Following the 2026 F1 Japanese GP, F1 now enters a five-week break before the next race weekend. Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the 2026 F1 Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs were cancelled, which means no F1 in April. However, there will still be plenty of racing action across other motorsport series worldwide.
Here is a list of the key motorsport events taking place this month.
GT World Challenge Europe
The GT World Challenge Europe will hold its season-opening round at the Circuit Paul Ricard for its 13th season on April 10-12. Known as the world’s leading racing series for GT3-specification cars, the series is organised by the SRO Motorsports Group. It consists of two distinct formats, the Endurance Cup and the Sprint Cup, which combine to crown overall champions for teams and drivers.
Aston Martin F1 driver Lance Stroll will be making his debut in the series at the Circuit Paul Ricard behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 run by Comtoyou Racing. He will join a lineup of experienced drivers, including former Manor F1 driver Roberto Merhi and Aston Martin Academy F2 driver Mari Boya. This will also mark Stroll’s maiden GT competition.
The ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS)
Stroll will not be the only F1 driver who plans to return to the track during this five-week break. Four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen will be making his Nürburgring 24 Hours debut in May.
The NLS3 will take place on April 11 and will run over four hours on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. This will mark the 3rd race of the 49th season of the sport. Verstappen is reported not to make an appearance due to a scheduling conflict.
However, Verstappen will be back behind the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO on April 18-19 for the 24 Hours Qualifying ahead of the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)
The FIA World Endurance Championship will kickstart its 14th season with its season opener round in Imola for the 6 Hours of Imola from April 17-19. WEC is gearing up for an exciting season ahead with a record-equaling 14 manufacturers participating across both the Hypercar and LMGT3 divisions in 2026. The series will be racing across multiple continents during its 10-round calendar. The appeal of WEC is the freedom of design for teams and the unpredictability of each round. In 2025, there were seven different race winners in the Hypercar class and six different winners in the LMGT3 class during the 8-round calendar.
WEC features a diverse line-up of drivers of various racing backgrounds, including F1. A key driver many will be keeping an eye on is former Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant. The American driver will be making his debut in WEC with Proton Competition in the 2026 WEC LMGT3 class, driving a Ford Mustang GT3.
European Le Mans Series (ELMS)
Another Endurance racing series starting its season in April is the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). The season opener round will take place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 4 Hours of Barcelona, which takes place from April 10-12.
ELMS serves as a training ground for potential drivers wishing to take on the challenge of the next stage on the endurance ladder, the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the pinnacle of the sport, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2026 ELMS grid consists of 47 cars across the four classes. There are 11 cars in LMP2, 12 in LMP2 Pro/Am, 10 in LMP3, and 14 in LMGT3. Similar to the WEC driver line-up, the ELMS features drivers of various backgrounds from F1 to IndyCar and even NASCAR.
Haas F1 Reserve driver Jack Doohan will be making his Endurance racing debut at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the Nielsen Racing No.24 car in the LMP2 category.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be returning to Long Beach Street Circuit from April 11-12 for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. This will mark round 3 of the 11-round calendar season.
The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is IMSA’s flagship series, which competes at 11 of North America’s leading sports car venues. Like the majority of Endurance racing series, IMSA races across four classes, which are Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD). There are also a myriad of successful drivers who compete in the series.
A familiar face from the F1 grid who found success in IMSA is Mercedes Reserve driver Fredrick Vesti. The Danish driver drives the Cadillac V-Series. R No. 31 car in the GTP class and currently stands P2 in the GTP Championship Standings.
IndyCar
IndyCar is the other series that will be sharing the Long Beach Street Circuit with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The series will host round 5 of the 2026 season in California from April 17-19.
The NTT IndyCar SERIES is North America’s premier open-wheel racing championship, featuring world-class athletes from more than 11 countries. What makes the sport unique is that all drivers drive a Dallara IR-18 chassis, a purpose-built, spec design introduced in 2018. This places a greater emphasis on the drivers’ raw racrcraft.
MotoGP
MotoGP starts its European leg of the 2026 season with its first round at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain from April 24-26. This marks the fourth continent the sport has visited thus far, as the series started its season with visits to tracks in Asia, South America and North America.
MotoGP is widely known as the premier world championship of motorcycle road racing, featuring elite prototype machines and the world’s top riders competing at speeds over 365km/h. It is considered the pinnacle of two-wheel motorsport, with a 22-round calendar season that includes Sunday races and Saturday Sprint races. The sport holds races across all five continents in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and Australia, spanning from March to November.
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)
The FIA World Rally Championship has two major races in April: the WRC Croatia Rally 2026 from April 10-12 and the WRC Rally Islas Canarias 2026, also known as the Rally of Spain, from April 23-26.
The FIA WRC is a demanding motorsport championship where drivers in teams of two race modified production cars against the clock on closed, timed special stages across varied terrain. This includes gravel, tarmac, snow, and ice. The sport offers a unique spectacle of high-speed racing across 14 events on four continents and is a test of skill and endurance.
