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IMSA Evaluating Mandatory GTD Pro Entry for All GTD Brands – Sportscar365

IMSA evaluating possible GTD Pro mandate for all manufacturers represented in GTD...
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Quite frankly, I think this is a bad idea with equally worse timing, given the rising costs of GT3 racing and the state of the global economy, particularly in the auto industry. As much as it pains me to say it, I have a hard time seeing OEMs being ok with committing even more time, money and resources in the long-term to race in what is ultimately a major regional championship, rather than in their own backyards where it's likely a good bit cheaper to race than in the US currently (and likely have an easier time racing their cars and drivers in other parts of the globe).

If IMSA are willing to subsidize some of the costs for Mercedes and Ferrari (and potentially Lamborghini and Aston) to run a GTD Pro team, then I could maybe see this happening. Otherwise, if it's going to happen, having it happen next season would be a little too soon imo, since we already have potentially 2 GT teams bowing out, and I could see it potentially be more depening on how the rest of the year shapes up.
 
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Yeah.. thats a really bad idea. you shouldn't be MANDATED to pony up the funds for another car just because. I think this will set a dangerous prescident in the future of the GTD class.
 
NotThePrez
sportscar365.com

IMSA Evaluating Mandatory GTD Pro Entry for All GTD Brands – Sportscar365

IMSA evaluating possible GTD Pro mandate for all manufacturers represented in GTD...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com

Quite frankly, I think this is a bad idea with equally worse timing, given the rising costs of GT3 racing and the state of the global economy, particularly in the auto industry. As much as it pains me to say it, I have a hard time seeing OEMs being ok with committing even more time, money and resources in the long-term to race in what is ultimately a major regional championship, rather than in their own backyards where it's likely a good bit cheaper to race than in the US currently (and likely have an easier time racing their cars and drivers in other parts of the globe).

If IMSA are willing to subsidize some of the costs for Mercedes and Ferrari (and potentially Lamborghini and Aston) to run a GTD Pro team, then I could maybe see this happening. Otherwise, if it's going to happen, having it happen next season would be a little too soon imo, since we already have potentially 2 GT teams bowing out, and I could see it potentially be more depening on how the rest of the year shapes up.
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I have to admit I like idea for the michelin endurance cup races (but less for the short sprint races) ._.
 
IMSA has given the #6 Porsche Penske crew a 5-minute post-race penalty due to Kevin Estre's actions at Road America. Estre has also been put on probation for the remainder of the 2026 season.

IMSA Levies Post-Race Penalties To #6 Porsche

IMSA Levies Post-Race Penalties To #6 Porsche, Estre After Road America Fracas
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com

Fully deserved imo. I know that Estre is known for his aggression, but that move on the last restart was definitely a little unnecessary. Hopefully this sends a message to rest of the grid to clean to tighten up their driving for the remainder of the season (though I do think the #31 should've at least gotten a drive-through for spinning the #7 Porsche early in the race).
 
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I’ve only just caught up and watched the race replay. It really wasn't a pretty sight.
 
23 GT3 cars have been entered into next weekends GT Challenge at VIR.

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23 Entries for Michelin GT Challenge at VIR – Sportscar365

Entry list released for GTD Pro, GTD-only race at Virginia International Raceway...
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YRB and the Car Blanche Aston Martin will swap back to the GTD Pro category, with Marco Sorensen joining Hasse-Colt in the #68 Vantage GT3. It'll also be Marco Sorensen's first time back in IMSA since racing with the #23 Valkyrie at Daytona at the start of this year.

IMSA has also published the BoP changes for VIR.

Compared to Road America, the biggest weight changes comes to the 296 Evos, which loses 21kg of weight, though they also lose 3% of Stage 1 power. The Corvette Z06s shed 11kg, putting them at 1365kg, which still makes it the 2nd-heaviest car behind the 911 GT3 Rs, and also lose power in both Stages, putting them at 95.5% & 97.2% of Stage 1 & 2 Power respectively.

The Huracan GT3 gets the biggest power increase in Stage 1, gaining just over 4% from Road America, putting it at 89.9% (why not round up to 90%?), and the Mustang GT3s will run at 99.9% of Stgae 1 (again, why not just round up to 100%) while losing just 1.6% in Stage 2. The aformetioned 911 GT3 Rs loses the most stage 1 power, going from 100% to 95.2%, though it does maintain 100% of Stage 2 power.

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There's also been some significant news in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, namely that CS Motorsport will be dropping their Cayman GT4s for 2 Aston Martins, apparently in preperation for 2027...

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CSM Switches to Aston Martin for Rest of GS Season – Sportscar365

CSM adds second entry for Houk, Ellahi for final three races; enters GT4 America for Indy...
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...as well as an announcement from a few days ago that current GS Championship leader Nate Cicero has left the MPC, and racing altogether, with immediate effect.

