Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your International Motor Sports Association shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the International Motor Sports Association offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of International Motor Sports Association at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a International Motor Sports Association? Wrong! If the International Motor Sports Association is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about International Motor Sports Association then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling International Motor Sports Association? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about International Motor Sports Association and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your International Motor Sports Association wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your International Motor Sports Association then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the International Motor Sports Association site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about International Motor Sports Association, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your International Motor Sports Association, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
{{Infobox sport governing body| title = IMSA| image = IMSA logo.jpg| size = 170px| caption =| category = Auto racing| year formed = 1969| year closed =| headquarters = [Braselton, Georgia 2007.| website = www.imsaracing.net-->The
International Motor Sports Association (generally referred to as
IMSA) is an [United States auto racing sanctioning body based in
Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from
William France Sr. of NASCAR.
History
The beginning
John Bishop worked for the
SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) as an executive; he wrote the technical rules for many of its series and provided artwork for many of the club's magazines. By the mid 1960's, the SCCA made the big step into professional racing rather than remain as an amateur only racing organisation which it had done since its formation in 1944. The SCCA formed two of its major professional racing series,
Can Am and
Trans Am. Tension arose between staff over the club's new direction, and, as a result, John left the SCCA to start his own organisation.http://alex62.typepad.com/imsablog/2006/01/index.html
Bishop met with NASCAR founder, Bill France, who was looking for somebody to help launch a new road racing series. Knowing that he found the right person with a bit of thought, France accepted the deal. Bishop with his wife Peggy worked hard to build his project, devised all of the initial rules and he even designed the new organization's logo. As a result, IMSA was formed in 1969.http://alex62.typepad.com/imsablog/2006/01/index.htmlTwo races for Formula Ford and one for International Sedans were organized that year at Pocono International Raceway and
Alabama International Motor Speedway.
New ownership
After Bishop and France sold the series in 1989 to Mike Cone, who relocated the IMSA headquarters from Connecticut to Tampa Bay, it had a checkered 1990s with multiple ownerships and a name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). Cone lacked dedication and full-time commitment and in turn sold it to businessman Charles Slater. Both lost millions in half-hearted attempts to revive the sagging TV ratings. In 1996 Slater sold the organization to Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok) and Wall Street financier Andy Evans, who also was an IndyCar owner and owner/driver of the Scandia WSC team. Evans and VP of Marketing Kurtis Eide were responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR).
Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management Evans sold the series to Don Panoz in 2001, to solidify the sanction for Panoz's American Le Mans Series which had been sanctioned by PSCR since 1999. Don Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization back to IMSA and is now the official sanctioning body of the ALMS, as well as the Star Mazda series and the Panoz GT Pro series. The ALMS uses regulations based on those of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but in 2005 the relationship between Panoz and the Le Mans organizers, Automobile Club de l'Ouest, has become problematic.
A breakaway series formed by the USRRC in 1998 involving the Sports Car Club of America and headed by a group of competitors wanting to keep rules within the United States initially failed. A second attempt with full support of NASCAR's France family and other motorsports notables known as
Grand American Road Racing Association began in 1999. Grand-Am struggled early on, but has proven to be a formidable competitor to the ALMS in recent years with name drivers, considerably larger fields and much closer competition. Much like the split between Champ Car and the
Indy Racing League this split has been detrimental to the sport as a whole. Attendance, sponsorships and media coverage have dropped dramatically since the split in 1998.
The ALMS and the ACO have disagreed on several point since the inception of their relationship which have caused lower than expected number of entries on the grid. This has forced the ALMS to make decisions that are contrary to ACO rules to boost field size and fan interest by allowing cars to campaign the 2005 season that do not conform to ACO rules. However, the announcement of Porsche's return to Le Mans style prototypes and several new chassis becoming available for 2006, there is optimism that the ALMS will rebound.
The series
These are the series that are run by the IMSA organisation
Current series
American Le Mans Series
The
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was launched in
1999 by Dr. Don Panoz as a replacement for the dwindling
IMSA GT Championship. With keystone races such as the
12 Hours of Sebring and
Petit Le Mans, the series serves as qualifier for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) who runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans has given their full backing of the American Le Mans Series, which currently runs two classes of
Le Mans Prototypes and two classes of Grand Touring cars.
