Yahoo Autos The Daytona 24 and Entire IMSA Season Will Be Epic
IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to action this weekend with its longest endurance race, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and there’s a valid reason for series president John Doonan to feel bullish about IMSA’s future.
Up from the 49 cars that took part in last year’s Rolex 24, Doonan’s management team has seen 12 more entries—61 in total—sign up for the Rolex 24 on its 60th anniversary, and once the season keeps rolling after the January 27-30 gathering, nearly 40 cars are expected to settle in for the standard 2h40m rounds on the calendar.
The growth can be attributed to a number of factors as some of the WeatherTech Championship’s five classes have been met with considerable year-to-year improvements. Other classes have held station, which is also remarkable in the ever-volatile world of sports car racing where teams come and go or switch to other series on a regular basis.
For the first time since 2017 when its new Daytona Prototype international class made its debut at the Rolex 24, there’s a strong feeling of optimism for where IMSA’s headed in 2022 and beyond. A new class, GTD Pro, replaces the amazing (but fell on hard times) GT Le Mans category where all the big factory programs fought, and it’s had heavy uptake from all the familiar brands.
By ditching GTLM in favor of GTD Pro, IMSA also aligned its GT regulations to use the same GT3-based formula found in its popular Pro-Am GT Daytona class. The reaction to using the same GT3 models from Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche in both classes has been met with 35 entries for GTD and GTD Pro at Daytona. The move has also tickled the interest of Ford, which is expected to announce a new-for-2024 Mustang GT3 model later this week.
And with DPi heading into its final season as IMSA readies its new hybrid LMDh cars for 2023, raging prototype battles between Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche are coming. Although unconfirmed, rumors of Lamborghini making an announcement of its intent to join LMDh in 2024 continue to circulate, and in the coming months, we just might be able to add McLaren to the list for 2024 as well.
At its peak, the beloved American Le Mans Series had 3 to 4 manufacturers on average thrown into the glorious LMP1/LMP2 wars, which makes LMDh’s prospect of starting with four manufacturers and adding one or two more in its second season another positive indicator of the momentum IMSA has created for itself.
Starting with the packed 61-car grid that takes the green flag on Saturday, Doonan believes the rise in entries can be traced back to that intangible thing—a strong vibe of IMSA being on the right path—that many series search for but rarely find.
“We talked about this as a staff right after Motul Petit Le Mans,” he said. “Even though it was the (2021) season finale, it felt a lot like the first race of a new season. There was an uptick in car count and it really felt like the momentum was building. We certainly did not have a mandate to hit 60 cars for the 60th running (of the Rolex 24); I think it was just the next step in momentum building that we saw to close out 2021. We're super grateful for the teams and the programs that have found a way in the offseason, or in anticipation of what is to come, to be with us to kick off the 2022 WeatherTech Championship here.
“The key word for me is momentum. I think we're going to see a really nice field throughout the season. At the longer races (after Daytona), 45 to 50 cars is a realistic number. And then at the shorter events, a pretty solid 35 to 40. So, a lot to be proud of. We don't rest on our laurels here. But I think it might be a step towards what's coming relative to the future.”
At its peak, the sublime GTLM class that ran from 2014-2021 had 11 cars on its largest grid. Built to a custom set of regulations that are different from GT3, the costly GTLM formula suffered a string of manufacturer withdrawals that left two cars from Corvette and a privateer Porsche as a depressing full-time field last season.
On the eve of its first race, GTD Pro has already defied expectations by surpassing the former standard with 13 cars ready to open a new chapter with Aston Martin’s Vantage GT3, BMW’s new M4 GT3, Corvette’s GTLM championship-winning C8.R modified to GT3 performance levels, Ferrari’s 488 GT3, Lamborghini’s Huracan GT3, Mercedes-AMG’s GT3, and Porsche’s venerable 911 GT3 R thrust forward as IMSA’s marquee GT performers.
Entered by some of the best factory or factory-affiliated teams in the world and driven by an assembly of the fiercest GT pilots in sports car racing, GTLM has a worthy successor in GTD Pro.
“We had a lot of internal discussions about the future of GT, and we felt the timing was right to do ultimately what we did last January–a year away–making the announcement that this was the direction we were heading,” Doonan said of the GTLM for GTD Pro GT3 swap. “The announcement wasn't made without consultation with the 10-plus manufacturers in GT in IMSA. We definitely took everybody's temperature, we asked them what their feelings were, and we have a saying around the office here: The market will speak. And all of the manufacturers without a doubt, including Corvette Racing, felt that we were heading in the right direction.
“The cars are far more readily available globally, they are cost effective to campaign and the people that support customers, the OEMs, and the customers that make the investment to run, have spoken. I can't imagine how to get much better.
Throw in 22 Pro-Am GTD entries to mix with the 13 GTD Pro cars—and the Rolex 24 is likely to have a lot of supercar carnage to deal with in pursuit of the checkered flag.
“I think traffic is not going to be for the faint of heart,” Doonan continued. “But the decisions we made in positioning (both GT3 classes in) a similar manner, to get everybody on the same tire, to have things like drive time, and pit stop time equalized has put us in a place where when the race is on the line, you're going to have top drivers in all the cars and let's see what happens.
“Coming out of what has been a challenging time (with COVID) with a lot of headwinds, as a sport, we have a lot to be proud of. Not just IMSA, but the collective manufacturers that the independent teams. In the end, I just hope the beneficiaries of it are the fans when we put on an incredible show.”
The Rolex 24 At Daytona broadcast kicks off on Saturday at 1: 30 p.m. ET on NBC and moves across its Peacock streaming service, USA Network cable outlet, and returns to NBC for the Sunday close from 12-2 p.m.
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