IMSA Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2019 Roar Before the 24 test at the Daytona International Speedway road course prepares teams and drivers for the upcoming 2019 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and caution was seemingly thrown to the wind by Mazda Team Joest ahead of the season-opening race for the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. After suffering issue after issue in last year’s Rolex 24, the squad made several changes during the offseason to its technical staff and minor changes to their driver lineup that seem to be paying dividendsRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Last year, Corvette Racing’s No. 3 team fittingly scored the team’s third straight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) championship. The team’s other Chevrolet Corvette C7.R carries No. 4. Can they keep the trend going? As Tommy Milner – the co-driver of the No. 4 Corvette with Oliver Gavin, with whom he also shared the 2016 GTLM championship and a win that year in the Rolex 24 At Daytona – puts it, a strong result in the season opener definitelyRead More

By IMSA Wire Service – Speeds continued to climb on the second day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona under Chamber of Commerce weather conditions in front of a huge crowd at Daytona International Speedway. Jonathan Bomarito ended Saturday atop the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship time charts by the slimmest of margins, posting a best lap of 1 minute, 34.533 seconds in the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT24-P Daytona Prototype international (DPi). Bomarito’s time, which came under the bright lights of the 3.56-mile circuit Saturday night,Read More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The first day of on-track activity at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona was a busy one, with practice sessions for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, in addition to practice and qualifying for the IMSA Prototype Challenge. The event continues through Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. – Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi is driving in his first Rolex 24 At Daytona this year in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE in theRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The stories from the 50th Anniversary season of IMSA will be told in more detail than ever before through robust talent lineups on both NBC Sports and IMSA Radio. NBC Sports announced late Thursday that veteran play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey is returning to his sports car racing roots as the lead announcer. He’ll be joined in the booth by longtime sports car analyst and former driver Calvin Fish and a newcomer to the analyst ranks, A.J. Allmendinger, the 2012 Rolex 24 AtRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Following last month’s announcement of the 47-car entry list for this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona, more than 150 drivers were unveiled in an updated entry list today to participate in this weekend’s annual three-day test session for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “The Roar” as it’s become known over the past several years, serves as the kick off to the upcoming season. This year, it takes on added significance, as the IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration that will takeRead More

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 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