IMSA’s 2021 west coast swing moves to September
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s rounds at Laguna Seca and Long Beach have been moved to September as a result of California’s current battle to contain the spread of Covid-19.
With IndyCar’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach moving to Sept. 24-26, IMSA – which planned to head to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca immediately after its traditional slot in the GP Long Beach weekend – has now rescheduled the trip to the Monterey Peninsula to two weeks before Long Beach.
“The West Coast audience is extremely valuable to all of our stakeholders, and this necessary shift provides the best opportunity to serve our many IMSA race fans in California,” said IMSA president John Doonan. “Likewise, it is important to our WeatherTech Championship teams to have both California races back-to-back on the schedule.
“We’re grateful to our partners at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach and all involved for their flexibility.”
The 2hr40min race at WeatherTech Raceway scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 12 includes the DPi, LMP2, GTLM and GTD classes, while the LMP2 class will be absent from the 1hr40min event at Long Beach.
“The entire IMSA team is a valuable partner and as such, we must continue to be flexible in scheduling to be able to provide fans with the best possible racing event possible,” said John Narigi, president and GM of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “The spring race would have been ideal to kick-off our season for a variety of reasons, but we are ready to welcome fans, teams and sponsors back to the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship in September.”
The Long Beach race, set for Saturday, Sept. 25, will serve as the penultimate round of the WeatherTech Championship before October’s Petit Le Mans.
“Thanks to everyone at IMSA for their help in making this transition of the 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to the fall,” said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach president and CEO Jim Michaelian. “We want to conduct the event when we have the best opportunity to provide our guests with all of the attractive features of the Grand Prix in a safe and inviting environment.”
New 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule
Test. Jan. 22-24, Roar before the 24
1. January 28-31, Rolex 24 at Daytona (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
2. March 17-20, 12 Hours of Sebring (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
3. May 14-16, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (DPi, LMP3, GTD)
4. TBA, June 4-6, Belle Isle, Detroit (DPi, LMP2, GTD)
5. June 24-27, Sahlens 6 Hours of Watkins Glen (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
6. July 2-4, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, (DPi, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
7. July 16-17, Lime Rock Park (GTLM, GTD)
8. August 6-8, Road America, (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
9. Aug. 20-22, VIRginia International Raceway (GTLM, GTD)
10. Sept. 10-12, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, (DPi, LMP2, GTLM, GTD)
11. Sept. 24-25, Grand Prix of Long Beach (DPi, GTLM, GTD)
12. October 6-9, Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM, GTD)
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