IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) is one of the leading motorsport organisations in the US and promoter of various race series. With the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, founded in 2013, the organisation continues the long tradition of prestigious sports car races in North America.

Next to its spearhead, the IMSA portfolio also includes the Michelin Pilot Challenge (MPC) and the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (VPRC), running as support categories of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (WTSC). In both race series, we are represented on the grid with the Mercedes-AMG GT4. 

Further information about IMSA can be found on the homepage of the promoter.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race calendar for the 2024 season once again included a varied mix of sprint and endurance events in the US and Canada. The programme also features three endurance racing classics of the highest international significance: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans.

WINWARD Racing's class victories in the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen enabled us to successfully defend the GTD manufacturers' championship in the Michelin Endurance Cup ahead of the finale. At the same time, the trophy for the best GTD manufacturer in the combined classification also went to Affalterbach.

The Motul Petit Le Mans (9 - 12 October) at Road Atlanta once again marks the end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season this year. After our early win of the GTD manufacturers' championship in the Endurance Cup and in the combined classification, there are four more titles at stake for us in the 27th edition of the tradition-steeped 10-hour race. With a total of four GTD class wins, WINWARD Racing leads both team classifications and has its sights set on the championship in the final round of the season. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward lead the GTD drivers' standings, while they share the top spot in the Endurance Cup with their team-mate Indy Dontje. Last year, the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 secured victory in the prestigious endurance classic for the first time.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will also hold its season finale as part of the supporting programme. The two-hour Fox Factory 120 starts on Friday, 11 October, at 18:45 CEST. The Motul Petit Le Mans race starts on Saturday at 18:10 CEST.

 After the Rolex 24 At Daytona, we achieved the next prestigious success at the 72nd edition of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring: Customer Racing Team WINWARD RACING also won the second US endurance classic of the year in the GTD class. For Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, it is the second success at Sebring after the GTD victory of Riley Motorsports - Team AMG in 2017.

This year, the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 prevailed against 21 other competitors. Indy Dontje, Philip Ellis and Russell Ward lapped the six-kilometre airfield circuit with its notorious bumps 314 times in total, covering almost 1,900 kilometres. 

The Michelin Pilot Challenge held a two-hour race as part of the supporting programme. JMF Motorsports placed their Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the top 10: Michai Stephens and Jesse Webb finished seventh.

For us, the 62th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona was crowned with great success in the form of a class win. In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, a total of 59 competitors in four classes raced during the weekend from 25th till 28th January. Our four Mercedes-AMG GT3s with high-quality line-ups raced in the GTD and GTD PRO categories.

WINWARD RACING secured victory in the GTD class with Indy Dontje, Philip Ellis, Daniel Morad and Russell Ward. During the race, the quartet completed a total of 731 laps of the 5.729 kilometres long Daytona International Speedway with its infamous banked corners, racking up a total distance of 4,188 kilometres in the process. It was the team’s second success in the endurance racing classic in Florida after its victory in 2021.

The Korthoff/Preston Motorsports team was classified fifth in the GTD category and collected 13 points for the Michelin Endurance Cup. With this success, we started the season as the leaders in the endurance championship. For Lone Star Racing, the Daytona debut resulted in an eighth-place finish. In the GTD PRO category, SunEnergy1 Racing had to drop out of the race while battling for victory due to a technical issue.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge that served as a support category was successful for us as well. In the first race of the season over a distance of four hours, Daniel Morad and Bryce Ward ended up in second place with the Mercedes-AMG GT4 from WINWARD RACING.

*subject to changes.