On Friday, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) revealed its newest class that will compete in 2023, called the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, featuring LMP3 and GTX.
The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge’s LMP3 and GTX classes will compete in 45-minute races with only one driver per car. The series replaces the Prototype Challenge and will feature five events and a ten-race schedule. The 2023 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge schedule will be revealed on Saturday, August 5th, from Road America.
“We are grateful to our longstanding partners at VP Racing Fuels for expanding their relationship with us to bring a new and different brand of excitement for IMSA race fans,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “LMP3 and GT4 cars, drivers, and teams have delivered fantastic competition over the years. Putting them together in a sprint format is a fresh and differentiated approach that we expect will be popular with fans and competitors alike.”
In addition, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge will continue normal operations with a ten-race schedule along its traditional endurance format, featuring the Grand Sport (GT4) and Touring Car (TCR) classes.
The new VP Racing SportsCar Challenge event will have qualifying sessions in which the fastest time sets the field, a second qualifying session takes place to determine the starting grid of the second race, and there will be no pit stops during the race.
The good news for racing fans is that the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will air live on Peacock and repeat the race on USA Network. In addition, international audiences can watch the race on IMSA.TV.