IMSA Lites
IMSA Lites is a series for single seater sportscars sponsored by
Hankook Tire. There are three categories within the series, in each category. Onward from 2007, all cars raced are identically to each other with identical engines of each class. The main category,
Lite 1 uses an
Elan Motorsports Technologies DP02, http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites1%20Tech%20Regs%20_attachment%201_.pdf
Lites 2 consists of
West Racing WR1000, powered by a
Kawasaki ZX-10R enginehttp://www.westracecars.com/index.cfm?template=catalog&form_product=654 http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites2%20Tech%20Regs%20_attachment%202_.pdf and
Lites 3 consists of
SCCA Sports Racer specification car powered by a Mazda MP2 engine. http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites%203%20Tech%20Regs%20(attachment%203).pdf
Formula BMW USA
The
Formula BMW USA series is one the North American version of the open-wheel series supported by
BMW. All running identical chassis powered by BMW motorcycle engines, the series serves as stepping stone for formula car drivers moving into higher international series. A world championship of all Formula BMW series is run at the end of the year, taking the top drivers from Formula BMW USA and the other similar series elsewhere in the world.
GT3 Cup
The
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge is a one make series dedicated to the Porsche 911 GT3 and is similar to the
Porsche Supercup. The series is more cost effective then the Supercup in that drivers are allowed to race either newer
Porsche 997-generation 911s or older
Porsche 996s in a different class.
Star Mazda Championship
The
Star Mazda Championship is a
Mazda supported open-wheel road racing support series that serves to help drivers escalate through the ranks of American open-wheel racing. All teams run identical chassis with Mazda Wankel engine out of a Mazda RX-8.
Panoz Racing Series
Originally began as
Women's Global GT Series, formed by Lyn St. James in 1999, the series began as a support race to ALMS for women racers, using the race modified version of the
Panoz Esperante series of cars.http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/amati/biography.html The series was an invitational affair with forty one drivers are selected out of four hundred applicants to participate in the Women’s Global GT Series.http://sumagazine.syr.edu/summer01/features/sportinglife/sportingpg2.html The grid would usually consists of experienced racers such as former Formula One drivers, Giovanna Amati and Divina Galica, NASCAR's Shawna Robinson, and Italian Audi factory team
touring car racing driver
Tamara Vidali against talented amateur drivers from varying degrees of professions, such as radio personality, police officer, law student, and racing simulations art designer for
Microsoft.http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/amati/biography.html
One of its most notable drivers to graduate from the Women series is
Milka Duno, who currently competes, as of the 2007 season, in Indy Racing League.
The series would run for another year before the rules was changed to allow male drivers to compete, therefore it became the
Panoz Racing Series. In 2004, the series would be split into a two-season series, a Winter and Summer GT series which would consist of races held over three rounds followed by finale round at a major ALMS race. The Summer Series finale would take place at the
Petit Le Mans. The Winter Series would follow after that race concluding at the
12 Hours of Sebring
Defunct series
IMSA IS
The
International Sedan series was ran between 1971 to 1993http://members.aol.com/autoracg/
IMSA GT
IMSA RS
The
IMSA RS (abbreviated as Racing Stock or Radial Sedan) began as the
Baby Grand Series, which was originally sponsored by B.F. Goodrich (therefore known as
Goodrich Radial Challenge), in 1971 to attract racers who did not have the budgets that was required in the GT category as well as an emphasis on "compact sedans" such as the
AMC Gremlin. Limited preparation was permitted, and since the entrants were meant to be street-driven race cars, the rules required the retention of headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, stock brakes and original springs and radial tires. Only the exhaust systems and shock absorbers were free and like its GT counterpart, engine size, otherwise the series itself was based on rival
Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am's
Two-Five Challenge rule. http://www.bsedan.com/hist25.html http://www.grmotorsports.com/news/012005/potent-pintos-these-drivers-have-no-worries-about-being-hit-from-behind.php The series, which would later be known as
Champion Spark Plug Challenge, became dominated by a mostly by Mazda's Mazda Wankel engine
Mazda RX-2 and
Mazda RX-3 as IMSA specified heavier weights than piston-engined cars and prohibited any modifications to the rotors. http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=mazdaSpeedMotorsportsRacingHeritageCommon§ionParameter=heritage01 The Datsun also had a fair share of fun within the series with cars such as the
Datsun 510 and Nissan 200SX. Many drivers also sut their teeth into the series such as Don Devendorf, of Electramotive fame, Jim Downing, of Kudzu and Bobby Rahal. The final season was run in 1984 before it was replaced by the newly reformatted series for the following year, whilst retaining its sponsor until 1988.http://www.pbase.com/mwphoto/87mors Nowadays, there are revival races run for this category.
