IMSA Adjusts Red Flag Drive Time Requirements

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

IMSA has adjusted the drive time regulations during red flag periods in response to this year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, where multiple cars were caught out due to a race stoppage for weather in the area.

Confirmed in the release of the 2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sporting regulations on Friday, the sanctioning body will now reduce the drive time requirements by a 2:1 ratio corresponding to the time lost while under red flag conditions.

Previously, this was calculated by the exact percentage of the time lost during a red.

In the case of a race being reduced by 10 percent, the minimum drive time will now be cut by 20 percent, with drive time stopped and restarted by race control at a common point.

This adjustment in the rulebook would have prevented nine cars, including the initial first-place finishers in GTD Pro and GTD, from being moved to the rear of their respective finishing order in the third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup in June.

Additionally, IMSA has also modified the drive-time requirement for drivers nominated in more than one car, which will see the maximum drive-time calculated cumulatively only for races of six hours or longer.

The criteria for LMP3 driver combinations has been adjusted from either one Bronze of any age or Silver under the age of 30 to Silver younger than 25 years old.

Other changes to the sporting regulations for next year include the previously confirmed incentive for Bronze-rated GTD drivers that participate in qualifying, which will allow the car to start on a different set of tires without penalty.

GTP class cars, meanwhile, will be allowed to start on different sets of tires.

Regulations for high-voltage (HV)-related safety specifications amid the arrival of the hybrid powertrains in the GTP cars have also been defined, which includes the appointment of an IMSA HV safety officer.

HV service work during sessions will be prohibited in the pit boxes, with cars required to go to designated HV “quarantine areas” to undertake hybrid-related repairs.

A full rundown of the HV-related regulations has been made available in the 176-page document released to teams on Friday.

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