IMSA SportsCar Championship

IMSA SportsCar Championship
CountryUnited States United States
Canada Canada
RegionNorth America
Inaugural season2014
Prototype ClassesGrand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) & Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3)
GT ClassesGT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) & GT Daytona (GTD)
Tire suppliersContinental (2014–2018 Prototype and GTD)
Michelin (2014–2018 GTLM; 2019–present all classes)
Drivers' championDPi:
United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
LMP2:
Canada John Farano
LMP3:
United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
GTD Pro:
Australia Matt Campbell
France Mathieu Jaminet
GTD:
Canada Roman De Angelis
Makes' championDPi: Japan Acura
GTD Pro: Germany Porsche
GTD: Germany BMW
Teams' championDPi: United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
LMP2: United States Tower Motorsports
LMP3: United States CORE Autosport
GTD Pro: Canada Pfaff Motorsports
GTD: United States The Heart of Racing
Official websiteimsa.com/weathertech/
Current season

The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of a merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship, which subsequently changed to IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. Rolex SA's Tudor brand was the championship's title sponsor in 2014 and 2015, and since 2016 WeatherTech has served as title sponsor.

The season begins with its premier race, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the last weekend of January and ends with the Petit Le Mans, another North American Endurance Cup race, in early October.

History

On September 5, 2012, it was announced that the Grand-Am Road Racing sanctioning body would merge with the Braselton-based International Motor Sports Association, and as such, both bodies would merge their premiere sports car series, the Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series respectively, with plans to debut in 2014. On November 20, 2012, the merger committee announced that SME Branding were selected to develop the name, logo and identity of the new series.

2014 Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen

On January 8, 2013, the two series' announced a preliminary class structure for the new merged series. Grand-Am's Daytona Prototype category and IMSA's P2 would combine into a single-prototype class, with allowances for the unique DeltaWing to also compete in the new class. The Le Mans Prototype Challenge class of single spec cars from the American Le Mans Series would continue as is, although the cars were to switch to Grand-Am's Continental Tires. The GT class of the American Le Mans Series would remain unchanged, while Grand-Am's GT class will form another GT class, and be combined with the American Le Mans GTC category. The only category of cars not represented in the new series is the American Le Mans Series' P1 category.

The reveal date for the new series was March 14, 2013 at the Chateau Élan Hotel and Conference Center at Sebring International Raceway, two days before the 12 Hours of Sebring. American Le Mans CEO Scott Atherton announced the new sanctioning body would remain IMSA while Ed Bennett revealed the new titles for the series' five classes. SME Branding Senior Partner Ed O'Hara then announced the new United SportsCar Racing title and logo, a name submitted through a contest won by Louis Satterlee of Florida, a racer in the Florida Karting Championship Series.

2020 6 Hours of Road Atlanta

On August 9, 2013, Fox Sports 1 announced it had signed a TV contract with IMSA to televise the entire USCC season between 2014 and 2018.

Later, on September 12, 2013, Tudor was announced as the title sponsor for the series, which was named the United SportsCar Championship. On August 8, 2015, WeatherTech was announced as the new title sponsor for the series, renaming the series to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, starting with the 2016 season.

Beginning with the 2019 season, the series is covered exclusively by NBC Sports in the United States. The NBC broadcast network will air nine hours of coverage annually, with the majority of the coverage airing on NBCSN. CNBC and the NBC Sports app will provide supplemental coverage. Beginning with 2022, USA Network replaced NBCSN as the cable home to the series.

Michelin Pilot Challenge

Originally based on a Canadian series before being acquired by Grand-Am, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (originally known as Grand-Am Cup) is a production-based touring car series. The series is split into two classes known as Grand Sport (GS), intended for large capacity GT-style cars, and Street Tuner (ST), consisting of smaller sedans and coupes, some of which are front-wheel drive. The IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge until 2013 supported some Rolex Series races but also headlined some of its own dates. This series continued with the United SportsCar Championship after the merger and is somewhat comparable to the old Trans Am Series.

