Rumor: IMSA Detroit Race to be run as part of IndyCar weekend (Update)

Per today’s announcement this rumor is upgraded to ‘fact’ that there will not be two separate race weekends in Detroit this year, one for IMSA and one for IndyCar. Instead they have been merged back into a single 3-day weekend.

Following the announcement that the IndyCar weekend at Belle Isle in Detroit will be moved from a 3-day event to a 2-day event June 12-13, The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Detroit’s Belle Isle could also be shortened to a 1-day event on Sat. June 5 instead of Saturday and Sunday, or it could merge back with the IndyCar weekend, which makes far more sense.

While typically scheduled as a two-day show with the NTT IndyCar Series, the  IMSA  race was moved to a standalone weekend one week before the open-wheel series due to an initial clash with the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It will mark the first time in the history of the Detroit Grand Prix that the event will be hosted over the course of two weekends creating more opportunities for the event and its partners, as well as more options for fans. The revised format for 2021 will also have a positive effect on Belle Isle Park. The open schedule provides the flexibility to relocate fan engagement areas like car corrals and interactive displays in order to minimize the impact on grassy areas of the island.

Despite Le Mans shifting to August, the standalone IMSA event is believed to still be moving ahead as planned, but shortened to 1-day.

DPi, LMP2 and GT Daytona class competitors are scheduled to take part, and now that the 24 Hours of LeMans has been pushed back to August, the GTLM class may be added since the teams also competing at Le Mans do not have to fly to France until August.