IMSA GTP – Down to the Wire

Aggressive racing by the Porsche Penske 963. [Jack Webster Photo]

By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

The inaugural season of GTP racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is both winding down and heating up at the same time. With six of the nine races run, the championship battle for teams, drivers and manufacturers remains wide open with the eventual winners anyone’s guess at this point.

To set the stage, 2023 marked the first season of the newly named top prototype class of IMSA racing – GTP. That very name invokes memories of the huge fields of cars, world class drivers and outstanding races that occurred from the mid 1980s through the early 1990s, the last time there was a class using the GTP moniker. IMSA and its partners have managed to put together a package of rules for this new incarnation of GTP that seems, after running six races so far this season, right on the money. This inaugural season has seen new cars from Cadillac, Acura, BMW and Porsche take part in the championship. Victories have been secured by each of the manufacturers – two for Acura and Cadillac and one each for BMW and Porsche so far.

Fans seem to have taken to this new era of GTP cars as well, as record crowds have shown up at each of the events this season. For the debut race, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, there were far more fans than we ever remember seeing at this event in the past. Sebring was packed and was literally sold out. Huge crowds were also on hand to see the races at Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and Canadian tire Motorsports Park.

The season started at Daytona, where the Acuras set the pace and finished 1-2 in the 24 Hours. That first race was not without controversy, as after the win was made official the MSR Acura team was found to have manipulated tire pressure data. Acura notified IMSA of the breach, the offending party was suspended from IMSA, the team was fined but allowed to keep their victory and their championship points. Many thought at the time (and some still do), that the penalty was too light for the infraction and felt that the second place Wayne Taylor Racing Acura should have been promoted to the victory.

At Sebring, it turned into a race for survival, as the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac pulled off a late race charge and victory as the WTR Acura crashed into a couple of the Porsche Penske cars in front of it late in the race. Round two goes to Cadillac.

At Long Beach, the #6 Porsche Penske made up for the DNF at Sebring with a solid win. Once again, the WTR Acura crashed out, once again while challenging for the lead. As a sign of just how good the GTP class was, five cars finished on the lead lap at Long Beach. BMW was second once again, following up their solid run at Sebring.

Laguna Seca saw the #01 Cadillac racing GTP taking the win over the strong #6 Porsche Penske, while the Whelen Cadillac once again ran strongly and finished third.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen saw another change to the GTP results after the race, as #6 Porsche Penske 963, which won the race on the track, failed tech inspection after the race with too much wear on the skid plate, so it was moved to the back of the GTP results. A lot of people thought this was somewhat draconian, given what the MSR Acura did at Daytona, but the rules are the rules. Since the fault was discovered immediately after the race before the results were official, the skid plate rule was enforced as written. As some of the other competitors told us after the race, they all knew the rule going in and the particular spot on the Watkins Glen track that made the cars bottom out (the entrance to the inner loop), and they adjusted their ride height and driving style to make sure they passed tech. We can see how you could go either way on this one, but in the end, Penske appealed, the appeal was denied and the race win went to BMW. It is a shame that this all happened after the podium celebrations, for it would have been nice to see the BMW squad celebrate their win.

The most recent race was held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (or Mosport to us old race fans). This one was exciting till the end and could have been anyone’s race until the #01 Cadillac crashed heavily with only a few minutes to go in the race. As such, everyone held position, the race finished under yellow and the MSR Acura chalked up their second win of the year. Once again, the Wayne Taylor Acura finished second. For the Michael Shank and his guys, it was a particularly satisfying win, as it now seemed like they could finally put the controversy of the Daytona win in the rearview mirror and move forward.

So, that’s six races down and only three to go. Next up is one of everyone’s favorite tracks, Elkhart Lake’s Road America the first weekend of August. After Road America the IMSA circus makes its first appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the inaugural IMSA GTP season winds up at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with the running of Petit Le Mans.

Currently, Cadillac leads the manufacturers championship, with BMW, Acura and Porsche all close behind and all within striking distance. Alexander Sims and Pipo Derani (also in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac) stand atop the driver’s championship. Literally all the GTP drivers are still in the title chase. In the team’s championship, Whelen Engineering is once again on top, with BMW M Team RRL right on their heels, with all the other GTP teams right behind.

It’s going to be a wild finish to a great first year of the new GTP class, and with all the new cars and teams in the works for next year and beyond, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is going to be a “must see” for race fans worldwide.

See you at the races.