American Challenge
The
American Challenge or known in full as
Kelly American Challenge, otherwise abbreviated as
AAC was a category for US built cars and throughout the series, it has always been run as a support race to the premier GT series. Starting in 1977, the series ran until 1989. http://members.aol.com/autoracg/ In 1992, all this was rewarded, when the premier GTO category was renamed to GTS due to sponsor reasons, rather than leaving the GTO category redundant, the title was reallocated to the former American Challenge cars, as a result, they would be run alongside GTS cars. This series started the careers of Irv Hoerr, Kenny Irwin, Jr,
Patty Moise,
Clay Young,
Lyn St. James and Paul Gentilozzi. http://www.wspr-racing.com/wspr/results/imsa/nf_imsa_home.html WSPR-Racing.com
IMSA Renault Cup
The
Renault Cup is an one-make racing series that ran between 1982 to 1985. The series began with the Renault 5 which the series went on for another until the car's discontinuation in the US. The series went on for the remainder of the three seasons with the Renault Encore. http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/6402/mrrh.htm http://www.michronicleonline.com/articlelive/articles/352/1/Charles-Downes-still-fast-and-furious-at-60/Page1.html
IMSA Showroom Stock
In 1985, IMSA would undergo a major rules reformat while still retaining its sponsor, therefore it was still known as its
Champion (spark plug) moniker. This time, the series was more restricted to current models that is being available in dealerships throughout the US, other than that, the series had rules and race format that were similar to the RS series, being an endurance series. At the end of the 1987 season, Champion stepped down as sponsor and was replaced by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, therefore, the series was renamed
IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship or commonly known as
Firehawk Series, after the brand of Firehawk performance tires.
Total prize purses, year-end point funds and manufacturer contingency awards in 1991 amount up to $1 million. As required by the sponsor, all cars are required to use its own Firehawk SZ or Firehawk SV tires which can be shaved to racing depth or the all season Firehawk GTX, Robert Bosch GmbH and
Kendall Oil are also associate sponsors. Most of the drivers that compete in the series are amateurs or semi professional, with a few made their living out of competing in the series, Dorsey Schroeder and John Andretti are one of the few drivers that cut their teeth in the series.Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5 Meetings usually attracts over ninety entries and are often televised and duration of the race varies from one 2 hour and a helf event to one 24 hour race. The series would solder on until 1998, by then known as
Speedvision Cup.
