Verstappen Sim Racing and BMW M Team MOUZ claimed the class victories in the fourth round of the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship, a two-hour-and-40-minute multiclass race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on 8 November.
Enzo Bonito completed the final stint in the winning No. 33 BMW M Hybrid V8, crossing the line narrowly ahead of the sister No. 1. The No. 96 Tatum Res-Tech NordVPN Cadillac V-Series.R completed the provisional GTP podium.
Pit strategy puts the No. 33 in control
The early GTP contest centred on the pole-starting BMW and Josh Rogers’ No. 91 Porsche Coanda Porsche 963. Their fight came to a head at the Andretti Hairpin, where Rogers made contact with a GTD car and spun while the BMW also lost time taking avoiding action. Race control deemed it a racing incident, leaving the No. 96 Cadillac at the front.
A shorter first pit stop moved the No. 33 into the net lead, with the BMW spending around five seconds less in its box than the Cadillac. It again stopped before its principal rivals during the final cycle, but the sister No. 1 ran longer and initially emerged ahead.
Bonito used his warmer tyres to pass the No. 32 Bleu Mercure Esport Acura before moving ahead of the No. 1. Both Verstappen cars then pulled clear of the opposition and held their positions to the finish, following the No. 33’s Watkins Glen victory with a team one-two.
Several other contenders lost ground through incidents or penalties. The No. 31 Bleu Mercure Acura received a drive-through for contact with the No. 128 Vesta Sport Ferrari, while the No. 91 Porsche served an unsafe-pit-entry penalty. Contact with a GTD Mustang left the No. 8 Grid-and-Go Aston Martin Valkyrie requiring approximately six and a half minutes of repairs.
Löhner holds off three challengers for GTD victory
Maximilian Benecke and Moritz Löhner converted second on the GTD grid into victory for the No. 171 BMW M Team MOUZ entry. Benecke took the lead during the opening stint, and a short first stop helped the BMW retain track position before Löhner took over.
Jerome Fischer kept the pressure on in the No. 114 EMM Esports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, repeatedly challenging at the Andretti Hairpin and Turn 5. Löhner held his position through roughly half an hour of sustained defending to secure the win.
Fischer finished second, while Henry Joslyn brought the pole-starting No. 111 Ronin-Sim-Sport.com Ferrari 296 GT3 home third. Rainer Talvar took fourth in the No. 110 MAHLE Racing Team BMW after briefly challenging Joslyn in the closing laps. Just over one second covered the four cars at the flag.
The championship concludes with a four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway on 22 November 2026, scheduled to start at 14:00 ET.
