IMSA Confirms Updates to Drive-Time, Pit Lane Regulations

Photo: IMSA

IMSA released Wednesday a cumulative update to the sporting code and supplementary regulations for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, confirming previously revealed changes to drive-time and pit stop rules.

Confirmation of the regulations come in the wake of post-race penalties given to a pair of teams, as well as a petition lodged by one driver for changes to pit stop regulations, following last month’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Cars with drivers exceeding the maximum drive time are now confirmed to be placed behind all other cars in the class for the purpose of finishing points. The rule was adjusted following Jordan Taylor’s drive-time issue at Daytona.

The rule enforcing two Bronze or Silver-rated drivers in a four or five-driver lineup to complete the minimum drive time in a Prototype Challenge or GT Daytona entry remains unchanged, a situation that resulted in the BAR1 Motorsports Oreca FLM09 losing its second place finish and all finishing points.

Additionally, IMSA has defined an additional pit lane penalty, with a warning given to cars with wheelspin (when raised during a pit stop) on first offense, followed by a drive-through penalty on the car’s second offense.

The update comes following IMSA’s decision to maintain the current pit stop regulations, despite a petition from Tequila Patron ESM driver David Heinemeier Hansson, who called for the series to implement the style current used in the FIA World Endurance Championship on the grounds of safety.

The full update to the regulations can be found here.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John