Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin hosts CieloVision GT World Texas, the second weekend of the SRO America programme for the 2026 season.

Last year, Random Vandals and Regulator Racing split the weekend’s races out in Austin. All signs point to a different winner this weekend. Regulator Racing is not in the series this year and Random Vandals is down in Pro-Am. But then again Regulator was a Pro-Am entry last year so what do I know?

With that in mind, I am going off the first round in Sonoma while simultaneously going off last year’s races at Austin. This brings two protagonists to my mind. JMF Motorsports, while they didn’t win Race 2 overall, won the Pro class. Mikael Grenier and Michai Stephens look to assert their authority on this championship this weekend. What better way than to start with back-to-back race wins? With very little changing from 2025, you will be hard pressed not to pick this team as a contender for victory.

The other car that can make noise this weekend is Turner Motorsport. Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley scored a pole for Sunday’s race last year. The pole (and the Random Vandals win mentioned earlier) tells me BMW may be quick around here. The #29 duo I feel took Sonoma to get used to their new Pro surroundings. Expect them to hit the ground running at COTA.

As for the rest of the Pro class, Dolahite looks to build off a class podium with Cameron Lawrence and Alex Sedgwick. AF Corse looks to go one better with Matias Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff at the controls. Finally, the McCann Porsche looks to progress after a character-building debut at Sonoma.

Pro-Am

As previously mentioned, a Pro-Am won one of the races last year and it is possible it could happen again this year. I know this is recency bias, but the way Tom Sargeant performed at Sonoma, why not GMG? The Australian Silver-rated youngster got he and Kyle Washington on the overall podium in the season opener. They could very well keep the momentum going and maybe snag an overall surprise.

Porsche had it all their way in Pro-Am in California but more competitors await them in Texas. Triarsi Competitizione returns to the GTWC America paddock with a Pro-Am Ferrari entry. Sebastian Mascaro and Ricardo Agostini will pilot the #18 296. Elsewhere, Red Rock Racing will make their GTWC America debut with the Aston Martin Vantage. The #71 entry will be piloted by Robin Liddell and Frank DePew.

Ferrari and Aston Martin join an already stacked Pro-Am field of manufacturers including BMW, Corvette and McLaren. All five brands hope to make ground on Porsche this weekend. But with teams like Kellymoss and Wright (with multiple cars on the grid) in their ranks, topping the Stuggart giant will be no small task.

Am

There are three new entries for this weekend’s action. We have mentioned the first two entries already. The third new entry will give the Am class a little spice. MAD Joker by Lone Star Racing are on home soil and ready to take on AF Corse. Marc Austin and Jason Golan make their season debut in the #11 Mercedes AMG GT3 for the Austin-based squad. They hope to keep Jay Schriebman and Oswaldo Negri honest at worst and sneak a win at best. Considering these are your only two Am entrants, you can’t really call it. But if you have to, the edge in my mind goes to AF Corse. But I could be (and have been) wrong before.

Beyond GTWC America

The rest of the SRO America program this weekend includes TC America, Toyota GR Cup North America, Pirelli GT4 America and GT America.

After splitting one race a piece in Sonoma, Brayden Arthur of JMF and Andre Castro of Ricca Autosport look to stay at the front in COTA for Races 3 & 4 of the season for TC America.

GT America will have an increased grid of 21 cars across their three classes for their two 40-minute races. Memo Gidley of SKI Motorsports swept the weekend at his home track in Sonoma and looks to do more of the same in Austin.

Toyota GR Cup North America returns to Texas for the second time this season for Rounds 5 & 6 of the championship. Spike Kohlbecker is marking himself as the championship favorite with three wins from the opening four races. The TechSport Racing driver looks to stay ahead of the pack with another big performance this weekend. Jeremy Fletcher is the only driver to beat Kohlbecker so far this season. Will that stat change at COTA?

Last, but not least, Pirelli GT4 America breaks away from tradition. Instead of two one-hour races, COTA hosts the series annual three-hour enduro that starts in the mid-afternoon racing into dusk. 28 cars are set to battle on the 3.4-mile circuit. Favorites for the weekend have to be the duo of Westin Workman and Tyler Gonzalez for RAFA Racing. The pair swept both races and with championship aspirations in mind they don’t plan on slowing down. Hope the rest of the GT4 grid can step up to challenge them this weekend.

Weekend Timetable (all times CT US)

Friday is highlighted by Race 1 of TC America at 5:35pm. GTWC America will have a morning test at 9:35am followed a Bronze-only session at 1:35pm. Finally, GTWC America will have their opening 60-minute Free Practice 1 at 4:20pm.

Saturday will see GTWC America have their final two free practice sessions. The 60-minute Free Practice 2 starts at 10:25am while the 30-minute Free Practice 3 commences at 2:30pm. A busy race schedule begins with Race 2 of TC America at 9:35am. Race 1 of Toyota GR Cup North America starts at 1:25pm, proceeded by GT America Race 1 at 3:20pm. The day culminates with Pirelli GT4 America Three Hour Enduro at 5pm.

Sunday starts with GTWC America Qualifying at 8:45am. Immediately after qualifying is Race 2 for both GT America (9:40am) and Toyota GR Cup North America (10:40am). Finally, the main event of GTWC America goes green for three hours at 12:30pm.

TV Coverage

Coverage of all weekend races and qualifying for GT World Challenge America will be streamed LIVE on the GT World YouTube channel around the world (NO Geoblocks!). Check YouTube in your time zone for stream times. Races are also broadcast by network through agreements with SRO. Check the GT World Challenge America website for network and airtimes in your country.

Check back in here on GT REPORT for our SRO America notebooks throughout the weekend. As always, enjoy the racing everyone.

Featured Photo: Start of Race 1 at Circuit of The Americas in 2025 Photo Courtesy: Fabian Lagunas/SRO Motorsports Group