The 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) was the 49th motor racing championship sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) (which traces its lineage back to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship). It was the sixth season of the United SportsCar Championship and fourth to be held under the name as the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It began on January 26 with the 24 Hours of Daytona, and ended on October 12 with the Petit Le Mans. The 2019 season marked the 50th anniversary since the founding of the International Motor Sports Association.
Series news NBC Sports Group took over from Fox Sports as the series' official broadcaster. Coverage alternates between local NBC stations, NBC Sports Network, CNBC, and livestreams. Michelin increased its IMSA involvement by becoming the sole official tire supplier of the series, following the departure of Continental Tire at the end of 2018. As part of a plan to attempt to cut costs for the series' GT Daytona (GTD) class, the 2019 season featured a new support championship called the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The championship was held for the GT Daytona class at the sprint events of the calendar. After an eleven-year partnership, Tequila Patrón ended their involvement with IMSA altogether at the end of the 2018 season. They also ended their sponsorship of the Extreme Speed Motorsports prototype team, who subsequently closed down operations. Michelin took Patrón's place as the sponsor of the endurance cup. As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of IMSA, multiple teams adopted racing liveries created in tribute to iconic teams throughout IMSA's history, such as Brumos Porsche, Electramotive Engineering, Roush Racing, and Comptech Acura.
Classes
Daytona Prototype international (DPi) Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) GT Le Mans (GTLM) GT Daytona (GTD)
The Prototype class, which previously combined Daytona Prototype international cars alongside Le Mans Prototype 2 cars, was now split into two separate classes.
Rule changes The DPi class is now the lead class of the championship, and features teams with full professional lineups running DPi cars. The class has its own Balance of Performance (BoP). The LMP2 class is the lower prototype class in the championship, featuring Global LMP2 cars with Pro-Am lineups. There is no BoP applied to the LMP2 class. Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) and GT Daytona (GTD), the Pro-Am classes of the championship, must adhere to driver rating requirements. Each car is only allowed two Platinum-rated or Gold-rated drivers for the endurance events, alongside the requirement of at least one Bronze-rated or Silver-rated driver for all sprint races. In these classes, the Bronze or Silver-rated drivers are required to start the race.
Schedule
The 2019 schedule was released on August 3, 2018, and featured twelve rounds.
Race Length Classes Circuit Location Date 1 Rolex 24 at Daytona 24 hours All Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida January 26–27 2 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring 12 hours All Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 16 3 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach 1 hour 40 minutes DPi, GTLM Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California April 13 4 Acura Sports Car Challenge 2 hours 40 minutes All Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio May 5 5 Chevrolet Sports Car Classic 1 hour 40 minutes DPi, GTD The Raceway on Belle Isle Detroit, Michigan June 1 6 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen 6 hours All Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York June 30 7 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes All Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario July 7 8 Northeast Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes GTLM, GTD Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 20 9 IMSA Road Race Showcase 2 hours 40 minutes All Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 4 10 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR 2 hours 40 minutes GTLM, GTD Virginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 25 11 IMSA Monterey Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes All WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California September 15 12 Motul Petit Le Mans 10 hours All Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 12
Notes:
Entries
Daytona Prototype international (DPi)
Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds Mustang Sampling Racing Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 5 Filipe Albuquerque All João Barbosa All Christian Fittipaldi 1 Brendon Hartley 2 Mike Conway 6, 12 31 Pipo Derani All Felipe Nasr All Eric Curran 1–2, 6, 12 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 6 Dane Cameron All Juan Pablo Montoya All Simon Pagenaud 1–2, 12 7 Hélio Castroneves All Ricky Taylor All Alexander Rossi 1–2 Graham Rahal 12 Konica Minolta Cadillac Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 10 Jordan Taylor All Renger van der Zande All Fernando Alonso 1 Kamui Kobayashi 1 Matthieu Vaxivière 2, 12 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 50 Will Owen 1–7, 12 René Binder 1–2, 6, 12 Agustín Canapino 1–2 Kyle Kaiser 1, 3–4 Victor Franzoni 5, 7 Spencer Pigot 12 CORE Autosport Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 54 Jon Bennett All Colin Braun All Romain Dumas 1–2, 6, 12 Loïc Duval 1 Mazda Team Joest Mazda RT24-P Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4 55 Jonathan Bomarito All Harry Tincknell 1–3, 5–7, 9, 11–12 Olivier Pla 1–2, 6, 12 Ryan Hunter-Reay 4 77 Oliver Jarvis All Tristan Nunez All Timo Bernhard 1–2, 6, 12 René Rast 1 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 84 Stephen Simpson All Simon Trummer All Chris Miller 1–2, 6, 12 Juan Piedrahita 1 85 Mikhail Goikhberg All Tristan Vautier All Rubens Barrichello 1 Devlin DeFrancesco 1 Juan Piedrahita 2, 6, 12
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)
In accordance with the 2017 LMP2 regulations, all cars in the LMP2 class use the Gibson GK428 V8 engine.
