Watkins Glen, Lime Rock Replaced in Revised Schedule

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

IMSA confirmed Saturday multiple schedule changes to its 2020 calendar with the cancelation of both the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and GT-only round at Lime Rock Park being replaced by new events.

As revealed by Sportscar365 last month, Watkins Glen has been replaced by a six-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on the same Sept. 4-6 weekend, while the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval will host the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes as part of the NASCAR weekend on Oct. 9-10.

The two events have been replaced due to states of New York and Connecticut’s mandatory 14-day quarantine periods for those arriving from the majority of states in the U.S. amid increased COVID-19 infection rates nationwide.

“On behalf of all IMSA stakeholders, we are grateful to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for accommodating this event weekend,” said IMSA President John Doonan.

“Of course, we all wish we could have gone to Watkins Glen International as planned on Labor Day Weekend, but we look forward to returning to Watkins Glen and the Finger Lakes region again in 2021.

“Having two IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races at the same facility in back-to-back months serves as the latest example of these unprecedented times.”

While the Road Atlanta round will also feature a four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race and doubleheader races for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Lamborghini Super Trofeo, the Charlotte Roval event will be for the WeatherTech Championship GTLM/GTD classes only and run to a 100-minute sprint race format.

Michelin Pilot Challenge, which also was scheduled to race at Lime Rock Park, will instead have a doubleheader of two-hour races at Mid-Ohio on Sept. 25-27.

The GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama will have three events per weekend at Mid-Ohio and the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend at Road Atlanta on Oct. 14-17.

Sportscar365 understands that additional schedule changes are expected to be made amid the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, with the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is currently under threat.

“IMSA continues to monitor state and local COVID-19 guidelines which may make additional schedule revisions appropriate in the coming weeks,” a statement from IMSA read.

2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule (Revised):
Jan. 25-26 — Rolex 24 at Daytona (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
July 3-4 — Daytona (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
July 17-18 — Sebring (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD**)
Aug. 1-2 — Road America (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Aug. 21-22 — Virginia Intenational Raceway (GTLM, GTD)
Sept. 4-6 — Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Sept. 25-27 — Mid-Ohio (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 9-10 — Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 15-17 — Motul Petit Le Mans (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Oct. 30- Nov. 1 —  WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
Nov. 12-14 — Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)

**WeatherTech Sprint Cup only

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