RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesSports car fans in general and Road America fans specifically have been asking for years for an endurance race .
It’s finally upon us.
The IMSA WeatherTech Series Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 2, capping a four-day weekend that begins with testing for support divisions on Thursday.
Road America’s IMSA weekend has grown to rival IndyCar as the most popular event at the track outside Elkhart Lake. This year, with the extended length, the sports cars could surpass the single-seaters.
If you want to go to the event – or watch it on TV – here are some important tips for newcomers and updates for veterans:
More: Road America hints IMSA sports car racing after dark could come soon
What and where is Road America ?
Road America, one of the premier road courses in the world, winds through more than 640 acres in rural Sheboygan County. The main entrance is off Highway 67, less than 5 miles north of downtown Plymouth and 3 miles southeast of Elkhart Lake, although fans are advised to consider alternate entrances on race morning to alleviate traffic.
The racetrack was designed to be 4 miles, although various sanctioning bodies have measured it at fractions over that. That doesn’t really matter on IMSA weekend as races are timed events.
What is IMSA ?
A sports car series owned by NASCAR, IMSA has 11 weekends throughout the year, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race the last weekend of January.
Its main division is the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will feature 54 cars in four divisions on the track together with a mix of professional and amateur drivers.
GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) is the top class, with entries from Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche powered by diverse internal combustion engines with a common energy-harvesting hybrid system. LMP2 also features swoopy prototypes, while cars in the GTD and GTD Pro classes resemble their street-going counterparts.
How much do tickets cost for IMSA at Road America?
Admission is $45 Thursday, $55 Friday, $90 Saturday, $95 Sunday or $195 for the weekend. Those 16 and under get in free with a paid adult admission. Tickets are available at the gate or in advance at roadamerica.com
Can fans bring food or drinks into Road America?
Carry-in food and beverages are permitted. Concession stands offer a wide variety of choices, as well.
Where’s the best place to watch a race at Road America?
There is no right place or right way to watch races at Road America. Part of the beauty of going there is the ability for fans to roam the sprawling facility, and the longer race will provide more opportunity to do so.
Traditionally, the most popular spectator areas have included Turn 5, a 90-degree left at the bottom of a long hill, as well as Fireman’s Hill looking down upon it, and Canada Corner (Turn 12). Recently more areas have been opened up at the Carousel (Turn 9-10), a long right-hand sweeper, and the Kink, the high-speed right that follows it.
Shuttles run from place to place around the grounds from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What are weekend schedule highlights IMSA at Road America?
Thursday: Practice for Porsche Carrera Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Michelin Challenge are on track for sessions beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Friday: First WeatherTech Series practice at 11:25 a.m. Porsche Carrera Cup races at 10:25 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Lamborghini Super Trofeo races at 3:45 p.m.
Saturday: Michelin Pilot Challenge race starts at 12:50. WeatherTech practices at 10:05 p.m., and qualifying begins at 3:25. Porsche Carrera Cup races at 8:50 .m. and Lamborghini at 5 p.m.
Sunday: The open grid fan walk begins at 9:20 a.m., and the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at 10:40 a.m.
How long is an IMSA race at Road America?
The race is scheduled to start at 10:40 a.m. and end at the conclusion of the first lap after 4:40 p.m., regardless of how much distance has been covered. Before this event, Road America’s IMSA races had been 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Extrapolating from recent years and depending on caution flags , a six-hour race at Road America is likely to cover somewhere in the range of 135 to 180 laps, or 540 to 720 miles.
Has Road America hosted major endurance races before?
The Road America 500 was a staple at the track in the SCCA, United States Road Racing Championship and IMSA Camel GT races from the late 1950s through the ’80s. Since then, Grand Am ran 500-mile races in 2000 and 2001, and there had been a handful of four-hour races.
Is IMSA action from Road America on TV or streaming ?
The Motul Sports Car Endurance Grand Prix will be carried on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, as will both qualifying and the Michelin Pilot Challenge race on Saturday.
Sessions for other support series are on IMSA TV, YouTube and Peacock. Check the IMSA website for details .
Cars and drivers to watch at Road America
The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac has a string of eight straight GTP podiums, and drivers Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber have paired to win the past two races. Frederik Vesti will join them for the endurance race.
BMW finished 1-2 in GTP a year ago , but the program was then run by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rather than Team WRT . Dries Vanthoor , who shared the No. 24 car that won in 2025 , sits eight in the standings with co-driver Sheldon Van Der Linde .
Laurin Heinrich , a winner at Daytona and Sebring with the Penske Porsche team and at Laguna Seca with JDC-Miller MotorSports, sits second in the drivers’ standings. This weekend he’ll share the No. 5 JDC-Miller customer Porsche with Tijmen van der Helm (with whom he won Laguna) and Kaylen Frederick . Meanwhile, Penske Porsche will stick with a two-driver lineup for Road America with Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer .
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