A IMSA realizou hoje seu discurso anual sobre o estado da série na Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, onde a lista de inscritos do IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2025 foi revelada.
O presidente da IMSA, John Doonan, também falou à mídia após o discurso e confirmou que há discussões internas sobre a adição de mais uma potencial entrada para a temporada completa ao que já é uma enorme grade de carros em quatro classes, afirmando o interesse de muitas partes na série.
“If you took those who really entered, and the space we have for them, and looked at the people who potentially had to add a second car, or someone new who wanted to come, we were in the mid-80s, almost in the 90s. cars that wanted to be with us at the Rolex 24 (next year)!” said Doonan.
He described this interest as an “amazing statement about the current state of the sport. And, obviously, we only have a few pit stalls. We only have a limit of space in the paddock and in the garage spots. How good can our sport be right now? It’s really amazing.
“There was a joke this week – maybe not so much – about one last-chance qualifying to get into those finals, so many spots!”
Even putting together up to 53 cars this weekend for Petit Le Mans was a challenge, facilitated by the renovations at Road Atlanta, including moving the podium behind the pit lane from the support series.
“I think we are super sensitive to quality, not just on the track, but also in the pit lane, and not just to quantity. So, we’re trying to be smart,” said Doonan. “We want as many people as possible to participate, but you have to be careful when we have so much good stuff.”
Perspectivas otimistas de longo prazo após a primeira corrida de resistência em Indianápolis
Doonan also expressed his pleasure with the response to the Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was run for the first time as a six-hour endurance race. “As I said, having an iconic track like that on the schedule was great last year. Adding that race to the Michelin Endurance Cup was a big bonus.
“And then to have a show like we did a few weeks ago was amazing. Any condition (weather), amazing races – you couldn’t look anywhere without seeing a bunch of cars coming and going.”
Doonan sees the potential of Indianapolis as a long-term element of the Michelin Endurance Cup and considered the idea of running the race until nightfall, but the current national television agreement with NBC (Comcast) will influence these ideas.
“Having this as part of the Endurance Cup is a great showcase,” he said. “It really depends on the television and what our broadcast window is.”
Veículos LMP3 de próxima geração para VP Racing Challenge Series ainda em consideração
In other parts of the IMSA paddock, the VP Racing Challenge Series has already announced plans to add a GT3 category known as Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX).
But there is also the issue of LMP3, the top tier of the series. The new LMP3 cars for 2025 with their 3.5-liter turbocharged Toyota V6 engines are expected to be launched in championships sanctioned by the ACO next year.
Asked about the imminent arrival of these new LMP3 cars, Doonan replied: “Right now, we want to see what the customer base feels.
“We are very sensitive to the investment they have and the assets, and we do not want to attack them immediately, requiring them to bring in the new vehicles. So we are looking at this with our partners at ACO.
“We have to make a (decision) very quickly. The teams are making plans – again, we are super sensitive to where they are at – and we will bring that news soon.”
Additionally, there has been a good response from interested customers to run their GT3 vehicles in GTDX. “All the momentum for this was the interest of racing teams that are already with us, or racing elsewhere in the world, and wanting to come and give IMSA a chance.
“We are excited. Initially we aimed for five to eight spots and we will see what happens – but we are getting a lot of inquiries and a lot of people who have indicated they are planning to enter.”
Any car that has raced in IMSA GTD this season, and any GT3 car from an IMSA-sanctioned manufacturer (including the Audi R8 LMS GT3) that would be eligible to race this season, will be eligible to race in GTDX.
Celso Neto recebe Bolsa de Desenvolvimento de Motoristas Diversos 2025-26
The Brazilian-American driver Celso Neto was selected as the winner of the IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship 2024 and will receive $250,000 for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Neto, who was selected from nine finalists, will race in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class for Precision Racing LA.
He spent the last three seasons racing in the SRO TC America, where he was runner-up in the TCX class this year driving for the Skip Barber Racing School.
“Racing in IMSA was a dream since I was a child,” said Neto, “living in Orlando for much of my life and going to the 24 Hours of Daytona or something like that every year with my kart team and all my friends, just seeing those cars there. I have pictures of Pilot Challenge cars when I was 13 or 14 years old. Being able to have the opportunity to race in this series that you always admired is really special. It brought back a lot of emotions from all the steps that are needed to get to this point, from all the hard work that is sometimes not seen.
“Around that age of 12, 13 years old was when I knew it was something I wanted to do as a career and really pursued it.
“Being Brazilian and having two large fan bases (American and Brazilian), I thought this was something that could be of interest to IMSA,” Neto added. “Besides the (scholarship) cash award, I believe the marketing aspect is something very valuable that many people have not yet explored; bringing more Brazilian drivers into the field, bringing more Brazilian audience and showing IMSA the value of the scholarship and how it can really help both sides of the sport – the series and the driver.”
Neto follows previous winners Jaden Conwright, Courtney Crone and Ken Fukuda.
Rolex e IMSA finalizam parceria de longo prazo
In addition to Rolex’s excellent commitment as the titular sponsor of the 24 Hours of Daytona, which began in 1992, Rolex and IMSA announced a new long-term partnership that will see Rolex as the Official Watch of IMSA from 2025 onwards.
“Rolex is pleased to partner with IMSA, further illustrating our historic connection to motor sports, founded in Daytona nearly a century ago,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex’s Director of Communication and Image. “This partnership is a natural extension of the brand’s longstanding relationship with the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the ultimate race against time. Alongside IMSA, Rolex supports initiatives to develop, grow and sustain the sport, teams, and machines.”
Doonan and IMSA CEO Ed Bennett revealed a special Rolex watch for the announcement.
