HSR IMSA Classic Exhibition Race to Return to Rolex 24 Event

The annual HSR IMSA Classic will be held for the third straight year during the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.

HSR and IMSA officials announced today that the featured era for the popular exhibition will be IMSA GTP, GTO and GTU cars from 1981 through 1993.

Setting the stage for the 65th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31, the HSR IMSA Classic will feature IMSA golden era, welcoming competitors with authentic and period-correct sports cars to apply for entry.

The eventual field of 16 cars selected to compete in the event will once again be determined by a selection committee.

A three-day event – Thursday through Saturday – on the Rolex 24 schedule, the main IMSA Classic races are 30-minutes long on Friday evening and Saturday morning.

“The debut in 2025 further planted the HSR IMSA Classic flag and next year’s exhibition races will continue to set the stage for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and will be must-see sprints for race fans and the IMSA paddock population as well,” said HSR President John Doonan.

“I don’t think there was a fan, team member or even a Rolex 24 driver that didn’t take a minute to stop and watch the incredible machines of our glorious IMSA past competing once again on the hallowed ground of Daytona International Speedway here in 2026.

“We look forward to raising the bar yet again in 2027 as part of the celebration of the 65th Rolex 24 at Daytona and can confidently promise we will have a pristine lineup of select GTP, GTP Lights and GTO and GTU machinery from the featured era that will not disappoint.”

Next year’s IMSA Classic featured era mirrors the same 1981 to 1993 time span in which IMSA introduced the now legendary GTP category and built it into the top-tier and premier form of sports car racing in North America and beyond.

The original GTP era helped to develop what then were emerging technologies such as ABS and traction control among others, while also placing an emphasis on limiting fuel consumption.

The GTP legacy lives on today as the current top division of IMSA prototypes was given the name at the start of the 2023 season.

Today’s cars feature a renewed emphasis on “energy” efficiency, sustainability and green initiatives, such as the single-specification hybrid powertrain systems.

Additional categories eligible for the IMSA Classic shared the GTP spotlight, however, in the 1980s and early ’90s, including the GTP “Lights” division – best known as “GTPL” or “Camel Lights” – which was another popular class for downsized prototypes that delivered some of the same close competition as their larger cousins.

The production-based GT classes also played a major part in the legendary era, with big-bore cars competing in GTO and smaller machinery in GTU.

The classes were generally split by engine sizes “over” and “under” three liters in displacement. Of note, GTO was changed to GTS in 1992 to reflect the name of the top fuel brand sold by then IMSA series sponsor Exxon.