Mid-Ohio Postponed Due to New CDC Guidelines

Photo: Scott LePage/IMSA

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is set to face an even longer delayed return to racing following confirmation on Tuesday that the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio has been postponed.

The event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which was to be the fourth round of the WeatherTech Championship season, had been scheduled to take place on May 1-3.

A replacement date has not yet been announced although Acura, IMSA and Mid-Ohio are “in discussions” to identify a new date for later in the year, according to a statement from the track.

The postponement comes in the wake of NASCAR calling off all of its races through the same weekend, amid increased travel restrictions and U.S. government recommendations to avoid all public gatherings of more than 50 people due to the coronavirus epidemic.

IMSA announced the latest postponement in a letter to fans by IMSA President John Doonan.

“Guidelines from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and safety protocols have led IMSA to postpone all events through May 3,” Doonan said in the letter.

“We continue to work with our promoter partners to reschedule other affected events, and more information will be provided as soon as it is available.

“Our goal is to conduct complete seasons for all of our sanctioned series.”

The postponement also affects the Michelin Pilot Challenge, Prototype Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama races that were due to take place over that weekend.

As of Tuesday, more than 3,400 cases of the COVID-19 virus have been reported in the U.S., including 37 in Ohio, which has seen a state-wide closure of gyms, movie theaters and indoor parks.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was due to take part this weekend, followed by the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which both have been postponed.

Sebring is now set to serve as the IMSA season finale on Nov. 12-14, while a new date for Long Beach has not yet been determined but could be rescheduled for September.

IMSA’s next event still currently on its schedule is the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on May 30, an event shared with IndyCar.

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