IMSA announces 12-race 2019 schedule

Rolex 24 again kicks off the season

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has long been admired for the world-class road racing facilities and events on its schedule each year, and in 2019, the series will continue building equity in the same 12 events as it had in 2018.

“As we head to the conclusion of the 2018 season, our promoter partners have enjoyed record, or near-record attendance for WeatherTech Championship events, and our 2019 schedule will enable those same promoters to build on that momentum," said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “IMSA has been fortunate for the past several years to have a schedule that includes the very best road courses and road racing events in North America, and we are thrilled to confirm our return to these same venues in 2019. We have often said that one of the most valuable elements of the merger is the event schedule that resulted – and our 2019 schedule is another reflection of that."

The Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and LMP2 classes will compete in 10 races, while the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class will have an 11-race season. In a new development for 2019, the GT Daytona (GTD) class will have 10 events that count toward the WeatherTech Championship, with a new seven-race IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup also announced for GTD.

Eight of the 12 events on the schedule will include all four classes, including the four Michelin Endurance Cup events: the 57th Rolex 24 At Daytona – which kicks off the season on Jan. 24-27, the 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 13-16, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on the weekend of June 28-30 and the Motul Petit Le Mans season finale at Road Atlanta on Oct. 9-12.

The four additional events with all four classes all will be two hours and 40 minutes in length at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 3-5, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 5-7, Road America on Aug. 2-4 and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 13-15.

A pair of three-class, 100-minute sprint races again are planned in 2019 as well. The BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach featuring the DPi, LMP2 and GTLM classes is scheduled for April 12-13; while the DPi, LMP2 and GTD classes are slated once again for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Presented by Lear Corporation on May 31-June 1. The Detroit round is subject to final approval from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to continue hosting the event on Belle Isle.

For the third consecutive year, there also will be a pair of GT-only races in 2019, both two hours and 40 minutes in length. The GTLM and GTD machines will do battle at Lime Rock Park on July 19-20, and once again at VIRginia International Raceway on Aug. 23-25.

Ten of the 12 events will be on the same weekend as they were in 2018. The races at VIRginia International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca each will run one weekend later in 2019.

The three-day Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona test again will open the year for WeatherTech Championship competitors on Jan. 4-6. It will be the year’s only IMSA-sanctioned test.

The 2019 season kicks off a six-year U.S. television partnership with NBC Sports, which will televise every race through its networks: NBC, NBCSN and CNBC. Live streaming of each race also will be available on the NBC Sports App. The complete television schedule will be unveiled in the future.

2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule:

*Subject to final local government approval