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GS Points Leader Cicero Stands Down From Driving – Sportscar365

Ford Racing Driver Development Team member to take leave from racing due to personal reasons...
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No significant details have been given by Cicero, other than he's leaving the sport due to personal matters. I hope all's well for him going forward. :guilty:
 
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Ford finishes 1 - 2 at VIR Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class.

Tyler Gonzales and Steve Clemons take the victory in the TCR category in their Cupra Leon
 
Livestream has started!

Edit: Holy ****, I didn't see that coming...
 
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Not even 2 minutes into the race and we've already got FCY again
 
That Corvette driver was pretty ambitious there
 
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I don't know if they wanted the Lamborghini to win that one or if they just underestimated it, but last year's lap times were faster for the other manufacturers, close to the #9 Temerario if not faster.
 
suomi1
I don't know if they wanted the Lamborghini to win that one or if they just underestimated it, but last year's lap times were faster for the other manufacturers, close to the #9 Temerario if not faster.
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It's interesting, isn't it? Someone posted a race-pace analysis on the IMSA subreddit, and the Temerario was 1 of 2 cars, the other being the GTD THOR Aston, to post a best lap in the 1:46s. Caldarelli, along with Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Corvette, maintained an average lap time roughly .5 seconds faster than nearly every other driver today.

BoP could very well be a factor, but it's really something to see how quickly the Temerario has come into its own. I think the car is starting to really show it's potential pace, now it just needs to be consistent with it.

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So, the championships in the GT classes has gotten a good bit more interesting. With 2 back-to-back wins to their name, Pfaff Motorsports now sits 3rd in the GTD Pro Teams Championshp, only 56 points behind the Paul Miller Racing BMW. The Top 5 in GTD Pro are all within a sub 70-point gap of one another, with the #4 Corvette, AO Racing and the #65 Mustang also being in the mix.

In GTD, Winward Racing and Turner Motorsport have both jumped over The Heart of Racing in the standings, with each team now sitting 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the points, respectivley. There's less than 60 points between the Top-3, with the #12 Vasser Lexus in 4th, 100 points down from the THOR Aston.

Personally, as unlikely as it is, I'd love to see Pfaff somehow steal the GTD Pro championship over the course of the next 2 races. It would be an excellent send-off to their program, and it'd be espescially impressive for them to do it in an all-new car. In GTD, while I'm still rooting for the THOR team, Turner has been having a great year so far, and I'd love to see them claw their way to GTD honors this season.
 
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-Fred-
IMSA has to be the least efficient series when it comes to clearing a FCY... 25+ minutes to pick up a single car is ridiculous.
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Funny you put this... I went and did a couple of chores and came back and thought, "Well for ****s sake, it's still yellow"!! :lol::lol:
 
"Investigating Technology" meaning "we're just going to quietly look at other series and see how they do things."
 
44 Cars have been entered for Indianapolis.

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44 Entries for Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis – Sportscar365

Entry list released for penultimate round of WeatherTech Championship season...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com

Outside of the aforementioned promotions of Muller and Heinrich to the #5 & #6 Penske 963s respectively, it seems Intersport will also be absent from the LMP2 class this round. Considering that the team was absent from the Mosport Sprint, and the heavy crash they suffered early in the Road America Endurance race, I'm worried that this may be another case of a team potentially being put out of competition due to rising costs.

IMSA also released the BoP changes for the Indy sprint.

Both specs of the 963 have...gained weight again, for some reason. Both the '25 and '26 963s have gained an additional 4 kilos of weight, putting them at 1066kg and 1070kg, respectively. At the same time, the '26 Porsche gains a little over 1.5% of Stage 1 Power from Road America, giving it a very slight power advantage over the Cadillacs. BMW gains a little bit of Stage 2 power, while still keeping 100% of Stage 1 power.

In the GTD Classes, the Vantage gains a whopping 20kg of weight, but that still makes them the lightest GT3 car on the field at 1311kg. The Corvette and Temerario also get big weight gains, acquiring and additional 18kg and 14kg, respecitvley. The Temerario also loses 5% of Stage 1 power, gains 3.2% of Stage 2 power, and also loses a big chunk of stint energy and refuel rate. For the Corvettes, they're back to having 100% of Stage 2 Power, but at 1383kg, they're also back to being only 1kg lighter than the 911 GT3 Evo, which is still the heaviest car in the GT classes. In terms of big changes, the Lexus also gains 3.3% of Stage 2 power.
 
Meyer Shank Racing will pause its involvement in IMSA all-together after this season to focus on Indycar.

www.dailysportscar.com

Meyer Shank Racing Pauses IMSA Programme For 2027

Meyer Shank Racing Pauses IMSA Programme For 2027 | Second hiatus for MSR in four years, following the pause of the Acura GTP programme earlier this year
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com

If there's any consolation, pretty much everyone involved in their IMSA program will be retained to work on the Indycar team.
 
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