IMSA rejoins IndyCar for Detroit GP weekend
This year’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix will be held over a single three-day weekend, reversing the previous plan to hold the IMSA event a week earlier.
Although the NTT IndyCar Series has long been scheduled to run its double-header on June 12-13 – a week later than is traditional, in order to give the teams a weekend’s rest after the Indianapolis 500 and to get on NBC – the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship had to remain on the first weekend in order to allow various teams and drivers to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
However, with Le Mans being shifted to August, the IMSA race can now join IndyCar and Indy Lights for a traditional three-day weekend, June 11-13, as the event returns to the motorsport schedule after being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The IMSA sports cars and the Indy Lights will hold practice and qualifying on Friday, June 11. All three series will host races on Saturday, June 12 with an Indy Lights race being followed by the first of the IndyCar “Chevy Dual in Detroit” races of the weekend (live on NBC at 2pm ET) and concluding with the IMSA Chevrolet Sports Car Classic in the evening (live on NBCSN at 5pm ET).
The second Indy Lights race of the weekend opens the action on Sunday, June 13 before the second of the IndyCar races live on NBC at 12:30pm ET).
“We are excited to bring the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear back to Belle Isle in 2021 and return to a traditional one-weekend format June 11th through the 13th, featuring five great races with three incredible racing series,” said Michael Montri, president of the event. “With the established stars of IndyCar and the rising stars of Indy Lights both racing on Saturday and Sunday and Corvette Racing joining the intense IMSA sports car action on both Friday and Saturday, it’s going to be an incredible weekend in the Motor City.”
The 2021 Grand Prix will mark the 31st Indy car event in Motor City, and the 11th time that IndyCar and sports car racing will compete together on the same weekend at Belle Isle. It will also represent the first time in 13 years that a Corvette GT sports car will race at its home track, and the first time since 2012 that Indy Lights has raced on Belle Isle.
An official release from CDGP states that "tickets for the 2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear are expected to go on sale within the next few weeks. www.DetroitGP.com."
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