WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Tuesday’s Michelin on-track opportunity at Daytona International Speedway included a total of 38 race cars from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA Prototype Challenge series. On-track activity began at 8 a.m. ET and continues through 8 p.m. The sessions are closed to the public. A total of 18 WeatherTech Championship cars participated, with two Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars, one LMP2, two GT Le Mans (GTLM) and 13 GT Daytona (GTD) machines. Jordan Taylor was the loneRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Each December, Porsche and BMW racers from all over the world gather at their respective manufacturer’s headquarters in Germany to celebrate the past season of competition, while the manufacturers take advantage of the opportunity to also detail plans for the next season. This year, these special celebrations took place on consecutive evenings. This past Friday night was the BMW Motorsport Season Review in Munich, where the manufacturer’s driver lineup for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was unveiled among other global motorsportsRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 7, 2018) – The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today announced a refinement to the 2019 LMP2 class schedule within the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Aimed at further optimizing for the market, this schedule revision takes the LMP2 class from ten (10) to eight (8) races. The class will no longer participate at the Long Beach Grand Prix in April and the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix in June, with a goal to stimulate further interest in the class. Competitors in theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Acura Team Penske announced today that 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi will join the team to co-drive the No. 7 Acura DPi machine in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Rossi replaces the departing Graham Rahal, citing cockpit fitting issues as the reason why he stepped away from the team. The rest of the No. 7 lineup remains intact from last year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Helio Castroneves partnering Ricky Taylor and the No. 6 lineup of DaneRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The celebration in the Mazda Team Joest pits following the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans in October almost resembled a victory. There were cheers, hugs, high fives and fist bumps all around as the pair of Mazda RT24-P Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars landed on the podium for the first time thanks to savvy race strategy on the part of the team as other top contender came up a lap short – or less – on fuel.Read More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Rolex 24 At Daytona has become renowned for its star power over the years, and next year’s 57th rendition is already shaping up to be no exception. Last week’s announcement that two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso would return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener for the second consecutive year was the initial confirmation of what are expected to be many superstar cameos in 2019. Alonso will share the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R with its full-seasonRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer After some small uncertainty over his 2018 plans, Ryan Dalziel has a home in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Starworks Motorsport in the GT Daytona class. After Tequila Patron withdrew from Extreme Speed Motorsports and sponsoring the North American Endurance Cup, Dalziel’s 2019 plans were in doubt until a former boss sought him out. “When my 2018 program was announced it was ending the first call I got was from Peter Baron at Starworks saying we should get the band back together,” said DalzielRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Fernando Alonso will take another stab at winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 as he secured a seat with the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R entry. Alonso will race alongside returning drivers Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande but there will be another new driver in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac as Kamui Kobayashi joins the team for Daytona. “First, I have to thank Konica Minolta for yet again supporting WTR, and that I am extremely excited to have added Fernando AlonsoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Juncos Racing announced today that former Pro Mazda racer Will Owen has secured a seat in the team’s Cadillac DPi-V.R entry in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The Denver, Colorado native raced in the European Le Mans Series in 2017 and 2018 and raced twice at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fourth in the LMP2 class in 2017 and third in the same class in 2018. “I am so happy to announce that I will be returning to Juncos Racing in 2019 toRead More