IMSA confirms new LMP2 cars for 2029

IMSA has announced it will accept next-gen LMP2 cars into the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time in 2029, a year after the new ruleset debuts.

This means the new Gibson turbo V6-powered prototypes, which will be supplied by ORECA and Ligier, will first debut in the ACO's European Le Mans Series in 2028. They will also form part of the grid for the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Asian Le Mans Series during year one.

Meanwhile, stateside, the WeatherTech Championship LMP2 class will continue to use the current ORECA LMP2 07 chassis and Gibson V8 engines through the end of the 2028 season before shifting to the new cars ahead of the 2029 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

"One of our top priorities is to provide IMSA competitors with plenty of runway to plan for the future," said IMSA President John Doonan. "This announcement provides clear direction for current and prospective future LMP2 competitors on the timeline for using existing equipment, as well as the opportunity to plan for investment in new cars for the 2029 season.

"The current LMP2 class has become robust in the WeatherTech Championship. We expect to see that continue through the end of the current generation in 2028 and into a strong debut for the new cars coming in 2029."

This news follows speculation in recent months that IMSA would delay the introduction of the new LMP2 cars to give suppliers more time to prepare for the start of the new era and to avoid a 24-hour race (at Daytona) being the first competitive outing for the new cars.

Regardless, teams invested in the formula are already busy planning for the new era. ELMS and IMSA LMP2 regular United Autosports and French outfit Duqueine Team became the first teams to publicly commit to a chassis supplier in recent weeks, both choosing ORECA and its forthcoming 09 chassis.