Detroit — The motorsports world came to the Motor City for the Detroit Grand Prix last weekend for the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
And the home teams dominated.
Cadillac swept the front row of Friday qualifying in the GTP class and then won Saturday’s race over an elite field of Porsche, BMW, Acura and Aston Martin cars. Corvette did the same in the GT class — sweeping the front row, then controlling the race over European rivals with Ford Mustang not far behind. Only Lamborghini spoiled a Detroit muscle car one-two.
Detroit automakers have invested billions to become players in international motorsports, and the Detroit GP was a proof point of the momentum they’ve built. While competitors Porsche and Honda are cutting back on their motorsports programs after disastrous corporate decisions on electrification, General Motors and Ford are well-positioned this year to make a mark across the globe — including in the premier international endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France later this month.
“What a special day for General Motors and the Cadillac and Corvette Racing teams in Detroit,” said GM President Mark Reuss after the Saturday afternoon IMSA result. “Winning both classes of the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic on the streets of the Motor City is a tremendous achievement for our motorsports, design and engineering teams.”
The wins weren’t just significant in coming on home turf but also in the way in which they were achieved. After showing speed in qualifying, the wining Cadillac #31 from Whelen Racing and #3 Corvette from Pratt Miller rain away from the field.
“We had a great Cadillac this weekend. As soon as it hit the track, it was super quick,” said Cadillac #31 driver Earl Bamber, who shared duties with co-pilot Jack Aitken. “Just managed to pull a gap and just managing the energy.”
A second Cadillac driven by Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerquee of Wayne Taylor Racing grabbed the third podium spot.
“Congratulations to Corvette Racing,” said Chevy Vice President Scott Bell. “This is an extra-special achievement on the streets of the Motor City against a deep field of world-class manufacturers.”
On the third step of the GT podium, sandwiching the second place Lambo Temerario was the #65 Mustang GT3 driven by Frédéric Vervisch and Christopher Mies. “It’s great to see the Mustang GT3 catching its stride this year,” said Ford Racing Sports Car Motorsports Program Manager Alexx Allmandinger. “We had ourselves another good street fight in Detroit.”
Motown muscle now turns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where brands have a historic chance to challenge for the win across the Hypercar (the international version of prototype GTP) and GT classes.
The Wayne Taylor Cadillac joins two factory JOTA Cadillacs in an assault on the French race — just a year after the JOTA Caddies locked out the front row of Le Mans qualifying (they finished 5th and 8th).
Their prospects are buoyed by the Porsche team’s withdrawal — managed by Bloomfield Hills-based Team Penske — which finished second at Le Mans in 2026. Porsche announced its exit after the company suffered big losses after betting big on the China market and a transition to electric production cars — including best-sellers like the Macan SUV and Boxster/Cayman sportscar.
A miscalculation of consumer demand for EVs has also impacted Honda, which suffered its first losses since listing as a public company in 1957. The fallout included the withdrawal of the Acura GTP team, a key Cadillac competitor, from the IMSA Weathertech series.
“Is it a trend that people are leaving because it’s too expensive? I hope it’s not a trend,” Porsche GTP factory director Urs Kuratle told Motorsports.com. “But it worries me because every time people are leaving the championship, it’s bad (for) competition.”
GM and Ford also took big EV-related financial hits, but the companies make the bulk of their profits from ICE truck and SUV sales in the U.S. market compared to heavily-regulated Europe and China.
And their international investment in motorsports is just gaining traction with Corvette and Mustang now selling globally.
“We’ve got so many different versions of the Mustang racing, literally, all around the world,” said Ford Racing chief Mark Rushbrook at the Detroit GP. “Almost every single weekend there are Mustangs racing, (and) once we had that Mustang GT3 as a race car, our executive leadership team said: ‘Please make one of those for the street.’”
Th result was the 810-horsepower Mustang GTD, which recently annihilated the Porsche 911’s lap time in its backyard — the Nürburgring race track. The Ford team will bring two Mustang GT3 racers to Le Mans.
This full-court press of Motown motorsports and production muscle is ultimately aimed at competing against European performance brands — on foreign as well as home turf.
While Cadillac and Mustang are establishing a beachhead in international competition, Corvette will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first Le Mans win this year.
Dutch Corvette ace Nicky Catsburg, who qualified the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R on the front row in Detroit last weekend, will also pilot a Corvette at Le Mans June 13-14.
“It’s really cool representing the brand, and (foreign) fans really love it,” said Catsburg, who drives a Corvette Z06 in the Netherlands. “It’s available in Japan, the UK, Europe. I’m seeing them more and more, so it’s a good push. Hopefully that means for me more racing in Europe.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Home court: Motown brands dominate Detroit GP, look to Le Mans
Reporting by Henry Payne, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
