The Short Answer
Yes. Racing is in GTA 6, in several forms, and you do not have to take anyone's word for it: Rockstar's own Extended Look shows a 16-car circuit race with a lap counter, night-time street races through Vice City, and a 12-vehicle off-road race mixing dirt bikes, ATVs and trucks.
Game Informer's cover story in September 2026 then listed street and off-road racing among the game's confirmed activities. What Rockstar has not published is the structure around the racing: no race count, no championship details, no entry or reward information. This article keeps what is on screen separate from what is only reported.
Key Takeaways
- A dedicated asphalt circuit appears in Rockstar's Extended Look, a first for the series, with 16 cars and lap timing on screen.
- Street racing returns at night in Vice City, with modified cars, nitrous and checkpoint formats.
- Off-road racing is shown with a 12-vehicle mixed field of dirt bikes, ATVs and trucks.
- The circuit's name, Gellhorn International Raceway, comes from leaked map material, not from Rockstar.
- Race counts, championships, entry rules and rewards have not been announced.
1. The Circuit: A First for the Series
At around the 17:41 mark of the Extended Look, the footage cuts to a paved road course where a field of cars races wheel to wheel. Frame-by-frame trackers counted 16 cars, with a lap counter, race positions and a timer visible on screen.
No previous GTA game has had a proper asphalt circuit. The series has offered drag strips, off-road courses and stunt arenas, but never a sealed road course built for lap times, grandstands and all. Automotive outlets including Jalopnik and The Drive flagged it as a genuine franchise first.
Leaked map material had shown a large road course in Leonida shortly before the Extended Look aired, and the footage broadly matches it. Analysis of that layout draws comparisons with Florida's Sebring circuit, with corners echoing the Nürburgring, Monza and Le Mans. Those comparisons are community and press analysis, not Rockstar commentary.
2. The Name Question
The circuit is widely called Gellhorn International Raceway online, sometimes with "Port" in front of it. That name comes from the leaked map material and the mapping community's work on it, not from any Rockstar post, trailer or interview.
Rockstar has not confirmed the name, the track's exact location or its layout. The leaked circuit sits near the coast in the west of the map, which is why it gets attached to the town covered in our guide to what Port Gellhorn is in GTA 6.
Until Rockstar names it, treat the name as a well-sourced leak rather than a fact. What is fact is narrower and stronger: Rockstar itself has shown cars racing on a dedicated circuit in official footage.
3. Street Racing in Vice City
Later in the Extended Look, at about 20:21, the setting changes to night. Heavily modified cars race through Vice City streets in the underground style the series is known for, surrounded by the car-meet culture that fills the rest of the presentation.
Breakdowns of the footage describe point-to-point and lap formats running through pink checkpoints, fields of up to 16 racers, and nitrous in use. The shapes picked out by automotive coverage echo a Skyline GT-R, a Porsche Cayman, a Camaro and a Diablo, tuned and liveried for the scene.
Street racing is the one format with series history behind it, and it is also the one Game Informer's confirmed-activities list names directly. Our roundup of what activities you can do in GTA 6 places it alongside the rest of Leonida's pastimes.
4. Off-Road and Motocross
At roughly 18:37 the Extended Look shows a 12-vehicle off-road race on dirt, a mixed field where dirt bikes run against ATVs and trucks. It is a proper organised event, not traffic chaos: a defined course, a full grid and racing lines through the dirt.
Separate motocross riding appears in the footage around Mount Kalaga, on dirt tracks and a quarry course in the rural north, with quad bikes sharing the same fields. Game Informer's cover story added a third flavour, quoting Rockstar environment art lead Paul MacPherson on "destruction derby chaos races" held on floodlit oval tracks at night in the northern countryside.
The derby detail comes from a named Rockstar developer in a magazine interview, which makes it reported rather than rumoured, but Rockstar has not shown a derby on screen yet. File it as likely, not proven.
5. What Rockstar Has Not Said Yet
For all the footage, the racing system itself is undocumented. Rockstar has not said how many races exist, whether they form championships or stand as one-off events, or how you enter them in the open world.
Rewards are equally unknown. Preview and leak coverage has guessed at cash prizes and unlocked parts, but no Rockstar source has put a figure or a system on the record, and this article will not invent one.