Class structure

There are five classes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship series, featuring three sports prototype categories and two grand tourer classes:


Sports Prototypes:

  • Grand Touring Prototype (GTP): The flagship class of the championship that replaced the DPi (Daytona Prototype International) class starting in 2023, featuring cars built to IMSA's LMDh and Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Le Mans Hypercar regulations.


IMSA LMP2 Class Plate used from 2019 to 2022
IMSA LMP2 Class Plate (Current)
  • Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2): A class introduced since 2019 after being split from the DPi class (2019-2022), it features pro-am driver lineups. The class features cars built by Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) 4 licensed manufacturers (Riley-Multimatic, Ligier, Oreca and Dallara) to the specifications of the FIA/ACO 2017 Global LMP2 regulations.



IMSA LMP3 Class Plate used in 2021 and 2022
IMSA LMP3 Class Plate (Current)
  • Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3): Introduced in the 2021 season, having been in the IMSA Prototype Challenge category as one of the feeder series to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, this class of prototypes features cars built according to ACO's 2020 LMP3 Generation II ruleset specifications from manufacturers such as Ligier, ADESS, Ginetta & Duqueine Engineering.




Grand Touring classes:

IMSA GTD Pro Class Plate used in the 2022 season
IMSA GTD Pro Class Plate (Current)
  • GT Daytona Pro (GTD Pro): A class that utilizes the FIA GT3 specifications that replaced the GTLM class starting in the 2022 Season. No driver class restriction in the GTD Pro class.






IMSA GTD Class Plate Blue used in 2014 and 2015
IMSA GTD Class Plate Green used from 2016 to 2022
IMSA GTD Class Plate (Current)
  • GT Daytona Pro-AM (GTD): A class since 2016 that uses same specification cars as GTD Pro, but at least 1 silver or bronze driver must be in a team. And more than 1 platinum driver in a team is prohibited.






Some races may only use selected classes of cars, for example: Any class car may be permitted entry at Daytona, while at the Grand Prix of Long Beach only the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) are entered. GTP and LMP2 classes are compatible with regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Former classes

There were four classes formerly used in the IMSA SportsCar Championship series, featuring three sports prototype categories and one grand tourer class:


Sports Prototypes:

  • Daytona Prototype International (DPi): The former flagship class of the championship from 2019 to 2022, featuring cars built to IMSA's Daytona Prototype International regulations, which are based upon the 2017 Le Mans Prototype LMP2 cars. Previously, the DPi's had competed against their base LMP2 counterparts in the Prototype class from 2017 to 2018. Starting in 2019 the LMP2 cars were split into a separate class. The Prototype class had originally consisted of Grand-Am's Daytona Prototypes with the American Le Mans Series LMP2 prototypes, and the DeltaWing, before the original Daytona Prototypes, and the DeltaWing were phased out of competition at the end of 2016, and replaced by the new DPi cars. Starting in 2023, the DPi class was replaced by the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class in an effort to further improve the racing in the Prototype class, as well as create a closer bond to the FIA World Endurance Championship.



IMSA Prototype Challenge Class Plate Blue used in 2014 & 2015
IMSA Prototype Challenge Class Plate Green used in 2016 & 2017
  • Prototype Challenge (PC): This was a one-make spec class in which all cars that drivers and teams used were Oreca FLM09 LMPC's powered by 6.2L Chevrolet V8 engines which made 430 hp each. This class would be used from the 2014 season until the end of the 2017 season.






Grand Touring classes:

  • GT Le Mans (GTLM): A continuation of the ALMS GT class, it consisted of cars matching the ACO's GTE specification and competed in the series between the 2014 and 2021 seasons.


Circuits

Races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as of 2023. Green dots represent circuits that are a part of the North American Endurance Cup. White dots represent former circuits.
Course Years
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 20142019, 2022present
Charlotte Motor Speedway 2020
Circuit of the Americas 20142017
Daytona International Speedway 2014present
Detroit Belle Isle Street Circuit 20142019, 20212022
Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2014, 2023
Kansas Speedway 2014
Lime Rock Park 20152019, 2021present
Long Beach Street Circuit 20142019, 2021present
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta 2014present
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 20182022
Road America 2014present
Sebring International Raceway 2014present
Virginia International Raceway 2014present
Watkins Glen International 20142019, 2021present
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 2014present

