Connect with us

WeatherTech Championship

IMSA Set for Additional Schedule Changes

Watkins Glen, Lime Rock look unlikely to run in September; replacement races being evaluated…

Photo: Rick Dole/IMSA

IMSA looks set to make additional changes to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule amid the current travel restrictions in the Northeast, which has put both the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and GT-only round at Lime Rock Park in jeopardy.

Sportscar365 has learned that the two races are unlikely to occur as currently scheduled in early September due to New York and Connecticut’s 14-day mandatory quarantine for people arriving from states with “significant community spread” of COVID-19.

The current list of 19 states, calculated by having at least a 10 percent COVID-19 positivity rate over seven-day rolling average, includes Florida, North Carolina, California and Georgia, where the majority of IMSA teams are based.

NASCAR last week moved its annual race at Watkins Glen, scheduled for Aug. 14-16, to Daytona International Speedway due to the current travel restrictions.

While not confirming any specifics, an IMSA spokesperson told Sportscar365 that they could have an update to its schedule later this week although details are still being determined.

Rumors in the paddock during last weekend’s Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring indicated that both Charlotte Motor Speedway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta could serve as potential replacement rounds.

A GT-only race at Charlotte’s ‘Roval’ during the NASCAR weekend of Oct.11, has been suggested as a possibility, while Road Atlanta could host a six-hour round in September to replace the Watkins Glen event, which also serves as a stop on the Michelin Endurance Cup.

It would mark the fifth round of changes to the IMSA calendar due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has caused scheduling nightmares for many sanctioning bodies.

In March, IMSA postponed the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to November, while a revised calendar was released one week later featuring new dates for the Mid-Ohio, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as well as Motul Petit Le Mans.

Sprint races at Daytona and Sebring were added to the schedule in May, in place of canceled events at Long Beach, Detroit and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, while both Watkins Glen and Lime Rock Park received new dates.

One month later, IMSA moved the Watkins Glen date for a third time, to alleviate a clash with the Indianapolis 8 Hour, while also revising the Lime Rock and Laguna Seca dates yet again.

It’s understood IMSA has been working to maintain as complete of a season as possible for series competitors.

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

Click to comment
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in WeatherTech Championship