ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — In keeping with tradition, IMSA unveiled next year’s schedule for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Friday afternoon at Road America.
IMSA President John Doonan’s annual “State of the Sport” presentation will come at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Oct. 12 during the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans event weekend.
“Undoubtedly one of the key elements that has attracted our corporate partners and 18 automotive manufacturers is the annual schedule of events that IMSA is able to deliver,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “The venues and events we visit on an annual basis are world renowned and beloved by race fans and competitors everywhere. We are proud to unveil our 2024 calendar which once again delivers IMSA racing to vitally important markets throughout North America.”
The 2WeatherTech Championship schedule is highlighted by the addition of a fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup event, brings the series back to the Motor City after a one-year absence, includes a total of six events that will feature all four classes, one event in which the LMP2 class will compete for overall victory and one GT-only round.
The campaign will open as usual on the final weekend of January as the eyes of the motorsport world once again will be focused on Daytona International Speedway for the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona on the weekend of Jan. 25-28. The twice-around-the-clock battle will award WeatherTech Championship points for all four participating classes – GTP, LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD – marking the first time since the 2019 season that the event will count for WeatherTech Championship points in the LMP2 class.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona also serves as the kick-off to what will be a five-race Michelin Endurance Cup season. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring occupies its traditional slot in the third weekend of March with the 72nd rendition slated for the weekend of March 13-16. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen brings endurance racing back to New York’s Finger Lakes region on the weekend of June 27-30 for the third Michelin Endurance Cup race of the season.
The new addition to the Michelin Endurance Cup in 2024 is an expansion of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to six hours on the weekend of Sept. 20-22. The endurance race at IMS was widely expected since last summer’s announcement of the WeatherTech Championship’s return to the Speedway for a two-hour and 40-minute race at IMS next month. It will be the series’ first visit to Indianapolis since 2014.
The 2024 WeatherTech Championship will wrap up at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on the weekend of Oct. 9-12 with the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans.
The WeatherTech Championship’s return to Detroit comes via a 100-minute race featuring the GTP and GTD PRO classes, which will compete in a 100-minute battle on Saturday, June 1. The series previously raced on Detroit’s Belle Isle circuit through the 2022 season but next year will be its first time on the city’s downtown street circuit, which hosted the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class in 2023.
Detroit will be one of two 100-minute sprint races on city streets in 2024, joining the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday, April 20. That race will include the GTP and GTD classes only. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca makes up the other half of IMSA’s annual West Coast Swing, with a two-hour and 40-minute battle involving the GTP, GTD PRO and GTD classes on Sunday, May 12.
The LMP2 class will not compete at WeatherTech Raceway in 2024 but will compete for the overall victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 14 as the lead class in a two-hour and 40-minute event that also includes the GTD PRO and GTD classes.
Road America will host the only two-hour and 40-minute sprint event to include all four WeatherTech Championship classes as GTP, LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD are set to return to the Kettle Moraine on Sunday, Aug. 4. VIRginia International Raceway will host the lone GT-only WeatherTech Championship race in 2024 with a two-hour and 40-minute contest set for Sunday, Aug. 25.
The GTD PRO and GTD classes each will compete in 10 races in 2024, with nine scheduled for the GTP class and seven for LMP2.
The Roar Before the Rolex 24 also returns as the official warm-up for the season at Daytona Int’l Speedway on the weekend of Jan. 19-21.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona will open the 2024 IMSA season. (IMSA photo)
2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Jan. 25-28 Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona Beach, Fla.
March 13-16 Sebring Int’l Raceway Sebring, Fla.
April 19-20 Grand Prix of Long Beach Long Beach, Calif.
May 10-12 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, Calif.
May 31-June 1 Detroit Grand Prix Detroit, Mich.
June 27-30 Watkins Glen Int’l Watkins Glen, N.Y.
July 12-14 Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Mosport, Ontario
Aug. 2-4 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Sept. 20-22 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, Ind.
Oct. 9-12 Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Braselton, Ga.
Keyword: 11 Events For 2024 WeatherTech Championship