Champions

IMSA Championship

Drivers

Season Prototype Prototype Challenge GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
Canada Kuno Wittmer United States Dane Cameron
2015 Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
France Patrick Pilet United States Townsend Bell
United States Bill Sweedler
2016 United States Dane Cameron
United States Eric Curran
Venezuela Alex Popow
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner
Italy Alessandro Balzan
Denmark Christina Nielsen
2017 United States Jordan Taylor
United States Ricky Taylor
United States James French
Mexico Patricio O'Ward
Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen
Italy Alessandro Balzan
Denmark Christina Nielsen
2018 United States Eric Curran
Brazil Felipe Nasr
Not held Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen
United States Bryan Sellers
United States Madison Snow
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 United States Dane Cameron
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
United States Matt McMurry New Zealand Earl Bamber
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor
Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Trent Hindman
2020 United States Ricky Taylor
Brazil Hélio Castroneves
United States Patrick Kelly Spain Antonio García
United States Jordan Taylor
Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Matt McMurry
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2021 Brazil Pipo Derani
Brazil Felipe Nasr
United States Ben Keating
Denmark Mikkel Jensen
United States Gar Robinson Spain Antonio García
United States Jordan Taylor
Canada Zacharie Robichon
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
Canada John Farano United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
Australia Matt Campbell
France Mathieu Jaminet
Canada Roman De Angelis

Teams

Season Prototype Prototype Challenge GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 United States #5 Action Express Racing United States #54 CORE Autosport United States #93 SRT Motorsports United States #94 Turner Motorsport
2015 United States #5 Action Express Racing United States #54 CORE Autosport United States #911 Porsche North America United States #63 Scuderia Corsa
2016 United States #31 Action Express Racing United States #8 Starworks Motorsport United States #4 Corvette Racing United States #63 Scuderia Corsa
2017 United States #10 Wayne Taylor Racing United States #38 Performance Tech Motorsports United States #3 Corvette Racing United States #63 Scuderia Corsa
2018 United States #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Not held United States #3 Corvette Racing United States #48 Paul Miller Racing
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 United States #6 Acura Team Penske United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #912 Porsche GT Team United States #86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
2020 United States #7 Acura Team Penske United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #3 Corvette Racing United States #86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2021 United States #31 Whelen Engineering Racing United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #74 Riley Motorsports United States #3 Corvette Racing Canada #9 Pfaff Motorsports
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 United States #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United States #8 Tower Motorsports United States #54 CORE Autosport Canada #9 Pfaff Motorsports United States #27 The Heart of Racing

Manufacturers

Season Prototype GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche Germany Porsche
2015 United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche Italy Ferrari
2016 United States Chevrolet United States Chevrolet Germany Audi
2017 United States Cadillac United States Chevrolet Italy Ferrari
2018 United States Cadillac United States Ford Italy Lamborghini
Season Daytona Prototype International GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 Japan Acura Germany Porsche Italy Lamborghini
2020 Japan Acura United States Chevrolet Japan Acura
2021 United States Cadillac United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche
Season Daytona Prototype International GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 Japan Acura Germany Porsche Germany BMW

Tires

Season GT Le Mans
2014 France Michelin
2015 France Michelin

Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC)

Note: From 2014 to 2018 this championship was known as Patrón North American Endurance Cup

