American marques Chevrolet and Ford will both compete in Intercontinental GT Challenge for the first time this year, as part of a six-manufacturer entry for SRO’s globe-trotting endurance series.
The brands, alongside returnees BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche, will make up the largest IGTC field since 2020.
Both Chevrolet and Ford began their current GT3 racing efforts in 2024, focusing primarily on the IMSA Sportscar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship during their first year of competition. They’ve each subsequently expanded their customer racing programmes globally, and featured in three IGTC events last season through multiple customer teams.
Last month, it was announced that both marques had entered the Pro class of the Bathurst 12-Hour for the first time, for what we now know will also be their IGTC debut.
Johor Motorsports Racing JMR is fielding two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs at Bathurst, with one car in Pro and the other in Pro-Am, whilst HRT Ford Racing has entered a single Mustang GT3.
They’ll be joined at Bathurst by 3 cars from defending champion BMW, 2 Ferraris, 4 Porsches and no fewer than 12 Mercedes-AMGs.
Chevrolet and its customers are yet to formally confirm any plans for the other events on the five-round IGTC schedule, whilst Ford Racing’s official team in Europe, Haupt Racing Team, has already announced it will return to the 24H Nürburgring, where it finished fourth overall last year.
The return to six entrants marks a significant milestone for IGTC, which suffered greatly during the pandemic, with its entry dropping from a peak of nine manufacturers to as low as three.
Entries for the IGTC Independents Cup for Bronze-graded drivers are set to be announced next week.
“Adding two more of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers to a resurgent IGTC underlines the series’ significance within GT3’s global environment, whilst also emphasising the scale of Chevrolet and Ford’s customer racing ambitions around the world,” said IGTC Series Manager Abi May.
“They, just like Intercontinental’s long-established European constructors – BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche – can operate a manufacturer-supported programme via multiple regional customer teams at the world’s biggest GT3 events.”
The 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge will begin with the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour on 13th to 15th February 2026.
Images courtesy of SRO
