IMSA News: Renger van der Zande’s Acura holds off Cadillac to win Long Beach race

It had been a long time coming. On Saturday, Acura and Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) finally claimed their first overall victory on the streets of Long Beach in the modern IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship era — and, more importantly, their first since Acura became title sponsor of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2019.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Nick Yelloly earned the Motul Pole Award on Friday and teamed with Renger van der Zande to deliver a commanding performance in the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. The duo largely controlled the 100-minute GTP sprint race, ending years of frustration for the Southern California-based organizations.

Acura had previously succeeded at Long Beach, winning LMP2 in 2008 and sweeping both LMP1 and LMP2 in 2009 under American Le Mans Series sanctioning. However, Saturday marked the first overall triumph at the legendary 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit in IMSA’s top prototype classes — first in Daytona Prototype international (2017-22) and now in GTP (2023-present).

The moment carried echoes of Honda’s long wait for victory on home soil in IndyCar. After years of near-misses at Twin Ring Motegi from 1998 to 2003, Dan Wheldon’s breakthrough win in 2004 sparked celebrations that longtime HRC and Acura associates still talk about.

Sporting a striking new 76 Gas Station livery, van der Zande brought the No. 93 Acura across the line just 0.818 seconds ahead of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R shared by Jack Aitken and Frederik Vesti, who was making his Long Beach debut as a stand-in for Earl Bamber.

Porsche Penske Motorsport took third and fourth, with Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 Porsche 963 narrowly ahead of the No. 7 sister car of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer. The No. 7 Porsche had opened the 2026 season with victories in the first two rounds.

Acura’s title sponsorship of the Grand Prix, combined with the “home race” significance for van der Zande and Yelloly, triggered an emotional outpouring from the many Honda and Acura associates on hand.

“That’s the main topic from the day,” said van der Zande, who now boasts 21 wins in top-level IMSA competition, including six of the last 10 street races. “Winning the Acura Grand Prix for Acura as an Acura driver makes it very, very special.

“We were brought into this program almost to win this one. There’s a lot of effort around Los Angeles to promote the Grand Prix, and this is home ground for Acura, so it’s fantastic to take the win we just did.”

Chuck Schifsky, National Motorsport Manager for Honda and Acura, was elated.

“A spectacular win for Acura!” he exclaimed. “Not only is it on our home ground, near HRC’s US headquarters in Santa Clarita, but the HRC group is responsible for the trackside engineering on the No. 93 car. It’s a huge win for that group.

“We haven’t won since 2008 and 2009 at Long Beach and haven’t won here in IMSA’s modern prototype era, so it’s great to finally present ourselves with the trophy from the Acura Grand Prix.”

Yelloly led from the start but lost the lead to Aitken on lap 13 after being balked by GTD traffic. While several teams pitted early for driver changes, the No. 93 stayed out longest. Yelloly handed over to van der Zande after 38 minutes, and almost immediately the third of five full-course cautions flew. When racing resumed with 47 minutes remaining, van der Zande was in front and defended stoutly despite tire concerns.

“It was a nail-biting finish, but I knew the guy behind the wheel could do the job, so I wasn’t too worried,” Yelloly said.

The No. 31 Cadillac extended its strong form with a third straight podium to open 2026, after closing 2025 with two wins.

“We had a really good day,” said Aitken. “There’s a few key things you need to do on a street track like this — you need to have a good start, don’t make mistakes, and I think the No. 31 team ticked all those boxes. It was a really good run so I can’t complain too much, but definitely hungry for that win this year.”

In the GTP Drivers’ Championship, Nasr and Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche continue to lead. Their closest pursuer is now Laurin Heinrich, who is running an expanded program with JDC-Miller MotorSports. Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm finished sixth at Long Beach — the team’s best result since the 2025 Rolex 24 — leaving Heinrich 35 points behind the leaders. Jack Aitken sits three points further back, followed by the No. 6 Porsche pairing.