It is also unconfirmed whether every race shown is a free-roam activity or whether some belong to story missions. The Extended Look presents them as part of Leonida life, but presentation is not a feature list.
Water racing sits in the same limbo. Jet skis appear in the footage and on Game Informer's activities list, which is why so many roundups assume sea races exist, but no trailer or preview has actually shown a race on water. For now it is an expectation, not a sighting.
6. How It Compares With GTA 5
In GTA 5, racing was a sideline: a short set of point-to-point street races for Franklin, some off-road events and sea races, all over quickly. The depth lived in GTA Online instead, where years of stunt races, transform races and the LS Car Meet built a huge racing community.
GTA 6 looks set to move that ambition into the main game from day one. A permanent circuit, organised off-road fields and a street scene with its own culture suggest racing is a pillar of Leonida rather than a garnish, and the car roster behind it, covered in our guide to what vehicles are confirmed in GTA 6, gives the racing something to feed on.
Whether it lands as a deep system or a rich backdrop depends on the structure Rockstar has not revealed yet. The raw ingredients, on screen, are the strongest the series has had.
7. The Car Scene Around the Racing
Racing does not sit alone in the Extended Look. The same presentation includes a car meet, rows of modified cars and onlookers in the series' purest celebration of car culture, and the street races grow straight out of that scene.
Rockstar is selling the fantasy beyond the game disc too: the Ultimate Edition includes Wyman's Classic Car Collection, a set of period vehicles that underlines how central collecting and showing cars is meant to be in Leonida.
That context matters for judging the racing. GTA 5's street races felt bolted on partly because the world around them barely cared about cars. In GTA 6 the meets, the collections and the tuned street fields all point the same way: a world built by people who race, which is the strongest hint yet that the events themselves will be more than a checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a race track in GTA 6?
Yes, on the evidence of Rockstar's own footage. The Extended Look shows cars racing on a dedicated paved circuit with a lap counter and positions displayed. It is the first proper road course in the series.
What is the GTA 6 race track called?
Online, it is called Gellhorn International Raceway, but that name comes from leaked map material. Rockstar has not confirmed the name, the location or the layout of the circuit it showed in the Extended Look.
Are there street races in GTA 6?
Yes. The Extended Look shows night street races through Vice City with modified cars, and Game Informer's September 2026 cover story listed street racing among the game's confirmed activities.
Is there off-road racing in GTA 6?
Yes, it is on screen. The Extended Look shows a 12-vehicle off-road race mixing dirt bikes, ATVs and trucks, and motocross riding appears around Mount Kalaga. Game Informer also listed off-road racing as confirmed.
How many races are in GTA 6?
Unknown. Rockstar has not announced a race count, a championship structure or a list of events. Any total you see quoted before launch is a guess dressed as a leak.
Can you win money from racing in GTA 6?
Rockstar has not said. Cash prizes are the obvious guess given the series' history, but no official source has confirmed rewards, entry fees or prize amounts for any GTA 6 race format.
Is there a drag strip in GTA 6?
Possibly, but unproven. Analysis of the leaked map material suggested the circuit complex might include a drag strip alongside the road course. Rockstar has not shown or confirmed one.
Are there destruction derby races in GTA 6?
Reported, not shown. Game Informer's cover story quoted Rockstar environment art lead Paul MacPherson describing "destruction derby chaos races" on floodlit ovals in the northern countryside. Rockstar has not released derby footage.
Is racing in GTA 6 like GTA Online racing?
The formats shown are open-world events: circuit laps, street checkpoints and off-road fields. Rockstar has not detailed GTA 6 Online's racing at all, so comparisons with GTA Online's stunt and transform races are speculation.
When can you race in GTA 6?
The game launches on 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. How early racing unlocks, and whether events open from the start or through the story, has not been announced.
Final Verdict
Racing is one of the clearest upgrades GTA 6 offers over its predecessor: a real circuit, a living street scene and organised off-road fields, all visible in Rockstar's own footage rather than in leaks. What remains hidden is the framework, the counts, championships and rewards that decide whether it is a pastime or a pillar. On the evidence available, expect the racing itself to be there from the start; just do not believe anyone who quotes you the full event list before Rockstar publishes it.
