IMSA: Series lays out road map to 2018

A new three-class format for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, a shift toward GT4 machinery in the Continental Challenge, and an overhaul Prototype Lites were among the changes confirmed on Friday after IMSA laid out its road map for the next three years.

The first of the changes, which were announced during IMSA's first-ever outdoor 'state of the sport' presentation at Road America, will be rolled out at the start of 2017.

IMSA's headlining WeatherTech championship will continue with its four-class system of Prototype [P], Prototype Challenge [PC], GT Le Mans [GTLM] and GT Daytona [GTD] next year. The Prototype class will feature the introduction of the new Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LM P2) cars.

In 2018, the championship will shift to a three-class format comprised of P, GTLM and GTD. In the absence of a separate Pro-Am Prototype class, Pro-Am drivers in the Prototype class will be eligible to compete for the Jim Trueman Award at each event and at year's end, with the overall Jim Trueman Award winner earning an automatic invitation to compete in the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Pro-Am drivers in GTD can compete for the Bob Akin Award, which will also offer an overall prize of a Le Mans invitation, this time for the GTE-Am class.

Elsewhere, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge will be opened up to cars from mainstream manufacturers homologated as GT4 cars by SRO to compete in the top Grand Sport (GS) class alongside select grandfathered vehicles built to IMSA's GS specifications.

For the start of the 2018 season, all GS cars must adhere to GT4 regulations, with the requirement that they are from a mainstream automotive manufacturer. Several manufacturers have new GT4 cars in development that will be progressively rolled out ahead of 2018.

Eligibility for the Street Tuner [ST] class will continue unchanged through to the end of 2018.

IMSA also confirmed that it is in negotiation with Marcello Lotti, CEO of Touring Car Racing (TCR) International Series, regarding a cooperation agreement for TCR-homologated cars with consumer brand relevance in North America. Under the current concept, these cars would race in an additional class within the Continental Tire Challenge, potentially as early as 2018.

There will also be changes in the Mazda Prototype Lites presented by Cooper Tires, which will be rebranded as the Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda starting from next year.

The sprint race series, which is designed to be the final step on the development ladder for drivers aspiring to compete in the WeatherTech Prototype class, will feature two-45 minutes races every weekend, and a two-class format covering Le Mans Prototype 3 (LM P3) in the 'PC1' class, and the current Prototype Lites L1 cars racing in the 'PC2' class. Existing Prototypes L2 cars will no longer be eligible after this season.

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Any ACO-homologated LM P3 chassis built by six approved constructors will be eligible to compete in the PC1 class, and all PC1 cars will be powered by identical specification V8 engines. The PC2 class will feature Mazda-powered Élan DP02 chassis. In both cases, no balance of performance (BoP) will be applied or administered to either class.

Beginning in 2017, IMSA Prototype Challenge presented by Mazda events will be streamed live on IMSA.tv. In addition, each event is expected to have tape-delayed television coverage on a cable network to be announced in the near future.

"Over the past several months, we have engaged with nearly all of our stakeholders and competitors to gather their input and discuss the most appropriate way to modernize our various platforms," said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett.

"At the same time, we have analyzed trends in the global motorsports landscape to arrive at what we believe is the most logical strategy. While it's impossible to make decisions that will satisfy the interests and needs of everyone, we feel confident that our plans for the future are sound and position our platforms for continued growth, stability and interest."