As is customary at IMSA, it was the first weekend in August, during the series’ main event at Wisconsin’s Road America circuit, that series executives released the schedules for the following season.

With the arrival of the GTP class (official name for new LMDh Cadillac prototypes – pictured above, Acura, Porsche etc.), the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be very busy, covering a total of 11 races. Six of these events will feature the five classes of the championship on track, namely GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO and GTD.

The IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup brings all categories together during the four traditional endurance races, namely the 24 Hours of Daytona (28-29 January), the 12 Hours of Sebring (18 March), the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen (25) and the Petit Le Mans, the 10-hour race at the Road Atlanta circuit (October 14). Five class races will also be held at Road America (August 6) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (September 17).

The new GTP class will feature a total of nine events in 2024, to which will be added Long Beach (April 15), Laguna Seca (May 14) and Mosport, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (July 9). This event will once again be the only one in Canada.

The GTD PRO and GTD classes will compete in all 11 championship races, including events for the two GT classes only at Lime Rock Park (July 22) and Virginia International Raceway (August 27). The Mini Championship and GTD Sprint Cup, unknown to the public, is no longer organized.

At the start of the season, after Daytona and Sebring, the LMP2 category will compete in the Laguna Seca event, while the LMP3 category will return to the track first at Watkins Glen and then at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Note that the Daytona 24 Hours does not count towards championship points in the LMP2 or LMP3 categories.

In addition to the racing events, the “Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona”, i.e. the official pre-season tests, will again take place on the weekend of January 20th to 22nd. In preparation for the 2023 season, IMSA sanctioned testing for GTP cars will also be held at Road Atlanta on October 3-5 and Daytona International Speedway on December 6-7.

Official pre-season testing for all championship participants is also scheduled for February 2023 at Sebring International Raceway. All sprint races last 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The 2023 season of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge includes a total of 11 events for cars from the two classes of the series, namely Grand Sport (GS) for GT4 cars and Touring Car (TCR). What is new is that these classes do not ride together at two events.

Nine rounds of the GS class are held as side events to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The GT4s (GS) will roll around downtown Detroit June 2-3 as part of the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit alone in support of IndyCar. The TCR class alone will accompany the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on July 21-22 at Lime Rock Park.

The season of the Michelin Pilot Challenge will open on the weekend of January 26-29 with the traditional four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway. Indianapolis Motor Speedway returns to the series schedule for the first time since 2014 and will feature another four-hour race over the weekend of September 15-17. The other events of the season are every 2 hours, including the Mosport event in July.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge is also eligible to take part in the IMSA test in Sebring in February. However, it is not yet known which IMSA series will be chosen to support the NASCAR Cup Series during the inaugural event on the streets of Chicago in early July.

2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Calendar

29/30 January: 24 Hours of Daytona (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
March 18: 12 Hours of Sebring (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
April 15: Long Beach Grand Prix (GTP, GTD PRO, GTD)
May 14: Laguna Seca (GTP, LMP2, GTD PRO, GTD)
25 June: Watkins Glen 6 Hours (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
July 09: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Mosport (GTP, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
July 22nd: Lime Rock Park (GTD PRO, GTD)
06 August: Elkhart Lake – Road America (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
August 27: Virginia International Raceway (GTD PRO, GTD)
September 17: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)
October 14: Petit Le Mans – Road Atlanta (GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO, GTD)

Calendar 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

January 28: Daytona (GS, TCR)
March 17: Sebring (GS, TCR) * In support of the WEC World Championship
May 13: Laguna Seca (GS, TCR)
June 03: Detroit Grand Prix (GS) * In support of the IndyCar Series
June 24: Watkins Glen (GS, TCR)
July 08: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Mosport (GS, TCR)
July 22: Lime Rock Park (TCR)
05 August: Elkhart Lake – Road America (GS, TCR)
August 26: Virginia International Raceway (GS, TCR)
September 16: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (GS, TCR)
October 13: Petit Le Mans – Road Atlanta (GS, TCR)