CUPRA to Make Pilot Challenge Debut in 2025

IMSA will welcome a 19th manufacturer to its ranks in 2025, with CUPRA set to debut in the Michelin Pilot Challenge’s TCR class.

The Spanish brand, the performance arm of car maker Seat, will make its U.S. racing debut by joining Audi, Hyundai, Honda and Alfa Romeo in the TCR category.

In addition to its TCR activities, CUPRA currently also competes in various forms of electric racing, including Extreme E and the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Its latest TCR offering, the Leon VZ TCR, was launched in May of this year and took Franco Girolami to a drivers’ championship title in TCR Europe in September.

The brand’s entry into IMSA competition is part of a brand strategy that will see its road cars introduced into the U.S. market “by the end of the decade,” according CUPRA’s Head of Racing Xavi Serra.

“Racing is in CUPRA’s DNA,” said Serra.

“We are always looking for new challenges that dare us to be better, and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge is certainly one of them.

“We are very excited to participate in our first competition in the USA ahead of our market launch by the end of the decade.

“The CUPRA Leon VZ  TCR has already proven its performance in other international championships and now, it’s ready to compete in a new challenge.”

It has not yet been announced what team will operate the car when it debuts in the Pilot Challenge, which will hold its 2025 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 23-26.

“IMSA proudly welcomes CUPRA to our family of manufacturer partners,” said IMSA president John Doonan.

“This manufacturer partnership is unique in that CUPRA is a brand that will use the IMSA platform to introduce itself ahead of its planned expansion into the U.S. market.

“This approach reinforces the value of IMSA – and specifically the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge – and opens the door to new storytelling opportunities and perhaps a blueprint for other manufacturers to follow in the future.”