![Gtp sports cars](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Gtp_sports_cars.jpg)
IMSA GT was a
sports car racing
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. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
series organized by
International Motor Sports Association
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 direc ...
. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.
History
The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and
Bill France, Sr.
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992), also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill, was an American businessman and racing driver. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock ca ...
Racing began in 1971, and was originally aimed at two of
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
's stock car categories, running two classes each; the
GT (
Groups 3 and
4) and
touring (
Group 1 Group 1 may refer to:
* Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal
* Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N
* Group On ...
and
2) classes. The first race was held at
Virginia International Raceway
Virginia International Raceway (commonly known as "VIR") is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the Dan ...
; it was an unexpected success, with both the drivers and the handful of spectators who attended.
For the following year, John Bishop brought in sponsor
R. J. Reynolds
Richard Joshua Reynolds (July 20, 1850 – July 29, 1918) was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
The son of a tobacco farmer, he worked for his father and attended Emory & Henry College from 1868 to 1870 ...
, and in 1975 introduced a new category: All American Grand Touring (AAGT). In 1977, the series went through a series of major changes. IMSA permitted
turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
cars to compete for the first time, as well as introducing a new category: GTX, based on
Group 5 Group 5 may refer to:
*Group 5 element, chemical element classification
*Group 5 (racing)
Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defi ...
rules. In 1981, after Bishop decided to not follow FIA's newly introduced
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
rules, he introduced the GTP class for
sports prototype
A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest-level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are n ...
s. In 1989, Bishop sold off his organization. After a period of decline in the early 1990s, the Sports Racer Prototype category was introduced in 1993 to replace the top IMSA GTP category in 1994. In deference to the series deviating from the FIA's naming of the class to Sports Racers and Le Mans Prototypes by the French
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (English: Automobile Club of the West), sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organ ...
(ACO) in Europe for their then separate series, the new class was designated IMSA World Sports Car.
After a period of multiple ownerships, the organization, by then owned by
Don Panoz
Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded various pharmaceutical companies.
Early life
Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States f ...
, was eventually renamed Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). In 1999, PSCR decided to affiliate with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and adopt the sanctioning body's rule book, renaming the series the
American Le Mans 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.
The American Le Mans' hea ...
. Despite having various official names, the GT series was known commonly as the "IMSA series", as it was the sanctioning body. For legal reasons, both the 1999-2013 ALMS and the current
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
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 (IMS ...
are regarded as a continuation of the original IMSA GT Championship.
Initial divisions
![IMSAGTO1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/IMSAGTO1987.JPG)
The 1971 season was the first racing season, and lasted six races. The early years of the series featured GT cars, similar to the European
Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to:
* Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification
* Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962
* Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...
and
Group 4 Group 4 may refer to:
*Group 4 element, chemical element classification
* Group 4 (racing), classification for cars in auto racing and rallying
*G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, a prominent British security company
*IB Group 4 subjects, subject gro ...
classes, divided into four groups:
*GTO - Grand touring-type cars with engines of 2.5L displacement or more,
the letter ''O'' meaning "over 2.5L". The GTO class was dominated by Corvettes, then by Shelby Mustangs, and then various factory teams consisting of
Cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
s,
280zxs,
Celicas and finally,
300ZXs.
*GTU - Grand touring-type cars with engines of 2.5L displacement or less, the letter ''U'' meaning "under 2.5L". The GTU group was dominated by
Porsche 914-6 GT
The Porsche 914/6 GT was a race car built by Porsche, based on the 914 model with a 6-cylinder engine and GT package.
History
The 914/6 GT was a race configured version of the 914/6. The factory offered the GT option, which was distinguishable ...
s, and SA22
Mazda RX-7
The Mazda RX-7 is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car that was manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 until 2002 across three generations, all of which made use of a compact, lightweight Wankel rotary engine.
...
s (1978–1985) through the end of the 1980s.
*TO - Touring-type cars, such as the Chevrolet Camaro with engines of 2.5L or more displacement
*TU - Touring-type cars with engines of 2.5L or less displacement
In essence, these groups had been absorbed from the
Trans Am Series
The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).
Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includin ...
. Trans Am would quickly become a support series for IMSA GT.
