IMSA, F1, NASCAR, MotoGP and MotoAmerica Race Wrap-ups

Whelen Cadillac wins at The Glen, Russell takes Austrian F1 race, SVG does it again at Sonoma, Ogura gets 1st MotoGP win, plus MotoAmerica at The Ridge results.

IMSA

Whelen Cadillac Racing delivered a dominant performance in Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, topping every session before converting pole position into a well-deserved victory.  Drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti led 143 of 182 laps in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, securing their second overall win of the season and extending the team's modern-era GTP record to eight consecutive podium finishes.

A late caution on the final lap froze Aitken's seven-second advantage over the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande and Kaku Ohta. Laurin Heinrich completed the podium in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Porsche after charging from a lap down and passing the No. 24 BMW in the closing minutes.

The victory also earned Cadillac the IMSA Michelin Sustainability Award and Endurance Cup honors while strengthening Aitken's lead in the GTP championship. The six-hour endurance race featured nine full-course cautions, including incidents involving both Acura GTP entries and a late scare for Bamber after contact with a GTD Ferrari.

The returning LMP2 class produced one of the race's closest finishes as AO Racing's No. 99 ORECA of Dane Cameron, PJ Hyett and Jonny Edgar held off Crowdstrike Racing's Alex Quinn by less than a second before a late caution secured the team's first victory of the season.

In GTD Pro, Vasser Sullivan Racing's No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 of Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth claimed its first class win in more than two years ahead of the No. 1 BMW and No. 64 Ford Mustang.

Manthey Racing captured the GTD class with its No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R, leading a Porsche one-two finish over Wright Motorsports, while the No. 068 Aston Martin completed the podium in its first race under new ownership.

Results

Next: Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, July 10-12

Formula 1

Mercedes driver George Russell returned to Victory Lane in the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time since the season-opening race in Australia, converting pole position into a hard-fought win after expertly managing two Virtual Safety Car periods and holding off a relentless late charge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Russell made a perfect start to lead into Turn 1 while an intense battle unfolded behind him. Lewis Hamilton jumped Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap, as Verstappen quickly moved forward, overtaking Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc before engaging Hamilton in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel. Their prolonged fight allowed Russell to build a comfortable advantage at the front.

Strategy played a key role as Ferrari attempted an undercut with Hamilton, while Verstappen stayed out longer to gain fresher tires. After the final round of pit stops, Verstappen emerged 11 seconds behind Russell and steadily reduced the gap over the closing laps. Despite the pressure, Russell remained composed, crossing the finish line 1.6 seconds ahead of the reigning champion to secure his second victory of the season and trim his championship deficit to teammate Antonelli from 50 points to 40.

Verstappen’s runner-up finish marked his best result of the year, while Antonelli recovered from an eventful opening lap to finish a close third. The Mercedes rookie, running an offset tire strategy, closed to within six-tenths of Verstappen on the final lap but ran out of opportunities to make a pass.

Oscar Piastri finished fourth after overtaking McLaren teammate Lando Norris on the opening lap. Hamilton settled for fifth after an extra pit stop, followed by Isack Hadjar, Norris, Leclerc, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who rounded out the top 10.

Results

Next: F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, July 3-5

NASCAR

For the second straight year, Shane van Gisbergen held off a late charge from Chase Briscoe to win the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota / Save Mart 350 at the 1.99-mile, 11-turn Sonoma road course. Briscoe's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota closed to within a car length — and nearly reached SVG’s rear bumper in the Turn 11 hairpin on the final lap — but couldn’t find an opening to challenge the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

Van Gisbergen led 74 of the 110 laps, earning his eighth Cup Series victory in just his 68th start. The win tied him with Tony Stewart for second on NASCAR’s all-time road-course victories list, one behind Jeff Gordon’s record of nine. It also completed a weekend sweep after his NASCAR Xfinity Series victory on Saturday.

The triumph marked SVG’s second win of the season and his second straight at Sonoma, providing redemption after his early exit in last week’s race at Naval Base Coronado following a multi-car crash. The closing laps were tense as his car’s handling faded over the final 27 circuits, while Briscoe’s hopes suffered when he slipped in Turn 1 with four laps remaining, costing valuable time.

Pole winner Ty Gibbs finished third after winning both Stage 1 and Stage 2 on an alternate strategy. Kyle Larson came home fourth, while Christopher Bell overcame a broken wrist to finish fifth.

Ryan Blaney (Ford), Connor Zilisch, Ryan Preece, Michael McDowell and Alex Bowman completed the top 10. Tyler Reddick’s race unraveled with a power steering issue, leaving him last and losing his regular season points lead to Denny Hamlin (26th place finish).

Results

Next: Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, July 4-5

MOTOGP

Raul Fernandez (Aprilia) claimed victory in Saturday’s MotoGP Tissot Sprint at Assen, leading a historic 1-2 finish for the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team. Starting fourth on the grid, Fernandez worked quickly, taking the lead on Lap 2 and controlling the race to the checkered flag despite late pressure from teammate Ai Ogura.

