Doonan Pushing for 2030 Regs News “As Early As Possible”

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/iMSA

IMSA President John Doonan says getting the 2030 top-class prototype regulations announced “as early as possible” is on the top of everyone’s minds in solidifying the future of manufacturer involvement in the WeatherTech Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship.

The push to finalize the key pillars of the rules comes amid several recent announcements of OEM withdrawals, with Alpine confirming it will exit WEC competition at the end of the year, and more recently Acura ‘pausing’ its GTP program in the WeatherTech Championship at the conclusion of this season.

It comes after Porsche Penske Motorsport scaled back to a WeatherTech Championship-only effort for this year and followed the pausing of the Lamborghini SC63 program, which was present in both series at various stages.

Speaking with Sportscar365 last weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Doonan indicated that solidification for the long-term is first needed before thinking about any potential short-term solutions.

“I think the key, from our standpoint, and we are constantly talking to our partners at the ACO and FIA, is about getting the next ruleset announced,” he said.

“Just know that is coming, and it’s coming soon, to give everyone detail, as early as possible, so they have a longer runway for planning and seeing those rules as an evolution, not a revolution.

“We’ve been talking very frequently about that. Obviously we have a tradition of announcing things at key points. I’ll just leave it at that.

“I think it’s going to be really important for us to keep the momentum going by getting that information out publicly as soon as possible.”

Doonan declined to confirm if the key points of the 2030 regs could be revealed at next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was the initial goal between OEMs and the governing bodies.

However, there currently appears to be a divide between manufacturers on the specifics of the hybrid powertrain for a common platform.

While it’s understood all parties have agreed to eliminate the option of front axle-mounted hybrids, both Toyota and Peugeot, which currently race LMH cars with bespoke hybrid systems, have indicated that a spec system, as currently used by LMDh cars, would not be an option for them.

Doonan: IMSA’s “Foundational Value” is on Privateers

As for the short term, with Acura set to no longer be on the grid, Doonan said the OEMs currently involved will “drive” the initiative for the possibility of additional customer cars.

JDC-Miller Motorsports, with its 2025-spec Porsche 963, is the lone-remaining privateer entrant in either the top class of the WeatherTech Championship or WEC, and won last weekend’s StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship.

Several teams have expressed recent interest in running LMDh cars, centered around the launch of the Hypercar class in the Asian Le Mans Series, which will mandate a FIA Bronze-rated driver in each top-class prototype.

Two exiting WeatherTech Championship LMP2 operations, Algarve Pro Racing and Inter Europol Competition, are known to be exploring such efforts, with APR team principal Stewart Cox confirming talks with Porsche.

Meyer Shank Racing, which has operated the factory Acura GTP program exclusively for the last two seasons, has also indicated that it is exploring options to stay on the GTP grid next year.

However, Honda Racing Corporation USA President David Salters has ruled out Acura ARX-06 customers for the WeatherTech Championship next year, owing to the costs involved in running the cars.

Cox, however, suggested that if he’s able to green-light an Asian Le Mans Hypercar program, it would be logical to extend that into the WeatherTech Championship, given the expense of the cars and equipment that could be amortized between two championships rather than just a single series that runs over a three-month period.

When asked if IMSA would consider a GTP sub-class for Bronze-rated drivers, if there’s enough interest, or any other kind of privateer initiative Doonan said: “I think it’s worth considering, yes.

“Similar to the ACO conversation, let’s see how it goes. But I think we want to put as much opportunity out there,” he added.

“The foundational value that IMSA was founded on is exactly that (on privateers).

“Manufacturers want to be here but privateers should have the chance to come and compete. Every decision we make will be thought about in those same ways.”

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