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.
IMSA 2024
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.
Motul Petit Le Mans 2024
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.
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring 2024
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.
Rolex 24 At Daytona 2024
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.
2024 IMSA CALENDAR*
Event
Track
Date*
Series
Roar before the Rolex 24
Daytona International Speedway
19 - 21 January
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
Rolex 24 At Daytona
Daytona International Speedway
25 – 28 January
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
11 – 12 March
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Sebring International Raceway
13 – 16 March
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach Street Circuit
19 – 20 April
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
Motul Course de Monterey
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
10 – 12 May
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Detroit Grand Prix
Detroit Street Circuit
31 May – 1 June
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
7 – 9 June
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen
Watkins Glen International
20 – 23 June
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Chevrolet Grand Prix
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
12 – 14 July
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
IMSA Sportscar Weekend
Road America
2 – 4 August
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Michelin GT Challenge at VIR
VIRginia International Raceway
23 – 25 August
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
IMSA Battle on the Bricks
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
20 – 22 September
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
Motul Petit Le Mans
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
9 – 12 October
IMSA WTSC (GT3)
IMSA MPC (GT4)
IMSA VPRC (GT4)
*subject to changes.
2023 - Endurance Cup masterclass
In 2023, our customer sports teams managed to realise impressive achievements in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In both GTD classes, we won the titles in the drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ standings of the Michelin Endurance Cup. The WeatherTech Racing team racked up a total of four race wins during the season with Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella, more than any other team in the GTD PRO class. Together with Maro Engel and Cooper MacNeil, they won the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Moreover, the duo, together with Maro, also secured the maiden win for Mercedes-AMG in the prestigious event that is Motul Petit Le Mans. In the sprint races at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis, Jules and Daniel were victorious as well. Next to the three championship titles in the Michelin Endurance Cup, WeatherTech Racing also became runner-up in the GTD Pro class. Korthoff/Preston Motorsport and WINWARD RACING ran one Mercedes-AMG GT3 each in the GTD category. With consistently good results, both customer sports teams significantly contributed to the GTD class drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ title wins in the Michelin Endurance Cup.