GT World Challenge America powered by AWS returns to Sebring this weekend. GT World Sebring brings the SRO America programme to Florida for its third meeting as the 2026 season is moving along.

With it being Mother’s Day weekend, SRO has made the decision to move GTWC America to a twilight race on Saturday evening. This will be first late-evening race of the season and could bring shakeup the pecking order.

PRO: Rebound from AF Corse?

AF Corse is the biggest threat to JMF in the Pro class. But COTA was a disaster after drivetrain issues put them down early. The car did get back out and finish but was essentially a non-factor. Matias Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff will be looking to return to their Sonoma race pace. Schandorff at Sonoma gave Mikael Grenier a run for his money keeping him honest all the way to the end. AF Corse has to like their chances this weekend. The team is coming off a class win in the Sebring 12 Hours two months ago albeit with different drivers. AF Corse is also coming off a win in the European Sprint Cup at Brands Hatch. Could Sebring be the place for Ferrari to break through in GT World Challenge competition?

With that being said, don’t expect JMF to just lie down. In fact, until further notice, list Grenier and Michai Stephens as your favorite to win. JMF has not missed a beat and COTA proved the only people that can truly beat them is themselves. While they didn’t win overall in Texas, max points in Pro was mission accomplished. Sebring looks to be more of the same for the championship leaders.

Could Dollahite rebound from COTA and give the Mustang its second podium of the season?

A Surprise from “The Field”?

Elsewhere in the five-car Pro class, not much new to report. Michael McCann Jr and Zachary Vanier would love to build off their first class podium at COTA two weeks ago. Dollahite Racing showed their resolve and metal in their home race, but the results are not reflective of such. Cameron Lawrence and Alex Sedgwick are looking for more of their Sonoma pace that netted them a podium spot. At Turner, Robby Foley and Justin Rothberg look to maintain momentum after their runner-up. They hope they can extract more pace out of their BMW so they can truly take the others in class down to the wire.

PRO-AM: Battle of the Academy Stars

Sonoma and COTA have been excellent displays of the rising talent that is housed in GT World Challenge America. At Sonoma, Tom Sargeant stole the show with his rapid pace. He had the GMG Porsche threatening for overall victory. The Aussie and co-driver Kyle Washington had to settle for third overall with max class points. At COTA, despite early setbacks Sargeant once again showed his electric pace putting in fast lap after fast lap in the closing stages. Despite just missing out on the podium, he is a true talent to come in this series.

Not to be outdone, Ryan Yardley showed consistent pace keeping up with the JMF Mercedes. Through a combination of pit strategy and being in the right place at the right time, Yardley was handed a golden opportunity. The Kiwi piloted the Wright Motorsports Porsche to second on the road, but penalties for Mikael Grenier saw he and Dave Musial Jr. promoted to overall victory – the first this season for a Pro-Am entry. Yardley showed a veteran’s poise during the final hour making no mistakes and keeping the car in a fast but steady pace.

However, Yardley lost out to Sargeant in the GT Academy standings. I will not get into the Academy scoring here (that is another article altogether). But know the SRO GT Academy is a competition for eligible Silver-graded drivers in the series. The winning driver will earn a funded seat in the 2027 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. That’s quite a prize for these up-and-coming Pro drivers (as if they didn’t need additional incentive). Also in the competition are Lorcan Hanafin (JMF Motorsports), Riley Dickinson (Kellymoss) and Hampus Ericsson (Random Vandals). All of which are starting to show why the future of pro drivers in motorsports is in good hands.

 

The Archangel Motorsports McLaren (pictured here in 2025) will be looking for a clean run this weekend after early contact at COTA.

Strategy Is King

With the changes introduced in COTA, strategy became even more valuable. Kellymoss attempted single stints in one of their cars, which did not quite work out. Early safety car periods encouraged teams to play with fuel strategy thanks to the increase in stint time. All these factors result in a running order that we were not expecting. The Mercedes removed themselves from contention through contact (TR3) and mechanical woes (JMF). The Archangel McLaren was the victim of the TR3 Mercedes shenanigans early. The BMWs in Pro-Am were quiet as the strategy did not play in their favor. Strategy will continue to be the buzzword for the season as this three-hour format plays itself out. What surprises await us in Sebring?

