IMSA: Four DPis in the pipeline

Brand-new Daytona Prototype internationals from two manufacturers are expected to be on the grid for January's Rolex 24 At Daytona and, in an encouraging sign from the IMSA series, two additional DPi programs are said to be moving forward with a longer development window.

The upcoming, factory-commissioned DPis from Cadillac and Mazda rank among the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's worst-kept secrets, and will represent the first two models to reach the grid. Word of two more coming along for a later introduction – toward the end of 2017 or as a fresh start for 2018 – is significant for the series as it embarks upon its first custom prototype since the ALMS and Grand-Am merged.

P2 cars featuring manufacturer-themed bodywork using a wide variety of engine layouts – all with an approximate 50hp increase over the current motors – will take over as IMSA's premier formula as the aged Daytona Prototypes are parked and the current P2 cars are given one more year of activity under a grandfather clause.

As IMSA's Mark Raffauf, who serves as the project manager overseeing the development of the DPi cars, told RACER, four unique DPi engines are expected to arrive for benchmarking at the NASCAR R&D center in North Carolina.

"All of the players have new powerplants – I think it should be clear that every one of them is going to be a new powerplant," said Raffauf, whose official title is IMSA Director, Series Platforms. "We're not going to take what exists now and move it up the [horsepower] scale.

"They will start coming to dyno testing probably by early September. Some of them are already on their own dynos and working on the right parts combinations; the packaging is pretty much done. There are four in the pipeline – not all for January 1, but four are well down the mark of producing motors, which is positive."