History of the top series in the GT Championship
Camel GT era
The first champions were
Peter H. Gregg and
Hurley Haywood
Hurley Haywood (born May 4, 1948) is a retired American race car driver. Haywood has won multiple events, including five overall victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two at the 12 Hours of Sebring. He is cre ...
, in a
Porsche 914-6 GT
The Porsche 914/6 GT was a race car built by Porsche, based on the 914 model with a 6-cylinder engine and GT package.
History
The 914/6 GT was a race configured version of the 914/6. The factory offered the GT option, which was distinguishable ...
U. Common winners in these early years of IMSA were the
Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
The original Porsche 911 (pronounced ''nine eleven'', german: Neunelfer) is a luxury car, luxury sports car made by Porsche Aktiengesellschaft, AG of Stuttgart, Germany. A prototype of the famous, distinctive, and durable design was shown to ...
, and the
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...
.
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
became the title sponsor during the second season, with the series becoming known as the Camel GT Challenge Series. The sponsor's corporate decal had to be displayed and clearly visible on the left and right sides of all racecars, and Camel's corporate logo patch was also required to be on the Nomex driver suit's breast area, featuring
Joe Camel
Joe Camel (also called Old Joe) was an advertising mascot used by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) for their cigarette brand Camel. The character was created in 1974 for a French advertising campaign, and was redesigned for the America ...
smiling and smoking a cigarette while driving a race car.
Initially, all cars were identified with a category tag, stating which category they competed in, but from the middle of the 1975 season on, all cars within the series had to have a rectangular ''IMSA GT'' decal, which incorporated its logo on the left, followed by a large GT tag,
as well as a Joe Camel decal.
Starting fields of 30 or more competitors were not unusual during this era. One of the premiere race events was the Paul Revere 250, which started at midnight of the Fourth of July. The race was conducted entirely at night.
In 1975 a new category, All American Grand Touring (AAGT), was introduced to counteract the Porsche dominance in GTO.
[ Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series, J. A. Martin & Ken Wells, David Bull Publishing, ]
In 1981, the
Bob Sharp Racing team used a loophole in the rules to build a
Datsun 280ZX
The Nissan S130 is a sports coupé produced by Nissan in Japan from 1978 until 1983. It was sold as the Datsun 280ZX, Nissan Fairlady Z and Nissan Fairlady 280Z, depending on the market. In Japan, it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store locatio ...
inside the U.S. with a V8 engine from a
Nissan President
The is a Japanese luxury sedan that manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1965 to 2010 as a JDM luxury sedan, the flagship of Nissan's range, marketed at its ''Nissan Motor Store'' dealerships.
Initially marketed in the JDM, in the late ...
. The car was not a success, however, and it became obsolete when the new GTP category was created.
[Essential Datsun Z 240Z to 280Zx: The Cars and Their Story 1969-83, Colin Shipway, Motorbooks International, ] TU would be phased out in 1976, TO the following year.
Turbochargers were not permitted until the middle of the 1977 season. They were allowed following protests by Porsche's motorsport department, after inspecting
Al Holbert
Alvah Robert "Al" Holbert (November 11, 1946 – September 30, 1988) was an American automobile racing driver who was a five-time champion of the IMSA Camel GT series. He once held the record with the most IMSA race wins at 49.
Life and career
...
's AAGT winning
Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 through 1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width, and standard inline-four engine. The car was designed to accommoda ...
, which had won two titles. Prior to 1977, Porsche privateers struggled with obsolete 911 Carrera RSRs against the AAGT cars.
[930 to 935: The Turbo Porsches, John Starkey, Renwick & Starkey Ltd. ]
Engine sizes were determined by IMSA officials, who had devised a set of rules to determine fair competition, using a displacement versus minimum weight formula. Turbochargers were taken into account as well as rotary power, fuel injection, and many other engine features.
As a result, the new premier class known as GTX (Grand Touring Experimental, which was based on
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
's
Group 5 Group 5 may refer to:
*Group 5 element, chemical element classification
*Group 5 (racing)
Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defi ...
), brought on the absolute dominance of the
Porsche 935
The Porsche 935 was a race car developed and manufactured by German automaker Porsche. Introduced in 1976 as the factory racing version of the Porsche 930, 911 (930) Turbo and prepared for Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-Group 5 ( ...
