Race scheduling is far from easy, as it includes not only a series’ needs, but also the track promoter and, of course, the broadcast partner, all working in concert with the teams and sanctioning bodies. For many racing series, continuity is part of makes it viable and that certainly pertains to IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Announcing the schedule at bucolic Road America in Elkhart Lake during the IMSA Road Race weekend in his State of the Series annual presentation, IMSA president Scott Atherton pointed to the stability and growth of all of IMSA’s series, which have seen an upswing in participation by both competitors and attendees over the past year.
It’s that stability of date equity that’s helped IMSA along the way, as it presents 12 annual races of import. Starting with the 58th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona, IMSA keeps its race dates within weeks of the current, 2019 schedule, rolling on to the 68th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring that closes the 36 Hours of Florida.
From there it’s IMSA’s turn to take on sprint contests, first in mid-April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, held one week later than this year’s contest and eligible for DPi and GTLM entrants only. All four classes – DPi, LMP2, GTLM and GTD – reconnect at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course the first weekend of May. This race kicks off a seven-contest WeatherTech Sprint Cup season for the GTD class, a separate classification that began this year.
After Mid-Ohio, IMSA recuses the GTLM class as many receive entries to Le Mans in June, which necessitates travel for the test prior to the mid-summer 24-hour classic. During that time, DPi and GTD race at Detroit on the same weekend as INDYCAR before everyone reconvenes for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen the final weekend of June. LMP2 sits out the July 3-5 Canadian Tire Motorsports Park sprint race and the July 17-18 GTLM, GTD tussle at Lime Rock Park before heading to Road America for the Late July-early August date at Road America.
Then the GTLM and GTD cars get their own Aug 21-23 weekend at Virginia International Raceway, while the entire WeatherTech contingent returns for the final two contests: Sept 11-13 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the traditional season finale on Oct 7-10, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
In addition to revealing scheduling for 2020, Atherton discussed the premier Daytona Prototype International (DPi) classification’s changes upcoming in 2022. He said the next generation of DPi 2.0 should feature greater latitude for manufacturers to incorporate road-car design cues into their custom bodywork, which will again come from Dallara (Cadillac), Ligier(Nissan), Multimatic (Mazda) and Acura (ORECA), all four approved chassis providers.
IMSA’s hybrid push will include a new spec kinetic energy recovery system, KERS. At this time, much discussion is ongoing concerning whether to opt for high- or low-output KERS units and whether all
participants will be part of the KERS evolution. It is expected participants will get their first looks at final 2022 regulations in the first quarter of 2020, with initial track testing expected a year later.
2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (with classes competing)
Jan 23-26: Rolex 24 t Daytona (DPi, LMP2*, GTLM, GTD)
March 18-21: Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
April 17-18: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (DPi, GTLM)
May 1-3: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
May 29-30: Chevrolet Sports Car Classic (DPi, GTD)
June 25-28: Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen (DPi, LMP2, GTLM GTD)
July 3-5 Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
July 17-18: Lime Rock Park (GTLM, GTD)
July 31-Aug 2: Road America (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Aug 21-23: Virginia International Raceway (GTLM, GTD)
Sept 11-13: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 7-10: Motul Petit Le Mans 10 Hours (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
*non-points race to entice overseas entrants
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