podium at VIR and proving the car’s competitiveness at the top of the TCR division.

While CUPRA is no stranger to producing championship-caliber equipment, its IMSA debut marked a new chapter for the brand. With VGR’s switch to CUPRA and growing interest from other teams, this weekend’s victory serves as a pivotal launching pad as CUPRA heads into its sophomore season in 2026.

“For us to prove that we can be competitive in any brand that we race is big,” said team owner Victor Gonzalez in IMSA’s release. “Most important to bring the first win to CUPRA in the U.S. is huge. … I want to say thanks to IMSA because they always support my team. It’s been two and a half weeks, really hard for us. My guy has put in more than 200 hours working on the cars to prepare them. And to win at Indy, there’s no way that I can express how grateful I am.”

Gonzalez’s son, Tyler, also commented on the milestone victory. “I’ve been in that position many times throughout my career,” said Tyler Gonzalez, a winner in multiple other IMSA series but not in Michelin Pilot Challenge until Saturday. “Just keeping the car clean, trying to keep the tires together. It’s a lot hotter this year than it usually is in Indy, so we knew tire deg was going to play a big factor. Luckily, the CUPRA is really easy on tires, so that definitely helped us keep pace in the car in the end. Just super happy for the team and for CUPRA as well.”

CUPRA gets one final opportunity to continue its success before the season ends, closing out its inaugural campaign at Road Atlanta in two weeks.