IMSA Rumor: Acura to leave IMSA, can Porsche be far behind?

Porsche already left the WEC. With TV ratings so low for IMSA and WEC, manufacturers may be starting to question the financial viability of competing.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Just hours ago, multiple paddock sources told Sportscar365 that Acura is preparing to axe its full factory involvement in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class at the end of the 2026 season.

The news comes as a surprise to some, given that Acura Meyer Shank Racing is currently contesting the full 2026 season with two ARX-06 entries and remains one of the most competitive outfits on the GTP grid. According to the report, GTP drivers have already been informed of the internal decision, and engineers at Honda Racing Corporation USA have begun being reassigned to other projects. An official announcement could drop as soon as next week.

In a statement to Sportscar365, Acura/Honda Motorsports U.S. manager Chuck Schifsky pushed back slightly on the long-term speculation: “Acura and HRC US are focused on the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season where we continue to campaign two Acura ARX-06 GTP entries with Meyer Shank Racing. Any speculation regarding plans beyond the 2026 season is premature. The 2027 Acura Motorsports plans are being finalized, and we will share more information with you at a later date.”

Customer-run ARX-06 cars could still appear in 2027, but the days of full factory support appear numbered.

Porsche Already Bailed on WEC — Is IMSA Next?

The timing is particularly striking because Porsche made almost the exact same move last year. In October 2025, the German manufacturer confirmed it was ending its factory Hypercar program in the FIA World Endurance Championship after the season finale in Bahrain, citing a “comprehensive realignment” of its motorsport priorities.

Porsche Penske Motorsport shut down its two-car WEC effort but kept — and in fact strengthened — its full factory GTP program in IMSA. Still, the writing was on the wall: one of the original and most committed LMDh manufacturers decided the global stage simply wasn’t delivering enough return.

Now Acura, another early and vocal supporter of the GTP formula, appears ready to follow suit on this side of the Atlantic.

The Harsh Economic Reality: Low TV Ratings, Sky-High Costs

It’s no secret that both IMSA and WEC are struggling to attract mainstream eyeballs in North America despite strong on-track action and record attendance at some events. While IMSA has posted modest gains in linear TV viewership (averaging around 393,000 viewers per NBC/USA Network broadcast in 2025, its best in over a decade), those numbers remain tiny compared to what major manufacturers expect when they invest tens of millions annually in prototype racing.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona drew strong viewership spikes earlier this year, but the day-in, day-out reality for the rest of the GTP calendar is far less glamorous. WEC’s U.S. exposure is even thinner. When you combine modest TV audiences with the massive development, homologation, and operational costs of LMDh machinery, the math simply stops adding up for many boardrooms.

Acura’s potential exit would leave Cadillac, BMW, and Porsche as the only remaining full-factory GTP programs in IMSA for 2027 — assuming Porsche doesn’t follow Acura out the door. Genesis is still slated to arrive in 2027, but that’s one new face replacing potentially two established ones.

What This Means for IMSA

The GTP class has been the crown jewel of the WeatherTech Championship since its debut in 2023, delivering close racing and manufacturer bragging rights. But if factory support continues to erode, the series risks sliding back toward a customer-car-heavy prototype landscape — something IMSA worked hard to move away from with the LMDh formula.

Acura has been a loyal IMSA partner since 2018, winning multiple titles in the DPi era and helping launch the GTP age with the ARX-06. Losing that factory presence would be a blow to the series’ prestige, even if customer cars keep the badge on track for a little while longer.

For now, both Acura and Porsche insist they are 100% focused on finishing the 2026 season strong. But the rumor mill is in overdrive, and the bigger question hanging over prototype racing in 2026 is this: if the TV numbers don’t improve dramatically, how many more manufacturers will decide the cost of playing in GTP (or Hypercar) simply isn’t worth it?