. The 935 became the most successful car in the series. The most successful driver of the 1970s was
Peter Gregg, who won championships in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979. Twin turbos were outlawed at the end of the 1982 season after
John Paul Sr. and
John Paul Jr. dominated in a modified 935.
GT spaceframe era
In 1984, all GT cars were required to display a large square decal to identify which category the car competed in. A GTU car, for instance, would have a black ''U'' on white, and a GTO car, a white ''O'' on black. All others had standard IMSA GT decals.
One significant change to the rules during the 1980s was the 2.5 liter limit being increased to 3.0 liters, with the maximum 6.0 liter limit still in place.
3.0L cars were required to weigh , whereas 6.0L cars had to weigh no less than . In an effort to equalize the competition, two-valve turbocharged cars were required to weigh 15% more, and four-valve turbocharged cars 20% more. Electronic fuel injection became common, while
ground effects were still prohibited.
Steering, braking, transmission, and suspension were left up to the constructor. Bigger, more powerful engines were permitted under homologation rules.
The number of valves, ports, and spark plugs were not allowed to be modified from the original configuration.
The
AAR
AAR or Aar may refer to:
Geography
* Aar, a river in Switzerland, tributary of the Rhine
*Aar (Lahn), a tributary of Lahn river in Germany, descending from the Taunus mountains
* Aar (Dill), a tributary of Dill river in Germany, also in the bas ...
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
team suddenly encountered a daunting problem with the rules when, with Toyota's introduction of the new, fourth generation,
Celica for the US market, and the team's first entry into the top-flight GTO category (despite not having won a single GTU title
), the team faced the distinct possibility that they would be required to race a front-wheel-drive car, until they managed to persuade IMSA to change the rules, thereby permitting cars to race with something other than their original
drivetrain
A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
, and therefore with a redesigned chassis. To AAR's delight, IMSA did change the rules, and the car was converted to rear wheel drive.
One outstanding feature of the car was the
4T-GTE engine, from its
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is a rally held in Kenya. It was first held in 1953 as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The event was part of the World Rally Championship from 1973 until 2002, before returning in 2021. It is historically r ...
-winning,
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
predecessor, producing around .
Piloted by the likes of
Chris Cord,
Willy T. Ribbs
William Theodore Ribbs Jr. (born January 3, 1955) is a retired American race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first African-American man to have tested a Formula One car (he did so in 1986) and to compete in the Ind ...
, and
Dennis Aase
Dennis Aase (born February 23, 1944) is an American race car driver, a member of the All American Racers team. Between 1978 and 1988, he regularly placed in the top 10 of the IMSA circuit.
Racing career
1970s
Aase started his racing career ...
, the car was dominant in its class right up until the team's move to GTP. Utilizing the same engine, it became dominant once again. Other teams would follow this example, with notable cars such as the
Chevrolet Beretta
The Chevrolet Beretta is a front-wheel-drive two-door coupé produced by Chevrolet from 1987 until 1996. The Beretta was designed in the same design studio as the Camaro and the Corvette, Chevrolet Exterior Studio 3, and was built at the Wilm ...
(in the Trans-Am series) and the
Mazda MX-6
The Mazda MX-6 is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive coupé manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1987-1997 across two generations.
Mechanically identical to the Capella/626 and its hatchback platform mate, the Ford Probe, these cars shared th ...
(in IMSA GTU).
The Celica was one of just a few cars that had broken away from its production GT derivatives of the earlier years. With a full
spaceframe
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
chassis, they became serious race cars. By 1987, the category became dominated by factory teams, with testing sessions becoming common, and rules tailored to welcome them in rather than turn them away. Otherwise, the cars were required to closely resemble their showroom counterparts, though fenders could be widened, increasing the
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
up to .
There were no restrictions on body materials, as most teams favored removable, easy to repair fiberglass (meaning one of the only remaining panels from a car's production counterpart was the steel roof structure).
Another car that exploited the rules was the
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
90. With its advanced
Quattro four-wheel-drive system, the car had the potential to dominate during the 1989 season. The car performed well, but faced heavy competitions from two factory teams; the
Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
*Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
* J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...
Mercury Cougar XR7, and Clayton Cunningham Racing's
Nissan 300ZX
The Nissan 300ZX is a sports car that was produced across two different generations. As with all other versions of the Z, the 300ZX was sold within the Japanese domestic market under the name Fairlady Z.
