If you’re a fan of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge, or both - or have key business interests in being part of one or both - today is your lucky day.
Because the 2017 calendars and stars are aligned that there will not be any conflicts between the two championships, one which focuses primarily on endurance races (IMSA) and another that is a sprint-focused series (PWC).
The IMSA calendar release today confirmed that there’s no dates that will conflict with PWC’s 2017 provisional calendar. Long Beach, as in 2016, will be the only site where both series race.
The only possible question marks are PWC’s outstanding TBA dates, which are set at Utah Motorsports Complex in August and an event to be determined in September.
PWC already worked to avoid a Utah/VIR conflict this year and with two weeks in-between IMSA’s Road America (Aug. 6) and VIR (Aug. 27) dates, it’s believed a similar conflict could be avoided next year for a Utah PWC weekend in 2017.
September’s TBA date features the possibility that PWC will resume at Sonoma, and that Sonoma date (Sept. 15-17) does not clash with the IMSA weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca a week later.
And if you think about it, that gives teams or drivers a chance to stay in Northern California for two weeks if they so desire or the budget allows.
“It’s by design and there is a dialogue that is active between Greg Gill and myself,” IMSA President Scott Atherton told NBC Sports.
“You could argue that we’re competitors but I don’t look at it that way. It makes much more sense for us to work together especially when it comes to organizing calendars. If you had the option to not conflict, why wouldn’t you?
“There are teams, there’s manufacturers, there’s drivers that want the option to go both. I think at least for ’17 we’re in a good position that way.”
Added Gill, WC Vision President/CEO, “In terms of communicating, it’s my biggest goal. It’s good for us and it’s good for our customers.”
Here’s the WeatherTech Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series calendars:
| 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule |
|---|
| Date Event (Duration) / Venue Classes / Duration |
| Jan. 26-29 Rolex 24 At Daytona P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida 24 Hours |
| March 15-18 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Florida 12 Hours |
| April 7-8 BUBBA burger SportsCar Grand Prix at Long Beach P/GTLM/GTD |
| Long Beach, California 100 Minutes |
| May 5-7 Circuit of The Americas P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Austin, Texas 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| June 2-3 Chevrolet Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix P/PC/GTD |
| Belle Isle Park – Detroit, Michigan 100 Minutes |
| June 30-July 2 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York 6 Hours |
| July 7-9 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| July 21-22 IMSA WeatherTech Northeast Grand Prix GTLM/GTD |
| Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, Connecticut 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| Aug. 4-6 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| Aug. 25-27 Michelin GT Challenge GTLM/GTD |
| VIRginia International Raceway – Danville, Virginia 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| Sept. 22-24 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda P/GTLM/GTD |
| Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California 2 Hours, 40 Minutes |
| Oct. 5-7 Petit Le Mans P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia 10 Hours |
| IMSA WeatherTech Championship Sanctioned Test Sessions |
| Date Venue Classes |
| Nov. 15-16, 2016 Daytona International Speedway P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Dec. 13-14, 2016 Daytona International Speedway P/GTLM/GTD |
| Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Jan. 6-8, 2017 Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Feb. 23-24, 2017 Sebring International Raceway P/PC/GTLM/GTD |
| Sebring, Florida |
--
2017 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Schedule
Date Venue / Location Duration
Jan. 27 Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida 4 Hours
March 17 Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Florida 2 Hours
May 6 Circuit of The Americas – Austin, Texas 2 Hours
July 1 Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York 2 Hours
July 8 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada 2 Hours
July 22 Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, Connecticut 2 Hours
Aug. 4-6 Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 2 Hours
Aug. 26 VIRginia International Raceway – Danville, Virginia 2 Hours
Sept. 23 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California 4 Hours*
Oct. 6 Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia 2 Hours
* – Subject to final confirmation
--
2017 Provisional Pirelli World Challenge Schedule
Date Track
March 10-12 Streets of St. Petersburg
April 7-9 Streets of Long Beach
April 28-30 Virginia International Raceway
May 19-21 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
May 26-27 Lime Rock Park
June 23-25 Road America
July 28-30 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August TBA
Sept. 1-3 Circuit of the Americas (COTA)
September TBA
Oct. 13-15 SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge -
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Combined IMSA/ PWC dates
Date Event (Duration) / Venue Classes / Duration (Series)
Jan. 26-29 Daytona P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
March 10-12 Streets of St. Petersburg (PWC)
March 15-18 Sebring P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
April 7-8 Long Beach P/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
April 7-9 Streets of Long Beach (PWC)
April 28-30 Virginia International Raceway (PWC)
May 5-7 Circuit of The Americas P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
May 19-21 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (PWC)
May 26-27 Lime Rock Park (PWC)
June 2-3 Detroit P/PC/GTD (IMSA)
June 23-25 Road America (PWC)
June 30-July 2 Watkins Glen P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
July 7-9 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
July 21-22 Lime Rock GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
July 28-30 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (PWC)
Aug. 4-6 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
August TBA (PWC)
Aug. 25-27 Virginia International Raceway GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
Sept. 1-3 Circuit of the Americas (COTA) (PWC)
September TBA (PWC)
Sept. 22-24 Monterey P/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
Oct. 5-7 Petit Le Mans P/PC/GTLM/GTD (IMSA)
Oct. 13-15 SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge -
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (PWC)