Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. 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 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.
William Anthony Auberlen is an American factory race car driver known for his affiliation with BMW, driving cars made and run by the famous German marque for a number of years. Auberlen currently competes for Turner Motorsport in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge. He is the winningest driver in IMSA history.
The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship. Rolex took over as series sponsor in 2002.
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.
Grand Touring Over (GTO) is the name of a former classification designated to grand touring cars competing in sports car racing, originally by IMSA in the IMSA GT Championship, and later by Grand-Am in the Rolex Sports Car Series. IMSA used the class between 1971 and 1991, and Grand-Am used the class for a single season in 2000. The class had its origins in the original "TO" class used by the SCCA in the Trans-Am series, and was also similarly modeled to the FIA's Group 4 and Group 5 racing classes, but eventually evolved over time into its own category. The class specified an engine displacement of more than 2.5 L (150 cu in), with engine design and number of cylinders being unrestricted. turbocharging and supercharging was allowed on engines up to a size of 6.0 L (370 cu in). Engines over 6.0 L (370 cu in) were required to be naturally aspirated. The original class became known as Grand Touring Supreme (GTS) in 1992.
Grand Touring Under (GTU) is the name of a former classification designated to grand touring cars competing in sports car racing, originally used by IMSA in the IMSA GT Championship, and later by Grand-Am in the Rolex Sports Car Series. IMSA used the class between 1971 and 1994, and Grand-Am used the class for a single season in 2000. The original class rules specified an engine displacement of under 2.5 L (150 cu in), natural aspiration, and was the secondary class below the top tier class, GTO. The class later became known as GTS-2 in 1995, then GTS-3 between 1996 and 1997, and eventually evolved into the GT3 class for 1998.
Pratt Miller Engineering, also known as Pratt & Miller, is an American company involved in the automotive and arms industries. It was founded by Gary Pratt and Jim Miller in 1989. A defense division was added in 2013 and the company was acquired by Oshkosh Corporation in 2020. The company is headquartered in the unincorporated community of New Hudson, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan. They are best known as service providers for many of General Motors' motorsports programs, including the operation of the Corvette Racing team.
The 1994 Exxon World Sports Car Championship and Supreme GT Series seasons were the 24th season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was the first year for the new World Sports Car (WSC) class of open-cockpit prototypes in the premiere category, replacing the previous closed-cockpit GTP class. Grand Tourer-style racing cars were also raced and ran in the GTS, GTO, and GTU classes. It began February 5, 1994, and ended October 1, 1994, after nine rounds.
The 1992 Camel GT Championship and Exxon Supreme GT Series seasons were the 22nd season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was for GTP and Lights classes of prototypes, as well as Grand Tourer-style racing cars which ran in the GTS, GTO, and GTU classes. It began February 1, 1992, and ended October 11, 1992, after fifteen rounds.
The 1971 IMSA GT Series season was the inaugural season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was for Grand Tourer-style racing cars which ran in the GTO and GTU classes, as well as former Trans Am Series cars in the TO and TU classes. It began April 18, 1971, and ended November 21, 1971, after six rounds.
The 1982 Camel GT Championship season was the 12th season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was the first year of the GTP class, which combined the previous GTX class of Group 5 cars and prototypes. Other competitors ran in the GTO and GTU classes of Grand Tourer-style racing cars. It began January 30, 1982, and ended November 28, 1982, after nineteen rounds.
The 1981 Camel GT Championship season was the 11th season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was a series for GTX class Group 5 cars and GTO and GTU class Grand tourer cars. It began January 31, 1981, and ended November 29, 1981, after sixteen rounds.
The 1974 Camel GT Challenge season was the 4th season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. The series was for GTO and GTU class Grand tourer racing cars. It began April 21, 1974, and ended December 1, 1974, after twelve rounds. 1974 would be the first time that the series would leave the United States, with races in Canada and Mexico. It would also be the only time IMSA GT would leave northern North America. The TO and TU classes, which had been composed of former Trans Am Series cars from before the championship's debut, were dropped due to Trans Am having been "absorbed" by IMSA GT and thus becoming nigh indistinguishable from IMSA.
The 1973 Camel GT season was the 3rd season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was for Grand Tourer-style racing cars which ran in the GTO and GTU classes, as well as former Trans Am Series cars in the TO and TU classes. It began March 24, 1973, and ended November 25, 1973, after ten rounds. This year marked the decline of Trans Am and the beginning of it and IMSA GT becoming nigh indistinguishable.
The 1972 Camel GT Challenge season was the 2nd season of the IMSA GT Championship auto racing series. It was for Grand Tourer-style racing cars which ran in the GTO and GTU classes, as well as former Trans Am Series cars in the TO and TU classes. It began December 4, 1971, and ended November 19, 1972, after ten rounds.
The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is an American automobile club and sanctioning body that supports vintage racing in the United States. The organization was founded in 1981, and is regarded as the premier vintage racing organization in the U.S.
Grand Touring Endurance, shortened to GTE, was a set of regulations maintained by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and IMSA for grand tourer racing cars used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 hours of Daytona GTLM, and its associated series. The class was formerly known as simply Group GT between 1999 and 2004, and later referred to as Group GT2 between 2005 and 2010. The GT2 name has since been revived for a different set of regulations.
Grand Touring Experimental (GTX) is a former classification and set of regulations designated to grand touring cars and sports prototypes in sports car racing competing in the IMSA GT Championship, maintained by IMSA between 1977 and 1982. Some cars were based on FIA Group 5 rules; such as the Porsche 935, and some cars were based on FIA Group 6 regulations, such as the Lola T600. Like the original GTO class, the class rules specified turbocharging and supercharging was allowed on engines up to a size of 6.0 L (370 cu in); with engine design and number of cylinders being free and unrestricted. Engines over 6.0 L (370 cu in) were required to be naturally-aspirated.
GT3 is a former set of regulations used by both International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), for production-based grand touring racing, between 1998 and 1999. The rules denoted the cars must be two-wheel-drive, use a steel tube frame or unibody chassis, and have an engine displacement ranging between 2.0 L (120 cu in) and 3.8 L (230 cu in). Certain vehciles used in the SCCA World Challenge were also eligible to compete in this division. Examples of cars that competed in this division included the BMW M3, Acura NSX, Nissan 240SX, Mazda RX-7, Porsche 911 RSR, and Porsche 993. The class evolved into the then GT category for the new American Le Mans Series in 1999, while the class continued to be used in the final season of the revived United States Road Racing Championship. It is essentially an evolution and continuation of the former GTU class.
