IMSA Championship
Many sports car fans in the U.S. enjoy watching their favorite cars, drivers, teams and marques careen around the best racetracks throughout the country during the long racing season. And the premier sports car racing series in North America is the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which begins each January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona 24-hour endurance race and closes the show in October at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race, held every year at Georgia’s most famous twisting road course, Road Atlanta.
© Mike Meredith, Automotive Content Experience
Three Car Classes
The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship features three different classes of cars competing for individual championships — all racing on track at the same time. The top Prototype class is for purpose-built race cars that will never appear on the street, but the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes both include production-based cars that look very similar to the models found at local dealerships. The cars in both GTLM and GTD are prepared and modified for racing, but the GTLM rules allow more extensive modifications, more power and a higher level of performance.
© Richard Prince/Cadillac
Final Race, Last-Lap Excitement
The final IMSA sports car race of the 2018 season ran October 13 at the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. After 10 hours of grueling door-to-door racing and a last-lap pass due to fuel conservation issues, Renger Van Der Zande — piloting the No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R of the Konica Minolta team — was the first to take the checkered flag for both the overall race and Prototype class wins. Following in the wheel tracks of the Cadillac Prototype, the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of the Porsche GT team crossed the line first in the GTLM class, and the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 of Scuderia Corsa took the top spot in the GTD class.
© Mike Meredith, Automotive Content Experience
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
No. 71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
No. 24 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW M8 GTE
No. 64 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3
No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3
No. 15 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3
No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 25 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW M8 GTE
No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
No. 71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 24 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW M8 GTE
No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3
No. 64 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3
No. 24 BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW M8 GTE
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3
No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT
No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE
No. 71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3
No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
No. 29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3
No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