Team Car Drivers Rounds DragonSpeed Oreca 07 18 Ryan Cullen 1 Roberto González 1 Pastor Maldonado 1 Sebastián Saavedra 1 81 Ben Hanley 1 Henrik Hedman 1 Nicolas Lapierre 1 James Allen 1 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca 07 38 Cameron Cassels All Kyle Masson 1–2, 4, 6–7, 11–12 Robert Masson 1 Kris Wright 1 Andrew Evans 2, 6, 12 James French 9 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 52 Matt McMurry All Gabriel Aubry 1–2, 6, 12 Enzo Guibbert 1 Mark Kvamme 1 Anders Fjordbach 2 Eric Lux 4, 6 Dalton Kellett 7, 11–12 Patrick Kelly 9
GT Le Mans (GTLM)
Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet LT5.5R 5.5 L V8 3 Antonio García All Jan Magnussen All Mike Rockenfeller 1–2, 12 4 Oliver Gavin All Tommy Milner 1–4, 6, 9–12 Marcel Fässler 1–2, 7–8, 12 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 24 John Edwards All Jesse Krohn All Chaz Mostert 1 Alex Zanardi 1 Philipp Eng 2, 12 25 Connor De Phillippi All Colton Herta 1–2, 12 Philipp Eng 1 Augusto Farfus 1 Tom Blomqvist 2–4, 6–12 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE Evo Ferrari F154CB 4.0 L Turbo V8 62 James Calado 1, 12 Alessandro Pier Guidi 1, 12 Miguel Molina 1 Davide Rigon 1 Daniel Serra 12 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT Ford EcoBoost D35 3.5 L Turbo V6 66 Dirk Müller All Sébastien Bourdais 1–4, 12 Joey Hand 1–2, 6–12 67 Ryan Briscoe All Richard Westbrook All Scott Dixon 1–2, 12 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR Porsche M97/80 4.0 L Flat-6 911 Patrick Pilet All Nick Tandy All Frédéric Makowiecki 1–2, 12 912 Earl Bamber All Laurens Vanthoor All Mathieu Jaminet 1–2, 12
GT Daytona (GTD)
Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds Starworks Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 8 Parker Chase 1–2, 4–6, 9 Ryan Dalziel 1–2, 4–6, 9 Ezequiel Pérez Companc 1–2 Christopher Haase 1 Mike Skeen 6 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 9 Scott Hargrove 1–2, 4, 6–7, 10–12 Zacharie Robichon 1–2, 4, 6–12 Lars Kern 1–2, 6, 12 Dennis Olsen 1, 8 Matt Campbell 9 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 11 Mirko Bortolotti 1–2 Rik Breukers 1–2 Rolf Ineichen 1–2 Christian Engelhart 1 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 11 Andy Lally 8 John Potter 8 44 Andy Lally 1–2, 4–7, 9–12 John Potter 1–2, 4–7, 9–12 Spencer Pumpelly 1–2, 6, 12 Marco Mapelli 1 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 12 Townsend Bell All Frankie Montecalvo All Aaron Telitz 1–2, 6, 12 Jeff Segal 1 14 Jack Hawksworth All Richard Heistand All Nick Cassidy 1 Austin Cindric 1 Philipp Frommenwiler 2, 6 Parker Chase 12 Via Italia Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 13 Andrea Bertolini 1 Victor Franzoni 1 Marcos Gomes 1 Chico Longo 1 Moorespeed Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 19 Will