Only a few rounds have unfolded in the GT World Challenge Global Manufacturers Championship, but that has not stopped early battles between brands from already starting to take shape. Following the American season opener event at Sonoma Raceway, reigning champions Mercedes-AMG have already quickly proved that they are prepared to pick up right where they left off.
The German marque has already surged to the top of the leaderboard with 111 points, pulling ahead of Ferrari, Audi, and Porsche in the race to become the frontrunner. The Italian brand sits behind in second with 82 points, while Audi Sport and Porsche remain close to one another with 67 and 60 points, respectively.
There is still an abundance of races remaining as the 2026 season has only just begun, but it remains to be seen how much the points will continue to ebb and flow amongst the world’s premier GT3 manufacturers.
Mercedes-AMG
An impressive 54 points were scored at Sonoma Raceway for the Affalterbach-headquartered manufacturer, which can be attributed to Michai Stephens and Mikaël Grenier. The duo, who entered their second year together as a driver pairing for JMF Motorsports, claimed the first victory of the GT World Challenge America season after completing a clean, composed, and confident performance on board the No. 34 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.
After claiming pole position on the Sunday morning, Stephens and longtime Mercedes-AMG factory driver Grenier maintained their advantage all throughout the three-hour race. After finishing runner-up in the Pro class standings the year prior, they made their title intentions abundantly clear.
Ferrari
AF Corse USA contributed 36 additional points towards Ferrari’s total in the standings, with both their Pro and Am class entries having very solid opening weekends.
In the Pro class, new teammates Matias Perez Companc and Frederik Schandorff made their debut together in the No. 12 AF Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. They originally qualified third in the Pro class and fourth overall, but made up ground quickly once the green flag waved. After remaining in close pursuit throughout the race, they went on to finish second at the line with a gap of less than a second to the leaders ahead.
Meanwhile, on the Am front, 2025 champions Jay Schreibman and Oswaldo Negri went uncontested in their path to the class win in the No. 163 machine.
Porsche
While Porsche sits fourth overall in the manufacturer standings behind Audi Sport—who do not have any entries in GT World Challenge America competition but amassed points in the Australian rounds at Phillip Island—Porsche had a very strong showing at Sonoma and will be in contention for the top 3 in the standings in the near future.
This charge was led by the strength of the Pro-Am class, with Tom Sargent and Kyle Washington putting their No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R (992) EVO on the top step of the podium after a dominant drive to the checkered flag. Additionally, Porsche swept the Pro-Am podium, with Wright Motorsports’ Dave Musial Jr. and Ryan Yardley coming in second in the No. 31 entry, and RS1’s No. 28 machine placing third with JP Martinez and Jan Heylen.
Porsche earned 54 points in total at Sonoma out of the manufacturer’s 60 points thus far, and now sits just 7 points behind Audi.
Up Next
The battles will continue with GT World Challenge Asia hosting its own respective season opener with a doubleheader at Sepang International Circuit on April 4th and 5th, 2026. GT World Challenge Europe will then follow suit with their first 6-hour Endurance Cup round at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on April 12th.
The American battles will resume for the second round of the championship at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for SRO America’s home event from April 24th to 26th.