And now a third of the year is complete. Where does the time go? It wasn't long ago night was longer than the day, temperatures were rather frigid, and most motorsports seasons had yet to start. Now, our days continue to grow longer, most days do not require a jacket and pretty much every series has started. We have been keeping ourselves busy, and there are still more races ahead. There is plenty to look forward to.
Some major races are to come, but a few major races have already taken place. One saw a notable winner who deserves recognition.
Renger van der Zande
The Dutchman has won in every season since IMSA reunification. At Long Beach, van der Zande extended his streak to 13 consecutive seasons. He is the only one to be victorious in every season since the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am came together.
Neither Taylor brother has done it. It isn't Bill Auberlen or Antonio García. Dane Cameron doesn't have this record. Felipe Nasr was still in Formula One when this streak began. Kevin Magnussen was a Formula One rookie. Filipe Albuquerque was an Audi driver and about to make his Le Mans debut. Tom Blomqvist was competing against Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen in Formula Three.
At no point was this expected. Van der Zande came to America in the Prototype Challenge class, recruited to drive with Mirco Schultis. Van der Zande had good Formula Three results. He spent a year in a year-old car in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. This journey started in ALMS with DragonSpeed. After reunification, Schultis and van der Zande went to Starworks in the same class.
The first victory was at Laguna Seca. It was a split class race. The pro-am classes raced together on a Sunday morning. Later that season, Schultis and van der Zande won at Road America before closing the season wit a victory at Petit Le Mans. Two more victories followed in 2015. Four victories and a championship with Alex Popow came after that in 2016.
In 2017, Spirit of Daytona Racing called van der Zande and he was promoted into the Prototype class. He left his mark at Laguna Seca with a daring pass on Dane Cameron in the Corkscrew to take the lead and ultimately the victory. Van der Zande was only at Spirit of Daytona for a year because Wayne Taylor Racing came calling. He nearly didn't win in his first year, but van der Zande pulled out a victory at Petit Le Mans to close the year. In the next two seasons, van der Zande won the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Van der Zande moved with Cadillac to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. He and Kevin Magnussen won at Belle Isle. With Sébastien Bourdais as his teammate in 2022, they won three times. Bourdais and van der Zande won again at Laguna Seca in 2023 and then Long Beach and Petit Le Mans in 2024.
Last year, van der Zande moved to Meyer Shank Racing with Acura. He and Nick Yelloly won at Detroit. Now, the duo returns to Laguna Seca fresh off a victory at Long Beach, van der Zande's third in the famed event.
That is 23 victories in 13 seasons on 11 different circuits. IMSA doesn't race at Lime Rock Park or Circuit of the Americas, but van der Zande has won there. He has had 13 different co-drivers be a part of those winning teams. Popow and Bourdais were his most frequent victorious stablemates. Schultis is close behind. During this streak, van der Zande has also won races with Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso.
We give van der Zande his flowers because we really don't know what the future will look like beyond 2026 for him. With Acura pausing its GTP program at the end of this season, it is unclear where he could go. Perhaps a privateer takes up the Acura program and keeps him in a job, but that is an unlikely outcome. The GTP class might be closer to a crossroads than it thought it would be. Acura is stopping. Porsche already pulled out of the FIA World Endurance Championship. There does not sound like there is great interest from Genesis and future LMDh manufacturers Ford and McLaren in racing in IMSA.
There might not be any vacancy for van der Zander to fill come next season, at least not in the top class. LMP2 could be the fallback, but it would be a loss seeing such a talent not in the top category.
Van der Zande turned 40 this February. Sneaky old if we are being honest. He feels like a kid but he is very much a veteran. The runway is getting shorter. The end is closer than we think. It could come before anyone wants it to happen.
Before we get to that moment, it is only proper to honor a driver that is rather unsung. Van der Zande is not the face of IMSA. He isn't the social media darling. No one is pushing him to the forefront to be an ambassador for the series. He isn't known for rubbing elbows at NASCAR races or IndyCar races. Despite this, for over a decade, we can almost count on van der Zande winning a race. Let's hope we get many more years of his participation in IMSA, and let's not take for granted each race over the rest of 2026.
May Preview
Two races remain in the AMA Supercross season, and the championship will go to one of three gentlemen. In all likelihood, it will be one of two men going to the wire.
With four victories in the last five races, Ken Roczen has taken the championship lead with 310 points, four ahead of Hunter Lawrence. Mathematically, Cooper Webb has a chance to defend his championship and claim his third Supercross title, as Webb is 34 points behind Roczen after finishing runner-up in the last three races.
Roczen is 31 years old and he is in 12th season in the 450cc class. Nine years ago, it felt inevitable Roczen would be a champion. He opened the 2017 season with a pair of victories, but he suffered a fractured left arm in the third round, ending his season. He returned in 2018 and was finding his groove before suffering another serious arm injury only six races into his comeback. He went three years between Supercross victories, and while he has had some good runs, Roczen has still struggled with injuries. In three of the last four seasons, an injury has ended his run early.
This year, he has remained unscathed, and what once appeared to be a fleeting hope is now within his grasp.
Lawrence rode rather remarkable to start the season, leading the championship before he ever won a race, and then he won three of four in the middle of the season. A few slips have cost him. Detroit saw a fall open the door. An underwhelming Triple Crown round at Cleveland right as it appeared the championship was back in Lawrence's control allowed Roczen to close within touching distance.
Roczen trudged through the sloppy conditions in Philadelphia to take a comfortable victory and the championship lead. Heading to Denver and Salt Lake City, momentum has swung in favor of the German, but four points is nothing. Neither rider can afford a mistake in the final two rounds. Neither you can guarantee will be clean through the end of the season.
For each rider, this could be their greatest chance a 450cc Supercross championship. Roczen is not getting any younger. Lawrence and the rest of the competition will likely have to deal with Jett Lawrence, who has been sidelined for this entire 2026 season due to an ankle injury suffered in preseason training, for years to come. Both riders could be staring down their one shot at glory, only intensifying the already building pressure.
Other events of note in May:
IMSA begins the month in Laguna Seca and ends the month on the streets of Detroit.
The 24 Hours Nürburgring will run on May 9-10 and Max Verstappen is supposed to be there.
After Berlin, Formula E will race in Monaco.
MotoGP gets busy with events in Le Mans, Barcelona and Mugello.
NASCAR has its earliest ever trip to Watkins Glen and an unpopular All-Star Race scheduled at Dover before its 600-miler at Charlotte. Nashville will also take place.
Formula One has consecutive sprint weekends with a trip to Miami, two weeks off and then the Canadian Grand Prix on Memorial Day weekend.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts a pair of events. It is probably nothing that important though.
