The new M2 Racing is coming to IMSA. In a recent IMSA Endurance Hour Podcast, series president John Doonan confirmed that a BMW M2 Challenge class would be featured in the 2026 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge endurance races.
The new M2 Racing spent most of the past year in development, and cut its teeth in the Nürburgring 24. Although it’s called an M2, the M2 Racing doesn’t have the S58 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six under the hood. Instead, it’s fitted with the B48 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four from the 230i. This is partly to keep costs down, but also to fit better within the class structure in IMSA, SRO, and other sanctioned racing series around the world. That way it doesn’t risk competing with the M4 GT4.
The new M2 Racing is expected to put out around 313hp and has a top speed of 167mph.
The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge endurance races will be two hours in length and feature LMP3 prototypes running with the M2 Challenge cars in the same race. There will be four of these races in 2026, with the first one coming at Sebring on March 6th-8th. The series will then hold races at Circuit of the Americas (May 7th-9th), Virginia International Raceway (June 19th-21st) and Road America (August 14th-16th).
The M2 Challenge will be a great class for up-and-coming drivers looking for a career in sports cars “It’s another sort of single-make car, but to put that car into a multi-class racing environment is great for entry level racers,” said Doonan. “Immediately, somebody’s in a multi-class learning opportunity. You’ve got a much faster prototype chasing after a BMW M2 Racing. “We’re excited about it. BMW has embraced us kicking it off in North America.”
There’s been no word from BMW of North America or BMW M Motorsport about the M2 Challenge series or how many cars they expect to compete. We can also expect to see the M2 Racing competing in the SRO-sanctioned TC America series. The previous generation M2 CS Racing was popular and successful in that series, winning the championship two years in a row. The “regular” VP Challenge SportsCar Series will continue in 2026 as well, featuring LMP3, GT3 and GT4-spec classes in a shorter sprint race format. The first race in that series is at Daytona on January 16th-18th.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy Gruppe C Photography]