IMSA, WSC to Jointly Develop BoP for TCR Endurance Races

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

IMSA and WSC have announced an increased cooperation that will see the two organizations jointly develop Balance of Performance for the TCR platform in endurance races beginning next year.

Previously WSC, founders of the global touring car platform, had held full responsibility for TCR’s BoP in both sprint and endurance formats.

The endurance format, considered by WSC to be races two hours or longer in length, includes the IMSA-sanctioned Michelin Pilot Challenge series.

“Since 2018, IMSA has thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from our close partnership with WSC, including President Marcello Lotti and Sporting and Series Director Nunzia Corvino,” said IMSA President John Doonan.

“Because of our valued collaboration, we are both pleased to announce that the IMSA and WSC technical teams will join forces and establish a working group to define a specific endurance BoP process.

“This will be an enhancement to the sharing of vehicle data to date, and the core values of the established TCR platform will be retained.”

Lotti, the founder of the TCR platform, added: “We recognize that IMSA remains fully committed to the endurance format, and we look forward to jointly building upon the current TCR manufacturer presence in North America.

“We both look forward to seeing the fruits of this joint labor next January at Daytona International Speedway.”

IMSA has made several deviations from TCR’s global BoP system since the platform’s launch in Pilot Challenge in 2018, including additional weight across the entire class to create a separation to the GS class.

The sanctioning body also introduced compensation weight this year in an effort to equalize lap time performance.

It’s understood the compensation weight system will not be part of the BoP process next year.

“This approach (compensation weight), while effective, has not necessarily complemented the design efficiency of each manufacturer’s vehicle as homologated by WSC,” Doonan added.

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