Yahoo Autos IMSA unveils 48-car full-season WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry list for 2024
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship looks to roll into the 2024 season with its biggest fields yet. As IMSA President John Doonan promised earlier in the season when he announced the intent to have an entry list prior to Petit Le Mans, the approved list of entries for the complete 2024 WeatherTech Championship and IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup was revealed during Doonan’s State of the Sport presentation on Thursday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta,.
Forty-eight cars are committed for the full 2024 season, spread throughout four classes of competition. That’s an increase of nine from the season ending this weekend with Motul Petit Le Le Mans, with most of the growth coming from a GTD PRO class that will double in size. An additional LMP2 entry will expand the WeatherTech Championship field by one at selected events.
The Michelin Endurance Cup can accommodate 57 cars for all five races, and a capacity field is expected for each. Currently, there are 53 cars entered for all five races, with an additional four cars planning to compete in selected endurance events. Additional event-specific “standard” entries for many events – including the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, which can accommodate upwards of 60 cars – will be included on per-event entry lists.
“We continue to ride an amazing wave of momentum as evidenced by the number of teams and race cars that have committed to our 2024 WeatherTech Championship and Michelin Endurance Cup seasons,” said Doonan. “To have this many teams confirmed for next year is a testament to the stability of the platform we have collectively built.
“Being able to make this announcement in October – even before our 2023 season has been completed – helps us carry that momentum into the offseason and enables IMSA fans to make their 2024 plans that much earlier.”
A breakdown of entries per class follows below:
Grand Touring Prototype (GTP)
With the exception of the Iron Lynx Lamborghini expected to make its debut at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and competing only in the Michelin Endurance Cup races, the same 10 cars competing at Petit Le Mans this weekend will make up the full season entry in the reborn Grand Touring Prototype class next season
Porsche Penske Motorsport, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport and BMW M Team RLL will field two cars apiece. The No. 01 Cadillac Racing entry fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing entries also return.
The two privateers competing with Porsche 963s, JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition, will campaign their first full seasons of GTP after introducing their car partway through the 2023 season.
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)
The LMP2 class continues its upward momentum in the WeatherTech Championship as teams move from the discontinued LMP3 class and migrate from the FIA World Endurance Championship. Eleven LMP2 cars have been entered for the seven-race season in 2024.
The field includes a pair of entries from United Autosports USA, with single entries planned for CrowdStrike Racing by APR, Tower Motorsports, TDS Racing, Era Motorsport, High Class Racing, Sean Creech Motorsport, PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, Riley and AO Racing. The LMP2 field will have an even dozen cars at selected events with the addition of an entry from AF Corse.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO)
The 2024 GTD PRO field for the full WeatherTech Championship season will double in size over the 2023 field, with a total of 10 entries committed for the 10-race GTD PRO campaign. Certain Michelin Endurance Cup events will see that number grow to 13 – matching the record set by GTD PRO in the 2022 Rolex 24 At Daytona for the largest manufacturer-supported GT class in WeatherTech Championship history.
A large part of IMSA’s 2024 field expansion will come from GTD PRO, which will double in car count from this year. Jake Galstad / LAT Images)
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and Ford Multimatic Motorsports will rekindle the age-old Ford vs. Chevy rivalry with a pair of entries apiece in GTD PRO. Single-car entries for the full season include Paul Miller Racing (BMW), Pfaff Motorsports (McLaren), Vasser Sullivan (Lexus), Heart of Racing Team (Aston Martin), AO Racing and Kellymoss with Riley (both running Porsches in GTD this season).
Risi Competizione (Ferrari) is slated to return for all five Michelin Endurance Cup races, with selected endurance races also planned for Iron Lynx (Lamborghini) and Sun Energy 1 (TBD).
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
Traditionally the largest class in the WeatherTech Championship, GTD will retain that distinction in 2024 with 17 cars committed to the full, 10-race GTD season. Four additional cars are expected in all five Michelin Endurance Cup events, with one car slated for selected endurance races.
AWA (Corvette) is the lone team with two cars competing in the class. Single, full-season entries will come from Vasser Sullivan, Heart of Racing Team, Korthoff/Preston Motorsports, Conquest Racing (Ferrari), Andretti Motorsports, Magnus Racing, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport, Winward Racing, Gradient Racing, Inception Racing, Forte Racing, MDK Motorsports, Kellymoss with Riley, Turner Motorsport (BMW) and Wright Motorsports.
Teams entered for all five Michelin Endurance Cup rounds include AF Corse, Triarsi Competizione, Cetilar Racing (all Ferrari) and Iron Dames (Lamborghini). There also is one Iron Lynx entry in GTD planning to compete in selected Michelin Endurance Cup events.
The full Rolex 24 At Daytona entry list – including driver names and car models – will be published on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. The Rolex 24 opens the 2024 season on the weekend of Jan. 25-28.
