Historic Sportscar Racing IMSA Classic to Debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona
IMSA’s earliest Golden Eras of sports car racing to be celebrated annually…
The earliest golden eras of IMSA’s success will now share the spotlight at each year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona as IMSA celebrates its past while continuing to write the next chapters in the history of sports car racing in North America with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Officials from IMSA and Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) announced the IMSA Classic invitational race that will annually showcase the sanctioning body’s more than 50-year history, beginning at next month’s 63rd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 23-26.
The inaugural IMSA Classic will feature cars from the first three decades of IMSA sports car racing from 1973 through 1993.
“For several years now, the rich history of the Rolex 24 has been celebrated with pre-race demonstration events, such as the 24 Minutes of Daytona and similar exhibitions, but this will be the first time an actual race featuring these great competition cars from IMSA’s past will be part of a Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend,” said John Doonan, IMSA president. “We are proud of the pioneering and current era that we have all worked tirelessly on to bring IMSA to an unprecedented level of high-tech competition and entertainment, but what better time to take a moment to remember our past than just before our longest and season-opening race? The IMSA Classic will add to the grandeur of the Rolex 24, and we are grateful to both Daytona International Speedway (DIS) and HSR for the partnership and cooperation in making this vision a reality.”
Open to a limited number of on-track competitors, invitations to apply for the inaugural HSR Classic are presently being distributed to HSR member competitors and other notable teams and entrants in the vintage and historic sports car racing arena, the organizations noted in a press release. All received applications will then be reviewed by a selection committee to determine the participants in the inaugural IMSA Classic.
“We often refer to HSR as a ‘rolling time machine’ and a ‘high-speed motorsports museum,’ and that will be perfectly personified by the IMSA Classic,” said Chris Ward, HSR president. “To be able to join IMSA in annually featuring some of the greatest racing machines from their first half-century of competition is truly an honor. We look forward to welcoming a spectacular lineup of legendary IMSA race cars to the Rolex 24 At Daytona next month.”
A three-day race event on Rolex 24 weekend, the IMSA Classic starts with an opening practice session Thursday afternoon that will be followed by qualifying Friday morning and a qualifying race early that evening.
The main event will be the 30-minute IMSA Classic feature race Saturday morning that will set the stage for the Rolex 24 as the last on-track activity prior to the twice-around-the-clock WeatherTech Championship season opener.
