The 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) is a planned motor racing championship, set to be the 54th racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association, which traces its lineage back to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. It will also be the eleventh season of the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014, and the ninth under the sponsorship of WeatherTech. Following a change in class structure for the 2024 season, the IMSA SportsCar Championship is poised to see a major expansion of its full-time grid across all of its classes.

Classes edit

At the end of the 2023 season, IMSA discontinued the involvement of the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class from the main championship. The class was originally introduced in 2021 as a means of bolstering the overall grid size, which had seen a record-low 38 starting cars in the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona. IMSA cited the growth of the GTP class as a contributing factor to dropping LMP3 for 2024 onwards, in addition to growth in other classes.[1]

GTP is the flagship class of the championship, and consists of two sister technical regulations: LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid), and LMH (Le Mans Hypercar). The former regulation allows developing a bespoke design from a base chassis with a specification hybrid system on all cars, with freedom on aerodynamics and engine configuration. The latter regulation allows bespoke hybrid designs, and offers more design freedom in exchange for elevated development costs.

The GTP class is made of the same framework that comprises the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, in accordance with the collaborative alliance between IMSA and the French racing organizers ACO, which resulted in the convergence of the two organizer's top class regulations.[2]

Schedule edit

The provisional schedule was released on August 4 2023, and features 11 rounds.[3][4][5]

   Race is part of the Michelin Endurance Cup
Rnd. Race Length Classes Circuit Location Date
1 Rolex 24 at Daytona 24 hours All[N 1] Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida January 27–28
2 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring 12 hours All Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 16
3 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach 1 hour, 40 minutes GTP, GTD Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California April 20
4 Motul Course de Monterey 2 hours, 40 minutes GTP, GTD Pro, GTD WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California May 12
5 Detroit Grand Prix 1 hour, 40 minutes GTP, GTD Pro Detroit street circuit Detroit, Michigan June 1
6 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen 6 hours All Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York June 30
7 Chevrolet Grand Prix 2 hours, 40 minutes LMP2, GTD Pro, GTD Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario July 14
8 IMSA SportsCar Weekend 2 hours, 40 minutes All Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 4
9 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR 2 hours, 40 minutes GTD Pro, GTD Virginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 25
10 IMSA Battle on the Bricks 6 hours All Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana September 22
11 Motul Petit Le Mans 10 hours All Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 12
  • Lime Rock Park was dropped from the calendar. The track had been a part of the championship since 2015.[3]
  • The Michelin Endurance Cup expanded to 5 rounds, with the event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway transforming from a sprint race in 2023 to a six-hour endurance race for 2024.[3]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The LMP2 and LMP3 class will only score points towards the Michelin Endurance Cup.

FULL OFFICIAL 2024 HYPER GTP CALENDAR edit

Rnd Race Series Circuit Location Date
Roar Before the 24 IMSA   Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, United States 21 January
1 Rolex 24 at Daytona 27-28 January
WEC Prologue WEC   Losail International Circuit Lusail, Qatar 24/25 February
2 Qatar 1812 km 2 March
3 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring IMSA   Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida, United States 16 March
4 Grand Prix of Long Beach IMSA   Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California, United States 20 April
5 6 Hours of Imola WEC   Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Portimão, Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy 21 April
6 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps WEC   Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Spa, Belgium 11 May
7 Motul Course de Monterey IMSA   WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California, United States 12 May
8 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix IMSA   Streets of Detroit Detroit, Michigan, United States 1 June
9 24 Hours of Le Mans WEC   Circuit de la Sarthe Le Mans, France 15–16 June
10 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen IMSA   Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York, United States 23 June
11 6 Hours of São Paulo WEC   Interlagos Circuit São Paulo, Brazil 14 July
12 IMSA Sportscar Weekend IMSA   Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States 4 August
13 Lone Star Le Mans WEC   Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas, United States 1 September
14 6 Hours of Fuji WEC   Fuji Speedway Oyama, Shizuoka, Japan 15 September
15 Tirerack.com Battle On The Bricks IMSA   Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana, United States 22 September
16 Motul Petit Le Mans IMSA   Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia, United States 12 October
17 8 Hours of Bahrain WEC   Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Bahrain 2 November

References edit

  1. ^ Thukral, Rachit (4 May 2023). "IMSA drops LMP3 class from 2024 amid GTP growth". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ^ Watkins, Gary (9 July 2021). "WEC's Le Mans Hypercars allowed to compete in IMSA from 2023". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Endurance Cup Expands To Five Rounds For 2024 IMSA Season | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (2023-08-04). "Detroit to Return on 2024 WeatherTech Series Schedule – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  5. ^ "2024 IMSA Schedules Revealed at Road America". IMSA.com.

External Links edit