Can Random Vandals Defend?

Speaking on BMW, Random Vandals did sweep the doubleheader at Sebring last year. Granted that was a Pro entry, but COTA is evidence a Pro-Am team can win overall. The team has not had a kind start to 2026 focusing strictly on Pro-Am. They rebounded from early contact at Sonoma for a seventh in class. COTA did not fare much better with a ninth-place run.

Hampus Ericsson is still finding his rhythm transitioning to GT3 racing this year. It also doesn’t help that he has not seen Sonoma or COTA before. Learning a new platform while learning new tracks is a double whammy. But for the first time this season, Ericsson is coming to a track he has seen before. Sebring is quite familiar to him racing here in Lamborghini Super Trofeo (winning there in 2025). It may not be much of an advantage, but there must be some confidence for Hampus as he looks for a breakthrough performance.

AM: Back to the Lone Ranger

For those of us who like competition, there is bad news in the Am class. The only change in entry lists from COTA to Sebring is the MadJoker by Lone Star Mercedes won’t be making the trip to Florida. Like in Sonoma, that leaves Oswaldo Negri and Jay Schriebman to race for themselves with their AF Corse Ferrari. Hopefully we will see some more competition in the all-Bronze category. Until then, it will be interesting to see what these two can do in terms of overall.

SRO America Programme

Beyond GT World Challenge America, it will be another packed slate for the GT World Sebring weekend. Joining the schedule for this weekend is the opening round of the 2026 Skip Barber Racing Series. The development open-wheeled series kicks off its 50th Anniversary season alongside the rest of the GT World programme. Speaking of Skip Barber, TC America powered by Skip Barber is back for their third weekend of the season. Pirelli GT4 America returns to its traditional two one-hour races after the Lone Star Enduro in Austin. Finally, GT America completes the slate of action for the weekend

On-Track Schedule (All times US ET)

As mentioned earlier, GTWC America will race on Saturday night. Therefore, we will see a condensed schedule for the main series. Regardless, as you will see, the schedule will still be quite packed.

Friday

  • 9:35-10:35am: GTWC America Test Session 1
  • 12:00pm: TC America Race 1 (35 Minutes)
  • 12:55-1:55pm: GTWC America Test Session 2
  • 3:25-3:55pm: GTWC America Bronze Test Session
  • 5:40pm: Pirelli GT4 America Race 1 (60 Minutes)
  • 7:00-8:00pm: GTWC America Free Practice 1

Saturday

  • 8:50-9:50am: GTWC America Free Practice 2
  • 10:05am: TC America Race 2 (35 Minutes)
  • 12:45pm: Pirelli GT4 America Race 2 (60 Minutes)
  • 2:10pm: GTWC America Qualifying
  • 3:35pm: GT America Race 1 (40 Minutes)
  • 5:00pm: GT World Challenge by America Race (3 Hours)

Sunday

  • 9:05am: Skip Barber Racing Series Race 1 (25 Minutes)
  • 10:10am: GT America Race 2 (40 Minutes)
  • 11:05am: Skip Barber Racing Series Race 2 (25 Minutes)

TV Coverage

As with every SRO weekend, all races (bar Skip Barber) will stream LIVE (globally and no Geoblocks) on the GT World YouTube Channel (link below). GT World will also stream GTWC America Qualifying on Saturday. Check YouTube in your time zone for stream times.

SRO GT World YouTube Channel

On-Site Coverage

Finally, GT REPORT will be on the ground at Sebring. Our own Dylan Spaulding will be trackside all weekend long. Make sure you stay here for Dylan’s reporting of GT World Challenge America and the full SRO programme from GT World Sebring.

Headline Photo: Field racing through the Hairpin at the start in 2025