It was sold in Japan from 1983 to 2000 a ...
, which took seven wins out of fifteen. Audi stayed away from the early season endurance classics (Daytona and Sebring), and had two cars drop out of the race in two different rounds,
thereby costing them both the manufacturer's and driver's titles,
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck
Life and career
He was born in Garmisch-Parte ...
driving.
Another manufacturer to experience a run of wins was
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
. After some success by the
Mazda RX-2
The Mazda Capella, also known as the 626 in North America and Southeast Asia, is a mid-size car that was manufactured by Mazda from 1970 until 2002. Sold in the Japanese domestic market under the Capella name, the vehicle was also commonly known ...
and
Mazda RX-3
The is an automobile which was produced by Mazda in Japan from 1971 to 1978. It was sold as the Mazda 808 in some export markets including Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and as the Mazda 818 in many others - this was mostly due to Peugeot havi ...
, the
Mazda RX-7
The Mazda RX-7 is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, rotary engine-powered sports car that was manufactured and marketed by Mazda from 1978 until 2002 across three generations, all of which made use of a compact, lightweight Wankel rotary engine.
...
won its class in the IMSA
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
race an amazing ten years in a row, starting in 1982. It also won eight IMSA GTU championships in a row from 1980 through 1987. The car went on to win more IMSA races in its class than any other model of automobile, with its one hundredth victory on September 2, 1990.
GTP era
![Eaglemk3-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Eaglemk3-01.jpg)
In 1981, purpose-built GTP cars (Grand Touring Prototypes) appeared in the championship, and were similar to the new FIA
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
cars which would be introduced to the
World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to:
* FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012
* World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985
* Endura ...
from 1982. The main difference between the two categories was that the former had no emphasis on fuel consumption which was highlighted by
Derek Bell saying "Race fans do not come to races to watch an economy run."
Brian Redman
Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver.
Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '7 ...
was the first GTP champion, driving a
Lola
Lola may refer to:
Places
* Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama
* Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States
* Lola Prefecture, Guinea
* Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture
* Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands
People
* Lola (fo ...
T600 with a Chevrolet engine.
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...
also fielded prototypes, with
Al Holbert
Alvah Robert "Al" Holbert (November 11, 1946 – September 30, 1988) was an American automobile racing driver who was a five-time champion of the IMSA Camel GT series. He once held the record with the most IMSA race wins at 49.
Life and career
...
winning the 1983 championship with a Chevrolet powered car, changing to Porsche power later in the season; and
Randy Lanier
Randy Thomas Lanier (born 1954) is a professional race car driver and convicted drug trafficker from the United States. He is best known for his racing efforts in the mid-1980s, including winning the 1984 IMSA Camel GT title for the wholly ind ...
a year later with Chevrolet power. 1984 also saw the introduction of the
Porsche 962
The Porsche 962 (also known as the 962C in its Group C form) is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the Europ ...
, which dominated the series from '85 to '87.
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
then took control of the series in 1988, but faced challenges from
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
,
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
, and
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
throughout the next three years. Toyota was quickest in 1992 and 1993, at the end of the GTP era, as
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
's
All American Racers
All American Racers is an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as ...
team campaigned the
Eagle Mk III, a car so dominant that it has been blamed for the demise of the class. Along with the GTP cars, the Camel Lights cars, a smaller capacity, non-turbocharged, lower powered prototype category was introduced in 1985.
Argo
In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...
Racing Cars was the first 'Lights' Champions, followed by
Spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
Engineering. Other well known participants were the
Tiga,
Royale,
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...
, Fabcar, and Kudzu.
Starting with the 1986 season, the GTP category had their own decal, which was similar to the IMSA GT side decal, with a ''P'' being added to denote their category. Camel Lights cars also used the same decal
There were many other manufacturers in the GTP class, such as URD Rennsport,
Spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
,
Intrepid or
Gebhardt Gebhardt is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Deborah Gebhardt, basketball coach and scientist
* Dixie Cornell Gebhardt (1866–1955), American designer of the state flag of Iowa
* Eric "Red Mouth" Gebhardt, American ...
, and in the early 1990s, Mazda.