Hardeman 1–2, 4, 6 Alex Riberas 1–2, 4, 6 Andrew Davis 1–2, 6 Markus Winkelhock 1 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 29 Ricardo Feller 1–2, 6, 12 Christopher Mies 1–2, 6, 12 Daniel Morad 1–2, 6, 12 Dries Vanthoor 1 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 33 Jeroen Bleekemolen 1–2, 4, 6–12 Ben Keating 1–2, 4, 6–12 Felipe Fraga 1–2, 6, 12 Luca Stolz 1 Ebimotors Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 46 Giacomo Altoè 1 Fabio Babini 1 Emanuele Busnelli 1 Taylor Proto 1 Precision Performance Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 47 Don Yount 1–2, 6, 12 Linus Lundqvist 1 Steve Dunn 1 Miloš Pavlović 1 Brandon Gdovic 2, 6, 12 Lawson Aschenbach 2 Jake Eidson 6 Shinya Michimi 12 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo Lamborghini DGF 5.2 L V10 48 Bryan Sellers All Ryan Hardwick 1–2, 4–7 Corey Lewis 1–2, 6, 8–12 Andrea Caldarelli 1 Marco Seefried 12 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 51 Paul Dalla Lana 1 Pedro Lamy 1 Mathias Lauda 1 Daniel Serra 1 Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 Evo Acura JNC1 3.5 L Turbo V6 57 Katherine Legge All Christina Nielsen 1–2, 4–6, 8, 11–12 Bia Figueiredo 1–2, 6–7, 9, 12 Simona de Silvestro 1 Alice Powell 10 86 Mario Farnbacher All Trent Hindman All Justin Marks 1–2, 6, 12 A. J. Allmendinger 1 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 63 Cooper MacNeil All Toni Vilander All Jeff Westphal 1–2, 6, 12 Dominik Farnbacher 1 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 71 Maximilian Buhk 1–2 J. C. Perez 1–2 Fabian Schiller 1–2 Dominik Baumann 1 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 73 Patrick Long 1–2, 4–11 Nicholas Boulle 1–2, 6 Patrick Lindsey 1–2, 6–7, 9–11 Matt Campbell 1 Marco Seefried 4, 8 Zacharie Robichon 5 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 74 Lawson Aschenbach 4–5, 7, 9–10 Gar Robinson 4–5, 7, 9–10 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 McLaren M840T 4.0 L Turbo V8 76 Paul Holton 4–5, 7–11 Matt Plumb 4–5, 7–11 Audi Sport Team WRT Speedstar Audi R8 LMS Evo Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 88 Roman De Angelis 1 Ian James 1 Kelvin van der Linde 1 Frédéric Vervisch 1 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 91 Anthony Imperato 8–9 Matt Campbell 8 Dennis Olsen 9 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 BMW S63 4.4 L Turbo V8 96 Bill Auberlen All Robby Foley All Dillon Machavern 1–2, 6, 12 Jens Klingmann 1 NGT Motorsport by Herberth Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 99 Klaus Bachler 1 Steffen Görig 1 Jürgen Häring 1 Sven Müller 1 Alfred Renauer 1 Black Swan Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 540 Marco Seefried 1, 6 Dirk Werner 1, 6 Matteo Cairoli 1 Tim Pappas 1 Marc Miller 6
Notes
Race results Bold indicates overall winner.