2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship


The 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship was a motor racing championship, which was the 54th racing season sanctioned by the International [Motor Sports Association] and traces its lineage back to the 1971 [IMSA GT Championship]. It was also the eleventh season of the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014, and the ninth under the sponsorship of WeatherTech. Following a change in class structure for the 2024 season, the IMSA SportsCar Championship saw a major expansion of its full-time grid across all of its classes.

Classes

At the end of the 2023 season, IMSA discontinued the involvement of the Le Mans Prototype 3 class from the main championship. The class was originally introduced in 2021 as a means of bolstering the overall grid size, which had seen a record-low 38 starting cars in the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona. IMSA cited the growth of the GTP class as a contributing factor to dropping LMP3 for 2024 onwards, in addition to growth in other classes.
GTP is the flagship class of the championship, and consists of two sister technical regulations: Le Mans Daytona h, and Le Mans Hypercar. The former regulation allows developing a bespoke design from a base chassis with a specification hybrid system on all cars, with freedom on aerodynamics and engine configuration. The latter regulation allows bespoke hybrid designs, and offers more design freedom in exchange for elevated development costs.
The GTP class is made of the same framework that comprises the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, in accordance with the collaborative alliance between IMSA and the French racing organizers ACO, which resulted in the convergence of the two organizer's top class regulations.
Unlike the other classes, LMP2 remained without BoP, even though there were two separate chassis in the class for the first time since 2021.

Schedule

The provisional schedule was released on August 4, 2023, and featured 11 rounds.
RaceLengthClassesCircuitLocationDate
1Rolex 24 at Daytona24 hoursAllDaytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, FloridaJanuary 27–28
2Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring12 hoursAllSebring International RacewaySebring, FloridaMarch 16
3Grand Prix of Long Beach#IMSA [WeatherTech SportsCar Championship|Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach]100 minutesGTP, GTDLong Beach Street CircuitLong Beach, CaliforniaApril 20
4Motul Course de Monterey160 minutesGTP, GTD Pro, GTDWeatherTech Raceway Laguna SecaMonterey, CaliforniaMay 12
5Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic100 minutesGTP, GTD ProStreets of DetroitDetroit, MichiganJune 1
6Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen6 hoursAllWatkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New YorkJune 23
7Chevrolet Grand Prix160 minutesLMP2, GTD Pro, GTDCanadian Tire Motorsport ParkBowmanville, OntarioJuly 14
8IMSA Sportscar Weekend160 minutesAllRoad AmericaElkhart Lake, WisconsinAugust 4
9Michelin GT Challenge at VIR160 minutesGTD Pro, GTDVirginia International RacewayAlton, VirginiaAugust 25
10Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks6 hoursAllIndianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, IndianaSeptember 22
11Motul Petit Le Mans10 hoursAllMichelin Raceway Road AtlantaBraselton, GeorgiaOctober 12

Calendar changes

Entries

Grand Touring Prototype (GTP)

TeamChassisEngineDriversRounds

Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)

In accordance with the 2017 LMP2 regulations, all cars in the LMP2 class use the Gibson GK428 V8 engine.
TeamChassisDriversRounds

GT Daytona (GTD Pro / GTD)

  • California-based team CDR Valkyrie announced plans to enter selected rounds with a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), but did not appear at any events.

Race results

Bold indicates overall and GTD winners.
RndCircuitGTP Winning TeamLMP2 Winning TeamGTD Pro Winning TeamGTD Winning TeamReport
RndCircuitGTP Winning DriversLMP2 Winning DriversGTD Pro Winning DriversGTD Winning DriversReport
1Daytona'''

Championship standings

Points systems

Championship points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Points are awarded based on finishing positions in qualifying and the race as shown in the chart below.
Position123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930+
Qualifying353230282625242322212019181716151413121110987654321
Race350320300280260250240230220210200190180170160150140130120110100908070605040302010

; Drivers points
Points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event.
; Team points
Team points are calculated in exactly the same way as driver points, using the point distribution chart. Each car entered is considered its own "team" regardless if it is a single entry or part of a two-car team.
; Manufacturer points
There are also a number of manufacturer championships which utilize the same season-long point distribution chart. The manufacturer championships recognized by IMSA are as follows:
Each manufacturer receives finishing points for its highest finishing car in each class. The positions of subsequent finishing cars from the same manufacturer are not taken into consideration, and all other manufacturers move up in the order.
; Michelin Endurance Cup
The points system for the Michelin Endurance Cup is different from the normal points system. Points are awarded on a 5–4–3–2 basis for drivers, teams and manufacturers. The first finishing position at each interval earns five points, four points for second position, three points for third, with two points awarded for fourth and each subsequent finishing position.
Position123Other Classified
Race5432

At the Rolex 24 at Daytona, points are awarded at 6 hours, 12 hours, 18 hours and at the finish. At the Sebring 12 hours, points are awarded at 4 hours, 8 hours and at the finish. At the Watkins Glen 6 hours and Indianapolis 6 hours, points are awarded at 3 hours and at the finish. At the Petit Le Mans, points are awarded at 4 hours, 8 hours and at the finish.
Like the season-long team championship, Michelin Endurance Cup team points are awarded for each car and drivers get points in any car that they drive, in which they are entered for points. The manufacturer points go to the highest placed car from that manufacturer, just like the season-long manufacturer championship.
For example: in any particular segment manufacturer A finishes 1st and 2nd and manufacturer B finishes 3rd. Manufacturer A only receives first-place points for that segment. Manufacturer B receives the second-place points.

Drivers' Championships

Standings: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP)