As we stand on the precipice of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, it’s inconceivable to not really feel a palpable sense of momentum. The thrill surrounding America’s premier sports activities automotive racing collection isn’t simply concerning the superb array of gorgeous and unique GTP and GT vehicles, or the good groups and good drivers bringing the assorted vehicles’ full potential to life — with persistently nice racing. It’s additionally a couple of huge imaginative and prescient coming to full fruition. IMSA has firmly positioned itself as a world-class racing platform. Definitely, a lot of the credit score belongs to IMSA Chairman Jim France and IMSA CEO Ed Bennett, however I want to take a second to personally acknowledge IMSA President John Doonan alongside together with his good, gifted and hard-working IMSA teammates for making the magic occur.
In an period the place auto racing faces relentless competitors for viewers, fan devotion and the all-important advertising and sponsorship {dollars} that include that, IMSA isn’t solely surviving however thriving. Beneath Doonan’s management, IMSA has struck a stability that so many different racing collection wrestle to realize: respecting custom whereas embracing innovation and in addition balancing the fee versus worth equation for the 19 collaborating producers in its numerous courses and collection, It’s a difficult tightrope to stroll, however Doonan has executed so with a gentle hand, a transparent imaginative and prescient and an unwavering dedication to the followers, groups and producers that energy the collection.
The IMSA system has constructed on the heritage of basic occasions like Sebring’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours by attracting a vibrant area of American and worldwide vehicles and stars. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Photos
The introduction of the GTP class in 2023 set the stage for IMSA’s resurgence, however 2025 feels just like the yr when all of it comes collectively. Producers like Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche have invested closely within the collection, not simply by way of budgets, however in bringing their world sports activities automotive packages into alignment with IMSA’s platform. In the meantime, manufacturers like Aston Martin, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota are making vital contributions throughout the GTD and GTD PRO courses. That is no accident; it’s the results of a strategic roadmap laid out by Doonan and his workforce — a roadmap that acknowledged IMSA’s distinctive means to bridge the hole between American motorsports ardour and the worldwide endurance racing neighborhood.
There’s one thing inherently American about IMSA racing, but it stays deeply related to the worldwide sports activities automotive scene. Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans aren’t simply stops on a racing calendar; they’re establishments. They’re races the place legends are made, and the place enduring tales of progress are written in opposition to the backdrop of these iconic circuits. The truth that IMSA has been in a position to hold these basic occasions related whereas concurrently constructing a contemporary product speaks volumes.
The collection had me at hi there once I attended my first IMSA races in 1974 as an aspiring teenaged media skilled, and it has been central to my deep ardour for motorsports ever since. It really was and nonetheless is, real love at first sight. Why? As a result of IMSA ticks all of the bins of what I consider a racing collection ought to be, and that begins with being inspiringly various of their aggressive equation, each on a human and a technical stage.
A key to IMSA’s present success has been its means to foster an atmosphere the place producers need to race. The Stability of Efficiency (BoP) system, whereas typically maligned in different collection, has been honed by IMSA right into a device for creating thrilling, aggressive racing. Positive, BoP discussions will at all times be a part of the sports activities automotive world, however Doonan and the IMSA technical workforce have labored tirelessly to make sure that the racing is honest, and extra importantly, thrilling. It’s price noting that Doonan was as soon as on the opposite facet of this course of, overseeing Mazda’s North American racing actions earlier than becoming a member of IMSA as president in late 2019. This distinctive perspective has given him invaluable perception into the challenges producers face, and it exhibits in the way in which IMSA has cultivated belief and collaboration with its companions.
Selection amongst courses stays a key aspect of IMSA’s bundle, offering intriguing tales to inform by means of the sector. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Photos
It’s not simply concerning the producers and top-tier prototypes, although. IMSA’s dedication to multi-class racing stays one among its defining traits. From the lightning-fast GTP machines to the GTD and GTD PRO courses, each stage of IMSA competitors feels significant. The LMP2 class additionally performs an important function, providing privateer groups a aggressive platform to race on the highest stage of endurance racing. The accessibility of GT and LMP2 racing, the place privateer groups can share the grid with factory-backed giants, retains the center of sports activities automotive racing beating sturdy.
And let’s not overlook the followers. IMSA has made a concerted effort to make sure that followers really feel valued, each on the monitor and thru digital platforms. The fan expertise at an IMSA weekend is second to none, with open paddocks, autograph periods and a real sense of connection between drivers, groups, and those that fill the grandstands. Sports activities automotive racing has at all times been about tales — tales of human and mechanical endurance, of unbreakable willpower, of recent applied sciences, of hovering triumph, and infrequently crushing heartbreak. IMSA understands the significance of sharing these tales with the world, which is mirrored in its concentrate on rising digital engagement. IMSA is actually and figuratively a model battle on wheels, the place the combatants are combating for his or her imaginative and prescient of the long run, whereas incomes passionate devotion to their respective manufacturers as a result of authenticity, relevancy and actual emotional that means really maters in IMSA.
Pre-race Grid Walks are one instance of IMSA’s dedication to getting the followers near the motion. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Photos
The partnership with the FIA World Endurance Championship is one other masterstroke. The alignment of rulesets between IMSA and WEC has allowed groups to cross over between collection, strengthening the depth of each championships. The sight of IMSA vehicles competing at Le Mans and vice versa is now not a novelty; it’s the brand new regular, and it’s extremely thrilling for followers on each side of the Atlantic.
IMSA additionally deserves credit score for recognizing the significance of sustainability in motorsports. The introduction of hybrid know-how within the GTP class isn’t only a nod to environmental duty — it’s a showcase of cutting-edge automotive know-how. Producers aren’t simply racing to win trophies or construct model credibility; they’re racing to develop know-how that can form the way forward for street vehicles.
I used to be privileged to be instantly concerned with IMSA throughout the earlier two eras led by visionary President Scott Atherton, who was on the helm for 19 years, beginning throughout the Don Panoz-funded American Le Mans Collection period. Scott performed a central function within the merger with Jim France’s Grand Am collection, and he then continued to function IMSA’s president till his retirement on the finish of 2019. Virtually all the good issues occurring as we speak had been initiated underneath Scott’s long term within the driver’s seat. Like within the sport of endurance racing, we are able to see that Scott drove an ironman, pace-setting stint earlier than handing off to his gifted new teammate, John Doonan, whom he personally had a hand in choosing. This underscores that IMSA’s relentless race to the long run is underpinned by stability and reliability of management that ensures continuity of imaginative and prescient. Most significantly, IMSA is pushed by actions taken to get to that future quicker than the competitors. That is in the end IMSA’s authentic cause for being and why it really works so effectively on so many ranges.
Waiting for the 2025 season, all of the items are in place for IMSA to shine brighter than ever. The driving force expertise pool is deeper than it’s been in years, with a mixture of well-known seasoned veterans, thrilling younger up-and-comers, and world racing superstars all vying for glory. The calendar stays anchored by legendary occasions at North America’s prime street racing circuits, and the competitors guarantees to be fiercer than ever. I sincerely consider that IMSA now delivers one of the best racing on the planet.
John Doonan and his workforce deserve immense credit score for steering IMSA with such ability and foresight since he took the wheel on the eve of the worldwide COVID 19 pandemic. The choices revamped the previous few years — a few of them daring, others nuanced — at the moment are bearing fruit in a means that’s inconceivable to disregard. IMSA isn’t only a regional collection; it’s a world powerhouse. From my perspective, 2025 feels just like the yr when all of America’s racing followers, and our nation’s vibrant automotive fanatic tradition, together with the remainder of the world, really takes discover.
An important a part of attaining this success can be IMSA’s strategic broadcast partnership with NBC Sports activities, which additionally serves as a key associate for NASCAR. My hope is that this key collaboration evolves positively and expands meaningfully to make sure that IMSA’s thrilling on-track product reaches a wider and much more engaged viewers, by mixing top-tier manufacturing high quality with a deep understanding of motorsports storytelling in a contemporary means.
So, earlier than the engines fireplace up at Daytona for the Rolex 24 later this month, let’s take a second to understand what IMSA has turn out to be. It’s not simply sports activities automotive racing executed proper — it’s sports activities automotive racing at its highest. And for that, we owe a debt of gratitude to Jim France, Ed Bennett and John Doonan, in addition to the whole IMSA group. Right here’s to a season for the ages.
The 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will get underway with the Roar Earlier than the 24 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway, Jan. 18-19, adopted by the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 25-26.
