IMSA prepares to hit rewind at Laguna Seca throwback weekend

Eleven years after the idea of a “throwback weekend" was first introduced in NASCAR, IMSA is staging its first heritage-themed event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.

Conceptually, the event is a 1970s throwback, though the select few teams have brought liveries inspired by designs from the 1980s up to the new millennium.

Below is a recap of the most important retro designs that will race this weekend across both the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event on Sunday, and the Michelin Pilot Challenge race – the last at Laguna Seca for the foreseeable future – on Saturday.

Porsche Penske Motorsport

The reigning IMSA GTP champions unveiled their designs Thursday, paying tribute to Garretson Enterprises and Dick Barbour Racing’s famous 1980 Apple Computer-sponsored Porsche 935 K3 which raced in IMSA and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The famous Apple rainbow adorns both factory Porsche 963s, expanding on a partnership between Porsche and Apple which was rekindled, for the first time in 46 years, at the preceding Grand Prix of Long Beach.

What’s more, through Porsche’s partnership with Laguna Seca, the Porsche Cayman Safety Car will also sport a 1980 Apple livery, similar to the one that made its debut at that year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports

Most of this year’s throwback liveries come out of GTD Pro, where Corvette Racing is the most successful team in modern IMSA history.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ two cars pay homage to the legendary Corvette C5-R, with white side panels just like the cars that raced at Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans in the year 2000 – and a clever reworking of the Pratt Miller Motorsports branding to resemble that of former sponsor GM Goodwrench Service.

Paul Miller Racing

While not the first contemporary BMW GT racing team to pay homage to the BMW 3.0L CSLs of yesteryear, Paul Miller Racing’s rendition of the 1975 trendsetter is timely, coming 51 years after Hans-Joachim Stuck raced the car for the first time at Laguna Seca.

The classic BMW M stripes are unmistakable, and like the original cars, the last names of drivers Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen are inscribed in bold, white letters beneath the side windows.

AO Racing

Only a little over three years ago, AO Racing made its IMSA debut sporting a retro Preston Henn Swap Shop livery, before quickly beginning the era of Rexy, Roxy, and Spike.

With such a short history behind it, AO’s throwback take is unique: Rexy has turned into ‘Sketchy’, a hand-sketched version of Rexy which is meant to recall the initial planning sessions that ultimately brought the T-Rex-themed Porsche to life at the 2023 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Ibiza Farm Motorsports

In Michelin Pilot Challenge, Ibiza Farm Motorsports is the foremost customer of the McLaren Artura GT4.
Instead of its signature pink, yellow, and blue, Moisey Uretsky and Michael Cooper will drive a white McLaren with red chevrons that recall a 23-year partnership between the McLaren Formula 1 team and a longtime sponsor of the team.

Gou Racing

Pilot Challenge TCR challenger Gou Racing honors the memory of its founder, Eduardo Gou Sr., with a special livery on its Audi RS 3 LMS.

The design they chose is from Gou’s time driving in the Reto Neon series in Mexico, a one-make series for Chrysler/Dodge’s popular compact car, in the 1990s.