Drivers

Season Prototype Prototype Challenge GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States Jon Bennett
United States Colin Braun
United States James Gue
Denmark Michael Christensen
United States Patrick Long
United States Townsend Bell
United States Bill Sweedler
2015 Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States Mike Guasch
United Kingdom Tom Kimber-Smith
United States Andrew Palmer
Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen
United States Al Carter
United States Cameron Lawrence
2016 Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States Robert Alon
Mexico José Gutiérrez
United Kingdom Tom Kimber-Smith
United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner
Italy Alessandro Balzan
Denmark Christina Nielsen
2017 Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
Portugal João Barbosa
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
United States James French
United States Kyle Masson
Mexico Patricio O'Ward
France Patrick Pilet
Germany Dirk Werner
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Ben Keating
2018 United States Eric Curran
Brazil Felipe Nasr
Not held United States Joey Hand
Germany Dirk Müller
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
United States Ben Keating
Germany Luca Stolz
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 Brazil Pipo Derani
Brazil Felipe Nasr
United States Eric Curran
Canada Cameron Cassels
United States Kyle Masson
United States Ryan Briscoe
New Zealand Richard Westbrook
Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
United States Ben Keating
Brazil Felipe Fraga
2020 Australia Ryan Briscoe
Netherlands Renger van der Zande
Switzerland Simon Trummer United States John Edwards
Finland Jesse Krohn
United States Bryan Sellers
United States Madison Snow
United States Corey Lewis
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2021 United States Alexander Rossi
Portugal Filipe Albuquerque
United States Ricky Taylor
United States Ben Keating
Denmark Mikkel Jensen
United States Scott Huffaker
United States Gar Robinson
Australia Scott Andrews
United States Tommy Milner
United Kingdom Nick Tandy
Belgium Jan Heylen
United States Patrick Long
United States Trent Hindman
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 United Kingdom Oliver Jarvis
United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
United States Ben Keating
Denmark Mikkel Jensen
United States Scott Huffaker
United States Gar Robinson
Brazil Felipe Fraga
Netherlands Kay van Berlo
Brazil Daniel Serra
Italy Davide Rigon
United States Brendan Iribe
South Africa Jordan Pepper

Teams

Season Prototype Prototype Challenge GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 United States #5 Action Express Racing United States #54 CORE Autosport United States #912 Porsche North America Canada #555 AIM Autosport
2015 United States #5 Action Express Racing United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #3 Corvette Racing United States #93 Riley Motorsports
2016 United States #5 Action Express Racing United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #4 Corvette Racing United States #44 Magnus Racing
2017 United States #5 Mustang Sampling Racing United States #38 Performance Tech Motorsports United States #911 Porsche GT Team United States #33 Riley Motorsports - Team AMG
2018 United States #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Not held United States #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing United States #33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 United States #31 Whelen Engineering Racing United States #38 Performance Tech Motorsports United States #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing United States #33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports
2020 United States #10 Konica Minolta Cadillac United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #24 BMW Team RLL United States #48 Paul Miller Racing
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2021 United States #10 Konica Minolta Acura United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #74 Riley Motorsports United States #4 Corvette Racing United States #16 Wright Motorsports
Season Daytona Prototype International Le Mans Prototype 2 Le Mans Prototype 3 GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 United States #60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United States #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports United States #74 Riley Motorsports United States #62 Risi Competizione United Kingdom #70 Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport

Manufacturers

Season Prototype GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2014 United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche Italy Ferrari
2015 United States Chevrolet United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche
2016 Japan Honda United States Chevrolet Germany Audi
2017 United States Cadillac United States Ford Germany Mercedes-AMG
2018 United States Cadillac United States Ford Germany Mercedes-AMG
Season Daytona Prototype International GT Le Mans GT Daytona
2019 United States Cadillac United States Ford Germany Mercedes-AMG
2020 United States Cadillac Germany BMW Italy Lamborghini
2021 Japan Acura United States Chevrolet Germany Porsche
Season Daytona Prototype International GT Daytona Pro GT Daytona
2022 Japan Acura Germany Porsche United Kingdom McLaren

WeatherTech Sprint Cup (WTSC)

Note: Introduced in 2019 this Cup Trophy is only eligible for GTD Class (GT Daytona) Drivers, Teams & Manufacturers

Drivers

Season GT Daytona
2019 Canada Zacharie Robichon
2020 United States Aaron Telitz
United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth
2021 Canada Roman De Angelis
United Kingdom Ross Gunn
2022 United States Madison Snow
United States Bryan Sellers

Teams

Season GT Daytona
2019 United States #86 Meyer-Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian
2020 Canada #14 AIM Vasser-Sullivan
2021 United States #23 Heart of Racing Team
2022 United States #1 Paul Miller Racing

Manufacturers

Season GT Daytona
2019 Germany Porsche
2020 Japan Lexus
2021 Italy Lamborghini
2022 Germany BMW

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-08-12 14:35 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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