Fall of GTP
Following a successful heart surgery in 1987, Bishop began to rethink his priorities. He was approached by Mike Cone and Jeff Parker, owners of
Tampa Race Circuit. In January 1989, Bishop and France sold the series to Cone and Parker. The new owners relocated the IMSA headquarters from
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
to
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
.
Bishop would stand down as president in favor of Mark Raffauf, who was his deputy, and its representative on the ACCUS board.
[Endurance Racing 1982-1991, Ian Briggs, Osprey Automotice, ] Cone and Parker sold it to businessman Charles Slater. Both lost millions attempting to revive the sagging TV ratings.
By 1992, there were a number of factors that led to the decline of the GTP category. Porsche concentrated on its
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
(
Porsche 2708)program when critics stated that the
Zuffenhausen
Zuffenhausen is one of three northernmost boroughs of the city of Stuttgart, capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The borough is primarily an incorporation of the formerly independent townships Zuffenhausen, Zazenhausen, Neuwirtshau ...
marque should have built a followup to its
962
Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...
.
Back in 1988, Al Holbert realized that the 962 was beginning to feel dated. He proposed a follow-up open-top Porsche powered racer which would also be sold to customer teams. That project never got off the ground due to Holbert's death in an aircraft accident later in the year.
For some, much of the blame was on the organization for allowing the Japanese "works" teams to dominate the series. Under Bishop's original vision, privateers and "works teams" were able to race equally. Privateer teams walked away, while the Japanese economy started to go downhill. These factors led Nissan and Mazda to leave the series. Critics predicted that the decreased variety of cars would disappoint race fans, and in fact, it did finally kill the series in 1993.
GTP cars ran their last race on October 2, 1993 at
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
.
The GTP category was credited for many innovations in the U.S., including
antilock brakes
An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintainin ...
,
traction control
A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
, and
active suspension An active suspension is a type of automotive suspension on a vehicle. It uses an onboard system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels relative to the chassis or vehicle body rather than the passive suspension provided by large sp ...
.
Dave Cowart and Kemper Miller's
Red Lobster
Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong ...
sponsored team of the early 1980s would innovate race team hospitality, practices which were subsequently adopted by virtually every other team.
For those that competed, GTP was recognized for its
camaraderie
The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...
among drivers, especially rivals. But
Hans Stuck
Hans Stuck (pronounced ''"shtook"''; sometimes called Hans Stuck von Villiez; 27 December 1900 – 9 February 1978) was a German motor racing driver. Both his son Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1951) and his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck b ...
, commenting in the
foreword
A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...
of the book ''"Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series"'', sarcastically compared the series' camaraderie to Formula One's lack of such.
World Sports Cars
With rising costs and factory teams walking away from the series, which meant diminishing entries and diminishing profit, IMSA introduced a new
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
category for in 1993: World Sport Car (WSC). WSC replaced GTP and Camel Lights' closed-top cars for the following year. The WSC cars were open-top, flat-bottomed sports-prototypes with production engines, as opposed to racing versions of production engines from GTP cars.
The WSC cars made their debut at the
Miami Grand Prix
The Miami Grand Prix is a Formula One Grand Prix which forms part of the 2022 Formula One World Championship, with the event taking place at the Miami International Autodrome on a ten-year contract.
History
In 2018, a proposal for the Miami Gra ...
with the sole entry of Brent O'Neill. The car finished last among the cars that were still running. After skipping the
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
, the category would compete for the remainder of the season in non-Championship rounds, with no more than four cars entering each race. In 1994 Camel was replaced by
Exxon
ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
as the title sponsor. However, as the WSC cars took over as the leading category, their reliability would be tested at the opening round at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Two cars started on the front row, with eight WSC cars competing. Two cars finished the race, with the leading WSC car finishing ninth behind GT cars. A WSC car would score its first podium finish at Sebring with a second, and third place behind a Daytona winning GTS class Nissan 300ZX. That led to a rule change for the latter category, as they would be barred from using engines that were originally for GTP cars. At the inaugural round for WSC cars at
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
, the new
Ferrari 333 SP
The Ferrari 333 SP is a sports prototype race car that was built by Italian race car manufacturer Dallara and later Michelotto to compete in the World Sports Car championship for Ferrari. Unveiled at the end of 1993, at the behest of amateur rac ...
would make its debut amongst mass media fanfare, and win its debut race. The car brand regularly achieving podium finishes every round after that,
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...
