If you love IMSA and want to have the biggest IMSA news (and my thoughts on it) from the past week sent to you in an easy to read 5 min email then this is the newsletter for you!
🏁 The Championships are Getting Intense! | Road America IMSA Race Preview
|
Hi IMSA fans! Wow, the summer sure is flying by! It’s the start of August, and with that, it means we’re in Road America for round 8 of the IMSA season! There won’t be a State of the Sport announcement this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of news to keep up with! New Entries on the Grid!🏎️ Why it matters: It’s always nice to see some additional entried brought onto the grid to give us something to talk about and there are a couple of new ones this weekend! Conquest Racing will bring an additional entry to the GTD PRO field, featuring Daniel Serra and Giacomo Altoe behind the wheel of the number 35 Ferrari 296 GT3. The team also competed in the GTD Pro class earlier this year at Detroit, which did not feature the GTD class they usually compete in. They will continue competing with their normal #34 entry in the GTD class, marking the first time they are running two entries on the same weekend in IMSA. Additionally, after initially planning to join the grid at CTMP, JDC Miller Motorsports is adding an LMP2 entry this weekend. This comes in addition to their entry in the GTP class and will see Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews compete in an Oreca. It is not known if they plan to compete in any of the remaining rounds. Support Off in the Esses on Patreon to help me get to more races and keep creating quality independent IMSA content!
Mercedes Give Update on their New GT3 Car!✍️ Davey Euwema/Sportscar365 🔗 Full Article 👉https://sportscar365.com/lemans/asian-lms/new-mercedes-amg-subsidiary-to-develop-gt3-successor/ 🏎️ Why it matters: More details have emerged about the new Mercedes GT3 car! Mercedes Head of Motorsport Christoph Sagemueller said that the car which is expected to make a debut in 2026 will be based on the latest generation of the two-door Mercedes-AMG GT road car line. We’ve been waiting a little while for some more information to emerge about this car and we finally have it! Although a 2025 debut has been ruled out I would not be surprised to see images emerging of this car testing early next year! Championship Battles are Heating Up!🏎️ Why it matters: I think this is my favorite time of the IMSA season. The summer is in full swing, we have races on regularly every few weeks and the championship contenders are being decided! As of me writing this, we have one championship that, in my eyes, is virtually wrapped up. Winward Racing has a 340-point lead in the championship… the only way it could be made interesting is if they qualify and finish last while Turner Motorsports sits on pole and wins. That would result in a 209-point swing and Winward would still have a 131-point lead with 3 races to go. So setting the GTD battle aside, we still have three intriguing battles heating up. In GTP, we already have teams saying that they have nothing to lose and are only going for wins from here on out (Filipe Albuquerque said this in a Sportscar365 article). Currently, it’s shaping up to be a 3-horse race with the two Penske Porsches and the 01 Cadillac. Could another car jump into contention? Sure they could! It’s probably going to take them winning 2 of the final three races if they want to have a shot! LMP2 is the closest battle with the top 2 separated by 12 points. Honestly, I feel like this class needs an additional race on their calendar but that’s a discussion for another day. This class has been close all season with 3 different winners in 4 races. I think we likely see a new winner this weekend and that will only make the championship battle even better! Rexy (Roxy this weekend) leads the standings by 98 points in GTD PRO. I think this championship is far from over though. The GTD PRO class is so tough to win in and Rexy has managed to have a fantastic first half of the season. The Heart of Racing has been heating up lately and you can never rule out Vasser Sullivan. This championship will be decided in the final race and with 4 races left you could make a reasonable argument for anyone in the top 4 to win the championship! I go more in-depth into the championship battles in the video below! Road America MeetupIf you're going to be at the track on Sunday then stop by and say hi while we watch some of the Mustang Challenge race! The meetup will take place on the hill on the outside of turn 5 by the Corvette bridge! I should be easy to spot wearing a bright orange PFAFF jersey! Hope to see you there! Final LapI want to hear about what you want in this newsletter! Are there any big pieces of news you'd like to hear more about? Or maybe you have questions about something that happened in a recent race! Hit reply and let me know!Thanks, Stu Stu |
The Esses
If you love IMSA and want to have the biggest IMSA news (and my thoughts on it) from the past week sent to you in an easy to read 5 min email then this is the newsletter for you!
Hi IMSA fans! The Rolex 24 is finally here and after an offseason filled with news it’s time to settle in for another season! With it being the season opening race there is a lot to catch up on. Here are the biggest things you need to know heading into the race! Rolex 24 Preview! The 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona always brings excitement, and this year's running certainly won't disappoint. The grid is packed with 61 entries, including record numbers in GTP and GTD PRO. With such competitive...
Hi IMSA fans! Yes, yes I know I missed last weeks newsletter and am a little late with this one! Sometimes work/life just happens! It’s not the first and I’m sure it won’t be the last time! With that said though we have certainly had some interesting announcements/news to talk about in this one! Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing to Part Ways ✍️ Marshall Pruett/RACER 🔗 Full Article 👉 https://racer.com/2024/03/11/chip-ganassi-racing-cadillac-to-part-ways-at-seasons-end/ 🏎️ Why it matters: In a...
Hi IMSA fans! Was IMSA's penalty not harsh enough or just right? A couple of week after the penalties were handed out it seems the masses have concluded that it wasn't enough, what do you think? In other news the 12 Hours of Sebring is right around the corner and there is plenty to talk about in the leadup to the race! BMW and Ferrari Given Penalties After Rolex 24! ✍️ Davey Euwema/Sportscar365 🔗 Full Article 👉...