This weekend, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) returns to Daytona International Speedway to kick off the 2024 season with the Roar Before the Rolex 24. Click here to see the entry list.
The new year will see the return of the four-class field in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the LMP3 class returning to exclusively run in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (formerly the Prototype Challenge) racing with the GS class.
The series will also see the return of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the GTD Pro class with two cars by Ford Multimatic Motorsports. The No. 64 Mustang drivers will be Harry Tincknell, Mike Rockenfeller, and Christopher Mies, while the No. 65 Mustang will have Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller, and Frederic Vervisch. This will be the first time since 2019 that Ford will race in the GTD Pro (formerly GTLM). From 2016-19, where the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing cars won 13 races.
Speaking of Mustangs, Ford launched the Mustang Challenge for the 2024 season. The Mustang Challenge will race all Mustang Dark Horse cars. The series is similar to what you see in the Mazda MX-5 Cup, Porsche Carrera Cup North American, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and the Ferrari Challenge.
One notable team that will not compete in the 2024 season is Meyer Shank Racing in the GTP class as they are focusing on their IndyCar program but they intend to return to IMSA soon.
While Meyer Shank Racing is sitting out for 2024, a new team will emerge for the 2024 season’s GTP class and that is the Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s SC63. The new team will not take part in the Rolex 24 Daytona but will make their debut in Sebring in March. The drivers will be Andrea Caldarelli, Romain Grosjean and Matteo Cairoli. Instead, those guys will race for Iron Lynx in the GTD Pro class teaming up with Claudio Schiavoni in the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
The competition this season should be excellent with great hard nose racing from the four classes. Seeing the Mustang and the Corvette race each other will be something to watch this season in addition to Ferrari, BMW, Lexus, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Mercedes.
In addition, the other IMSA series like the Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will also have some great races this season and I can’t wait for the season to get started.
What are you looking forward to in the 2024 IMSA season? Leave a comment below.