, won the manufacturer's title over
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
by four points.
In 1995, a new rival for Ferrari appeared in the
Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott Cars Inc. was an American racing constructor and racing team that primarily provided chassis for various forms of motorsport, but worked primarily in sports car racing. It was founded in 1990 by Bob Riley and Mark Scott.
History
Sp ...
Mk III. The car would make its debut at Daytona, but would retire after the eleventh lap due to engine failure. Ferrari would help the category score an overall win at the
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
, and would take the manufacturer's title. The Ferrari 333 SP and the R&S cars (Oldsmobile / Ford) were the dominant entries in the series from 1995 until the demise of IMSA at the end of 1998.
In 1996, Slater sold the organization to
Roberto Muller
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
(ex-CEO of
Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
) and
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
financier Andy Evans, who was also an IndyCar owner, and owner-driver of the
Scandia
Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia.
Jor ...
WSC team. Evans and VP of marketing Kurtis Eide were responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing.
In 1992, the long running category American Challenge stepped into the GT series. It became known as the GTO category when the former GTO category was renamed GTS (Grand Touring Supreme). The move was prompted by sponsor Exxon, who wanted the series named after its sub-brand of fuel.
In 1995, in a bid to move closer to the European
BPR Global GT Series The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR.) was a grand tourer-based sports car racing series which ran from 1994 to 1996 before becoming the FIA GT Championship in 1997. The ...
, the GT category would undergo another major reformatting. GTS became known as GTS-1, and GTU became known as GTS-2. In 1997, there was another category addition: GTS-2 became GTS-3. The new GTS-2 category was introduced to allow for the existing GT2 cars.
End of an era
Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management, Evans sold the series to PST Holdings, Inc., a group led by Raymond Smith, formerly the chief financial officer of Sports Car. Other owners included Dough Robinson and Tom Milner. In 2001
Don Panoz
Donald Panoz ( or ; February 13, 1935 – September 11, 2018) was an American entrepreneur who founded various pharmaceutical companies.
Early life
Panoz was an Italian-American. His father, Eugene Panunzio, immigrated to the United States f ...
purchased PSCR to solidify the sanction for Panoz's
American Le Mans 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.
The American Le Mans' hea ...
(ALMS) which had been sanctioned by PSCR since 1999. Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization IMSA, and it was the official sanctioning body of the American Le Mans Series, the Star Mazda series, and the
Panoz
Panoz is an American manufacturer of sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, the Panoz Esperante, and the Panoz Avezzano.
Pan ...
GT Pro series. The ALMS uses regulations based on those of the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
, but in 2005 the relationship between Panoz and the Le Mans organizers,
ACO, became problematic.
A breakaway series formed in 1998 involving the
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
, and was running under the name of the
United States Road Racing Championship
The United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover ra ...
. It was headed by a group of competitors that wanted to keep the rules within the United States. After failing by 1999, a new U.S.-based series was started with the full support of
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
family named the
Grand American Road Racing Association
Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...
, operating the headlining
Rolex Sports Car Series
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 ...
. The series struggled early on, but after the introduction of the
Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...
class, proved to be a popular competitor to the more international ALMS, attracting some pro drivers and teams, featuring large fields, and producing close competition. Much like the split from 1996 to 2008 between
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
and the
IRL
IRL may refer to:
Places
* Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code)
* Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England
Organizations
* International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league
* I ...
, critics say this split was detrimental to the sport as a whole. Grand AM and ALMS merged in 2014 under IMSA sanction and France family ownership to create the
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
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 (IMS ...
. The WeatherTech Championship is considered the official continuation.
After the series' demise, a U.S.-based
historical racing
Historic motorsport or vintage motorsport, is motorsport with vehicles limited to a particular era. Only safety precautions are modernized in these hobbyist races. A historical event can be of various types of motorsport disciplines, from road ...
organization, Historic Sportscar Racing, created a new series to put GTP and Group C cars that had been stored away back onto the track. The series was called HSR ThunderSport. Its creation sparked a similar revival series in Europe, as well as another series in the UK called Group C/GTP Racing.
Champions
See also
*''
Prototypes: The History of the IMSA GTP Series''
References
External links
IMSA History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imsa Gt Championship
International Motor Sports Association
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
Sports car racing series
Auto racing series in the United States