Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built sports prototypes which are the highest level in sports car racing or grand tourers based on road-going models and therefore, in general, not as fast as sports prototypes. Sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing, alongside open-wheel racing, touring car racing and stock car racing. Sports car races are often, though not always, endurance races that are run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time, resulting in a larger emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers as opposed to outright car performance or driver skills. The FIA World Endurance Championship is an example of one of the best known sports car racing series.
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a multi-track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers east of Toronto. The facility features a 3.957 km (2.459 mi), 10-turn road course; a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) advance driver and race driver training facility with a 0.402 km (0.250 mi) skid pad and a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) kart track. The name "Mosport", a portmanteau of Motor Sport, came from the enterprise formed to build the track.
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida.
Panoz is an American manufacturer of luxury sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz. The company has also been extensively involved in professional racing, and designs, engineers and builds its own race cars. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, the Panoz Esperante, and the Panoz Avezzano.
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.
Road Atlanta is a 2.540 mi (4.088 km) road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams. The track has 12 turns, including the famous "esses" between turns three and five; and Turn 12, a downhill, diving turn. The track is owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Road Atlanta, LLC, and is the home to the Petit Le Mans, as well as AMA motorcycle racing, and smaller events throughout the year. Michelin acquired naming rights to the facility in 2018.
Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver, who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.
Jan Heylen is a championship-winning Belgian racing driver, based out of Tampa, Florida.
The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and got the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 2001. It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating on two classes of open-cockpit sports prototypes in endurance races mostly around Europe. The series was folded after the 2003 season.
The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located on the Terrain de l'Exposition (fairgrounds) and is unusual in that it passes through Porte Duplessis, the narrow concrete gateway of the grounds at turn 3.
The 2001 Gran Turismo 3 Grand Prix of Mosport was an American Le Mans Series professional sports car race held at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada from August 17 to the 19, 2001. It is named after Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, a racing game released on July 10, 2001, a month prior to this event. It was the seventh round of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season and the 16th IMSA / Professional SportsCar Racing sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
The 2000 globemegawheels.com Grand Prix of Mosport was an American Le Mans Series professional sports car race held at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada from August 4 to the 6, 2000. It was the sixth round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series season and the 15th IMSA / Professional SportsCar Racing sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
The 1999 Grand Prix of Mosport was an American Le Mans Series professional sports car race held at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada from June 25 to the 27, 1999. The race was the third round of the inaugural American Le Mans Series season, replacing the former Professional SportsCar Racing Championship that previously held the Grand Prix beginning in 1975. The race marked the 14th IMSA / Professional SportsCar Racing sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of a merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship, which subsequently changed to IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. Rolex SA's Tudor brand was the championship's title sponsor in 2014 and 2015, and since 2016 WeatherTech has served as title sponsor.
The 2014 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance was a sports car racing event held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario on July 13, 2014. The race was the eighth round of the inaugural Tudor United SportsCar Championship, replacing the former American Le Mans Series that previously held the Grand Prix since 1999. The race marked the 29th IMSA sanctioned sports car race held at the facility. Daytona Prototypes were introduced to the race for the first time as part of the development of the United SportsCar Championship.
The 2015 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance was a professional sports car racing event held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario on July 12, 2015. The race was the seventh round of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship season and the event marked the 30th IMSA sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg, is a Russian-born Canadian race car driver who is best known for competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The 2016 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario on July 10, 2016. The race was the seventh round of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the event marked the 31st IMSA sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
Zacharie Richard Robichon is a Canadian sportscar racer, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Heart of Racing and in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Proton Competition.
