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Looking ahead: April 2026 Porsche Motorsport preview

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5 Mins

IMSA
WEC

With plenty of racing to come this month, here’s a preview of Porsche Motorsport’s activities in April.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns for its third round in April, with a short-but-sweet sprint race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18.

The FIA World Endurance Championship makes its delayed start to the season, with the opening round taking place in Imola on April 19.

Manthey will be fielding two LMGT3 entries to represent Porsche in this year’s championship, and will be fighting to defend its titles.

The 2026 DTM season will also get underway in April, heading to the Red Bull Ring on April 24-26.

Formula E takes a break in April, but will return in May for the Porsche Formula E Team’s home race in Berlin - a double header on May 2 and 3 - before another two races in Monaco a fortnight later.

Here’s a full preview of all the Porsche Motorsport activities taking place in April:

IMSA: Grand Prix of Long Beach

The Porsche Penske Motorsport team will be gunning for another victory at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18.

Taking place on the 3.167 km (1.968 mile) circuit in downtown Long Beach, the race is one of the championship’s most prestigious and long-running events.

After a stellar outing at Sebring, both factory cars will now be aiming for another strong finish in California - this time over just 100 minutes of racing.

The team scored a 1-2 finish in the Floridian endurance classic in March, with the #7 car riding high after two consecutive victories to kick off 2026. Read the full race report here.

The #7 car leads the drivers’ championship, with the sister #6 car in third, and Porsche Penske Motorsport leads the teams’ standings.

This year, Porsche Penske Motorsport will also mark the 30th anniversary of Porsche and Mobil 1’s hugely successful partnership on and off-track.

The celebrations also form part of the wider 75 Years of Porsche Motorsport programme taking place in 2026.

There are more special liveries to come this season, so keep an eye out on upcoming events to find out more.

WEC: 6 Hours of Imola

The FIA World Endurance Championship is back in April, kicking off the season with the 6 Hours of Imola on April 19.

The season was due to start on March 28 with the Qatar 1812km. However, the race was postponed until October due to the current and evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

Instead, the season gets underway in Italy three weeks later than planned, with the WEC pre-season test, known as the Prologue, taking place on April 14.

The championship will visit Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for another thrilling race.

With 4.9km of track and 21 turns, this historic track proved a highlight of the calendar last season.

Manthey will be fielding two LMGT3 entries to represent Porsche in this year’s championship, and will be fighting to defend its titles.

Timur Boguslavskiy, James Cottingham and reigning DTM champion Ayhancan Güven will be at the wheel of the Manthey DK Engineering #91 Porsche.

The sister #92 car, The Bend Manthey, will be piloted by Yasser Shahin, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz.

As Manthey marks its 30th anniversary, the team will be hoping to replicate its success in the drivers’ and teams’ championships, as well as fighting for a third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans class win.

Read the full 2026 WEC season preview here.

Live timing will be available on the Porsche Motorsport Hub for every WEC race this season. Visit the series page to find out more.

DTM: Red Bull Ring

The DTM heads to Austria’s picturesque Red Bull Ring for the first round of this year’s championship.

Marking a departure from its usual opening spot at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the series will visit the Styrian Mountains for its first race weekend of eight in 2026 on April 24-26.

The stunning Spielberg track features a 4.31km / 2.68mi layout with 10 corners, with plenty of elevation change on its hillside location.

It was built in 1969 before extensive rebuilding works in the 1990s and a name change to the A1 Ring. It closed in 2004 before reopening in 2011, and the DTM has raced there every year since.

Reigning champions Manthey, who won both the teams’ and drivers’ titles in 2025, will field two Porsche 911 GT3 R this year.

As in the past three years, Thomas Preining will be at the wheel of the #91 Porsche. The 2023 DTM Champion and Porsche works driver has already won six times in the DTM and secured an additional ten podium finishes.

His new team-mate for 2026 is Ricardo Feller, who will drive the #90 Porsche. He made his debut for Manthey in January at the 24 Hours of Daytona in a ‘Grello’ Porsche entered in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

The Swiss driver will bring three victories and seven podium finishes from his four years of DTM experience to the team.

Land-Motorsport will also field an additional Porsche 911 GT3 R, with former Porsche Junior Bastian Buus at the wheel.

The team joins the Porsche family after competing with Audi in its maiden DTM season last year.

Motorsport Series

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