Ogura grabbed the holeshot at the start before polesitter Jorge Martin reclaimed the lead, but the Trackhouse duo soon emerged as the fastest riders on track. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati) also charged forward, passing both Martin and championship leader Marco Bezzecchi to run second before Ogura overtook him in the closing laps.

Fernandez steadily built a gap at the front, while Ogura sliced past Di Giannantonio to set up a tense final-lap battle between the Trackhouse teammates. Although Ogura reduced the margin, Fernandez remained composed to secure a memorable Sprint victory by six-tenths of a second.

Di Giannantonio completed the podium after holding off a late challenge from Bezzecchi, who finished fourth. Martin narrowly beat Francesco Bagnaia in a drag race to the line for fifth, with Marc Marquez taking seventh. Enea Bastianini (KTM) finished eighth, while Pedro Acosta recovered from an early off-track excursion and a drop to 15th to claim the final championship point in ninth. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) was 10th with Diogo Moreira (Honda) 11th.

Sprint Results

Ai Ogura (Aprilia) got his first MotoGP win during a high-stakes Dutch Grand Prix at Assen, as the Trackhouse Racing rookie spearheaded a phenomenal 1-2 result for the American squad, finishing ahead of teammate Raul Fernandez. Jorge Martin rounded out the podium to take over the points lead after Marco Bezzecchi suffered a heavy early fall, necessitating a trip to the hospital for medical evaluation.

Polesitter Martin initially held point through the first turn, but the dynamic shifted on Lap 2 when Bezzecchi went down fast and hard, marking a third straight DNF for the former championship leader. Fernandez immediately applied pressure to Martin at the front, while Ogura began his recovery from an early drop to fifth following a fierce skirmish with Marc Marquez.

Ogura successfully cleared Marquez and methodically neutralized a two-second gap to the frontrunners before seizing command in the final laps. Rebounding from a near-miss at Brno the previous week, the Japanese starlet clinched a historic maiden MotoGP victory, bringing himself to within 25 points of the top of the standings.

Fabio Di Giannantonio secured fourth with a clinical late maneuver, followed by Alex Marquez in fifth. Marc Marquez finished sixth on track but was relegated to seventh after a track-limits infringement, which elevated Enea Bastianini. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), Brad Binder (KTM), and Alex Rins (Yamaha) filled out the remainder of the top 10 positions.

Results

Next: Liquimoly Grand Prix of Germany at Sachsenring, July 10-12

MOTOAMERICA

JD Beach overcame a ninth-place starting position to score a dominant victory in Saturday's opening MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike race 1 at Ridge Motorsports Park. The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing rider charged from the third row of the grid and won by 4.501 seconds, earning his first victory of the 2026 season and the third Superbike win of his career.

The race dramatically reshaped the championship battle. Entering the weekend, OrangeCat Racing's Sean Dylan Kelly led Strack Racing's Mathew Scholtz by a single point. Scholtz rebounded from a heavy practice crash that forced his team to completely rebuild his Yamaha YZF-R1 before qualifying. Despite the setback, he qualified third and rode a steady race to finish second. Kelly, meanwhile, crashed on the out lap and could only recover to seventh, allowing Scholtz to reclaim the championship lead by 10 points, 125-115.

The Ducati riders endured a frustrating afternoon. Pole-sitter PJ Jacobsen appeared headed for victory after building an eight-second lead, but crashed with seven laps remaining. Cameron Petersen also looked poised to challenge Beach before crashing from second place on the penultimate lap.

Richie Escalante capitalized on the attrition to finish third aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, setting the fastest lap of the race and earning his first podium of the season. Benjamin Smith finished fourth on his Ducati, while Brandon Paasch completed the top five aboard the second M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.

RACE 1 RESULTS

Sean Dylan Kelly delivered a thrilling last-lap victory in Sunday's MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike race at Ridge Motorsports Park, charging from as far back as sixth to edge Mathew Scholtz by 0.499 seconds in a dramatic finish.

The OrangeCat Racing rider patiently worked through the field before passing Saturday winner JD Beach and Bobby Fong in the closing laps. On the final circuit, Kelly attacked Scholtz entering Turn 13 at the top of "The Waterfall," diving to the inside and forcing the Yamaha rider wide before powering away to the checkered flag.

Despite finishing second, Scholtz retained the championship lead after reclaiming it in Saturday's Race 1. The Strack Racing rider now leads Kelly by just five points, 145-140, heading into the next round.

Scholtz's runner-up finish was especially impressive after another difficult weekend. He crashed heavily during Sunday morning's warm-up session, forcing his crew to rebuild his Yamaha YZF-R1 for the second time in two days. The South African responded by leading the opening 15 of the race's 16 laps and appeared on course for victory until Kelly's decisive final-lap move.

Bobby Fong completed the podium after closing rapidly on the leaders in the closing corners, narrowly missing second place at the finish. Kelly's victory capped a dramatic weekend in which the championship lead changed hands twice and set the stage for a tightly contested title fight over the remainder of the season.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Next: Superbike Speedfest at Monterey, July 10-12 Presented By Law Tigers