IMSA 2026 Watkins Glen results, points: No. 31 Cadillac wins again from the pole position

The No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R won its second conseuctive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race from the pole position, leading 143 of 182 laps Sunday at Watkins Glen International

It was the eighth Grand Touring Prototype podium in a row for the team, which also won from the first starting spot in Detroit last month.

“Amazing,” Jack Aitken, who qualified the car on pole, told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “It was a real tough one today. Had a lot of stuff thrown at us and had to battle our way through it, but it was a really, really fast ride in the No. 31 Cadillac. so all the guys continue to do an awesome job, and I can’t really believe how long we’re keeping this going.”

The No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 (drivers Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande and Kaku Ohta) finished second after taking the lead by pitting ahead of the eighth of nine full-course cautions in the six-hour race. The No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 (drivers Laurin Heinrich, Tijmen van der Helm and Kaylen Frederick) finished third.

Aikten combined with co-drivers Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti for the win as the No. 31 team capitalized on a fuel advantage that allowed the car to keep up its blistering pace.

“It was super tight and had some really ferocious battles,” Bamber said. “Looked easy, but the whole time, it wasn’t. It was some really great hard racing, but what set that up was Jack’s pole positon. We got track position and then the guys in the pit lane are the reason we keep staying out front.”

It’s the second overall victory at Watkins Glen for Cadillac, which previously won the premier category in 2017 with Action Express.

Action Express Racing has five wins in GTP since the rebranded hybrid prototype category’s debut in 2023.

• LMP2: AO Racing earned its first victory of the season with the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07. Dane Cameron, who co-drove with PJ Hyett and Jonny Edgar, staved off a charge by Alex Quinn (co-driving with George Kurtz and Toby Sowery) in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing ORECA. The No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA of Naveen Rao, Jacob Abel and Ferdinand Habsburg finished third.

• GTD Pro: Vasser Sullivan Racing w/Dreyer & Reinbold won from the pole position with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 — its first win since the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Neil Verhagen, Connor De Phillippi) was second, and the No. 64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 (Dennis Olsen, Ben Barker) placed third.

• GTD: The Manthey 1st Phorm No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) earned its second IMSA class win with the driver trio of Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz. Rounding out the podium were the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche (Adam Adelson, Callum Ilott, Tom Sargent) and No. 068 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo (Valentin Hasse Clot, Marius Fossard, Trenton Estep).

LMP2: AO Racing earned its first victory of the season with the No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07. Dane Cameron, who co-drove with PJ Hyett and Jonny Edgar, staved off a charge by Alex Quinn (co-driving with George Kurtz and Toby Sowery) in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing ORECA. The No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA of Naveen Rao, Jacob Abel and Ferdinand Habsburg finished third.

GTD Pro: Vasser Sullivan Racing w/Dreyer & Reinbold won from the pole position with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 — its first win since the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (Neil Verhagen, Connor De Phillippi) was second, and the No. 64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 (Dennis Olsen, Ben Barker) placed third.

GTD: The Manthey 1st Phorm No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) earned its second IMSA class win with the driver trio of Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz. Rounding out the podium were the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche (Adam Adelson, Callum Ilott, Tom Sargent) and No. 068 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo (Valentin Hasse Clot, Marius Fossard, Trenton Estep).

The LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD classes will race in the Chevrolet Grand Prix on July 12 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.