SRO has released the full five-round calendar for the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge series, which will start in February with the Bathurst 12 Hour and conclude in October at Indianapolis.
News of Bathurst retaining its slot to open the IGTC follows confirmation that a new long-term agreement has been signed with the organiser, Supercars, and the local council to secure the event’s future for “more than a decade”.
The 2026 edition of the race ‘Down Under’ will mark its 10th anniversary as a round of the IGTC. The dates see it held the weekend after the Asian Le Mans Series season finale in the UAE, avoiding clashes with major endurance races at the start of the year.
After the event in Australia, the IGTC then heads to Germany for the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
Back-to-back 24-hour races have been avoided this time, with the N24 set to take place in May, before the Spa 24 Hours in June, which will take place two weeks after the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Later in the year, the campaign will conclude with a visit to Suzuka in Japan for another edition of the 1000km in September, and a trip to the USA for the Indianapolis 8 Hour in October.
“We’re not going to have three 24-hour races following each other, so we go back to a normal calendar,” said SRO boss Stéphane Ratel at today’s annual SRO press conference at Spa-Francorchamps.
“Spa takes a traditional date, we don’t want to change even if Formula One is getting nearer to us, and we want to be at least two weeks after Le Mans. It’s a good date. It’s a stable calendar.”
Speaking after the announcement, Ratel added there had been no consideration of expanding the IGTC schedule.
“My dream would be to be on every continent. The only place where I’d like to go back is South America,” he said. “But for the moment, we have to stay realistic and focus on growing the Suzuka event.”
2026 IGTC calendar
- 13-15 February: Bathurst 12 Hour
- 14-17 May: Nürburgring 24 Hours
- 25-28 June: Spa 24 Hours
- 11-13 September: Suzuka 1000km
- 08-10 October: Indianapolis 8 Hour