Vasser Sullivan Lexus Back on Top of GTD in Long Beach

The dam was bound to break eventually — and what better place than the streets of Long Beach?

After a 22-race winless streak in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (their longest since joining the series), Vasser Sullivan Racing returned to victory lane in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) with the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3. It was the same car and same venue where the team last won in 2024, and the timing couldn’t have been sweeter: team co-owner Jimmy Vasser was celebrating the 30th anniversary of his own IndyCar triumph here in April 1996, the victory that launched his championship season.

Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen delivered the breakthrough for the venerable Lexus program, sharing driving duties for co-owners Vasser and James “Sulli” Sullivan.

“It’s such a big win for this Vasser Sullivan Lexus Racing organization,” Telitz said. “We’ve had a bit of a drought… It’s been a couple of years since the RC F went back in victory lane, but couldn’t be more proud to do it here at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.”

The No. 12 started sixth on the grid. Pedersen handled the opening stint before handing over to Telitz during the scheduled pit stop. Up front, pole-sitter Robert Wickens in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R dominated the early laps, leading for 25 minutes and building a gap of more than five seconds.

“That was a fairytale stint,” Wickens said. “The Corvette Z06 GT3.R was just so nice to drive around this track. Every lap is a dream.”

A full-course caution for GTP contact reshuffled the field. On the restart, Telitz pounced. He made a decisive move on teammate-turned-rival Mason Filippi (No. 36), diving inside from the left-hander at Turn 6 and completing the pass through the right-hander at Turn 8.

“The Lexus RC F GT3 fires off really well on restarts; it gets the tires going really quickly, so I felt any restart was my chance to pounce,” Telitz explained. “The 36 Corvette has been really good all weekend, and I feel like they didn’t turn the tires on as quickly.”

Filippi’s afternoon unraveled moments later. Caught behind lapped traffic and then squeezed by a GTP prototype at the fountain, he was pushed hard into the wall, lost his left-side mirror, and dropped four positions in one chaotic sequence through Turns 4-8.

The beneficiaries of the scramble included Robby Foley (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO), Albert Costa (No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO), and several others who capitalized on the chaos.

It’s worth noting that Telitz’s pass on Filippi wasn’t technically for the outright lead at the time. Vasser Sullivan’s sister No. 89 Lexus, driven by Jack Hawksworth, had vaulted into contention thanks to an alternate strategy after a post-qualifying ride-height violation. Hawksworth charged brilliantly from the back, but the car ultimately finished fifth once Frankie Montecalvo took over to fulfill driving time.

Telitz held firm to the checkered flag, winning by 5.055 seconds over Foley and Patrick Gallagher in the No. 96 BMW. Costa and Manny Franco completed the podium for Conquest Racing, followed by the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari, the No. 89 Lexus, and the No. 36 Corvette.

With the championship-leading No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin finishing 10th, Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello now holds an unofficial 54-point lead over Foley and Gallagher, and a 103-point cushion over Telitz and Pedersen.

A long drought is over — and on the very streets where Vasser Sullivan has written so much of its history.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship remains in California for its next event, the Monterey SportsCar Championship on May 1-3 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

2026 IMSA Long Beach Race Results

Full Unofficial Race Results – 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Long Beach Street Circuit (1.968 miles) — April 18, 2026
100-minute GTP/GTD Sprint Race

GTP Class Results

GTD Class Results

Key Race Notes
– Pole Position: Nick Yelloly (#93 Acura) – 1:11.626 (98.913 mph)
– Fastest Lap – GTP: Laurin Heinrich (#5 Porsche) – 1:12.918 (97.161 mph)
– Fastest Lap – GTD: Jack Hawksworth (#89 Lexus) – 1:19.136 (89.526 mph)
– Five full-course cautions slowed the race.
– No separate GTD PRO class in this event; all GT3 entries ran in GTD.