Detroit to Return on 2024 WeatherTech Series Schedule

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will return to Detroit as part of its 2024 calendar that sees three date clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as conflicts with both the Nürburgring 24 and CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, meanwhile, has been confirmed as a six-hour Michelin Endurance Cup round, while Lime Rock Park has been dropped from the calendar altogether.

Released on Friday at Road America, the 11-event schedule will see the WeatherTech Championship debut on the streets of Detroit, following a Michelin Pilot Challenge GS-only race this year that was in support of the NTT IndyCar Series.

The GTP and GTD Pro classes will take part in a 100-minute race on the 10-turn, 1.645-mile circuit on June 1, one week prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day.

The Detroit race falls on the same weekend as the Nürburgring 24, while the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, on June 30, clashes with the 24 Hours of Spa.

More importantly, there are three date conflicts with the WEC, despite assurances from both IMSA President John Doonan and WEC CEO Frederic Lequien that Long Beach and the 6 Hours of Imola would be the only clashing weekend next year.

The May 12 race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca conflicts with the 6 Hours of Spa that occurs a day earlier, while the LMP2 and GTD Pro and GTD-only event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 14 falls on the same weekend as the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo round at Interlagos.

There are no date clashes with Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.

Indianapolis, which will return to this year’s calendar as a two-hour and 40-minute race, has been confirmed as a round of the Endurance Cup next year with a six-hour contest featuring all four classes on Sept. 22.

It is one of six rounds that will involve GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD together, the others being the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Watkins Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans, as well as the two-hour and 40-minute contest at Road America.

The CTMP round, meanwhile, will see LMP2 as the headline class, replacing GTP, which retains its nine-race calendar despite the addition of Detroit. LMP2 was part of the Laguna Seca race this year, which will now be GTP, GTD Pro and GTD only in 2024.

Lime Rock is noticeably absent from the schedule, having been a fixture on the calendar since 2015, leaving Virginia International Raceway as the only GT-only round for next year.

“Undoubtedly one of the key elements that has attracted our corporate partners and 18 automotive manufacturers is the annual schedule of events that IMSA is able to deliver,” said IMSA President John Doonan.

“The venues and events we visit on an annual basis are world renowned and beloved by race fans and competitors everywhere.

“We are proud to unveil our 2024 calendar which once again delivers IMSA racing to vitally important markets throughout North America.”

2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule:
Jan. 19-21  — Roar Before Rolex 24
Jan. 25-28 — Rolex 24 at Daytona*
March 13-16 — Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring*
April 19-20 — Long Beach Street Circuit (GTP/GTD)
May 10-12 — WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (GTP/GTD Pro/GTD)
May 31-June 1 — Detroit Grand Prix (GTP/GTD Pro)
June 27-30 — Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen*
July 12-14 — Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (LMP2/GTD Pro/GTD)
Aug. 2-4 — Road America
Aug. 23-25 — Virginia International Raceway (GTD Pro/GTD)
Sept. 20-22 — Indianapolis Motor Speedway*
Oct. 9-12 — Motul Petit Le Mans*

*Michelin Endurance Cup races

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