There are three classes, sorted in order from the highest
- Grand Sport Class
- Sport Class
- Touring Class,
IMSA Bridgestone Supercar Championship
IMSA also hosted the
Bridgestone Supercar Championship, sponsored by the sister brand of Firestone, Bridgestone, which was for medium to higher end sports cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette,
Porsche 911 Turbo,
Nissan 300ZX or Lotus Esprit and was run between 1991 up until 1995. Usually a support race to the GT races, running at 30 minutes which were televised, the series attracted some of the well known professional drivers such as Hans Joachim Stuck, Hurley Haywood,
Elliot Forbes-Robinson and Paul Newman. http://www.wspr-racing.com/wspr/results/imsa/nf_imsa_home.htmlwith a total prize fund of $555,555 for the 1992 season. All cars had to run on roadgoing Bridgestone Potenza RE71 tires which are trimmed to semi-racing depth and during a wet race, cars race on full depth.Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5
The series was not without controversy, mainly for the all composite
Consulier GTP as it was bordering on the showroom stock ethos as well as being criticised for having little common with cars that the general public see on public road. Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5The GTP, debuted with just four silver Consulier Series II GTP at
Lime Rock in 1991, despite having a 2.2 liter turbo with about 195 hp connected to a 5 speed gearbox, weighing at 2100 lbs, the car took a pole to chequered flag finish easily outpaced the other more powerful but heavier cars, especially if they were piloted by talented and more experienced drivers such as Hurley Haywood in a factory Porsche, Boris Said's Callaway Cars Incorporated Twin Turbo Corvette, and Jim Minnaker in a factory ZR1 Corvette. It was subsequently announced by IMSA felt that it was not in the best interests of the series to allow the Consulier to win, so as a result they added a 300 lb weight penalty to the GTP before being barred from the series at the end of the season despite taking a runner up spot.http://matt_yapit.tripod.com/American-auto.html.
World Sports Racer
References
External links
- IMSA Racing - Official website
{{Infobox sport governing body| title = IMSA| image = IMSA logo.jpg| size = 170px| caption =| category =
Auto racing| year formed = 1969| year closed =| headquarters = [Braselton, Georgia 2007.| website = www.imsaracing.net-->The International Motor Sports Association (generally referred to as IMSA) is an [United States auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of
SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from William France Sr. of
NASCAR.
History
The beginning
John Bishop worked for the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) as an executive; he wrote the technical rules for many of its series and provided artwork for many of the club's magazines. By the mid 1960's, the SCCA made the big step into professional racing rather than remain as an amateur only racing organisation which it had done since its formation in 1944. The SCCA formed two of its major professional racing series, Can Am and
Trans Am. Tension arose between staff over the club's new direction, and, as a result, John left the SCCA to start his own organisation.http://alex62.typepad.com/imsablog/2006/01/index.html
Bishop met with NASCAR founder, Bill France, who was looking for somebody to help launch a new road racing series. Knowing that he found the right person with a bit of thought, France accepted the deal. Bishop with his wife Peggy worked hard to build his project, devised all of the initial rules and he even designed the new organization's logo. As a result, IMSA was formed in 1969.http://alex62.typepad.com/imsablog/2006/01/index.htmlTwo races for
Formula Ford and one for International Sedans were organized that year at
Pocono International Raceway and
Alabama International Motor Speedway.
New ownership
After Bishop and France sold the series in 1989 to Mike Cone, who relocated the IMSA headquarters from
Connecticut to
Tampa Bay, it had a checkered 1990s with multiple ownerships and a name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). Cone lacked dedication and full-time commitment and in turn sold it to businessman Charles Slater. Both lost millions in half-hearted attempts to revive the sagging TV ratings. In 1996 Slater sold the organization to Roberto Muller (ex-CEO of Reebok) and Wall Street financier
Andy Evans, who also was an IndyCar owner and owner/driver of the Scandia WSC team. Evans and VP of Marketing Kurtis Eide were responsible for the name change to Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR).
Under tremendous pressure from team owners and management Evans sold the series to
Don Panoz in 2001, to solidify the sanction for Panoz's
American Le Mans Series which had been sanctioned by PSCR since 1999. Don Panoz renamed the sanctioning organization back to IMSA and is now the official sanctioning body of the ALMS, as well as the Star Mazda series and the
Panoz GT Pro series. The ALMS uses regulations based on those of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but in 2005 the relationship between Panoz and the Le Mans organizers,
Automobile Club de l'Ouest, has become problematic.
A breakaway series formed by the USRRC in 1998 involving the Sports Car Club of America and headed by a group of competitors wanting to keep rules within the United States initially failed. A second attempt with full support of NASCAR's France family and other motorsports notables known as
Grand American Road Racing Association began in 1999. Grand-Am struggled early on, but has proven to be a formidable competitor to the ALMS in recent years with name drivers, considerably larger fields and much closer competition. Much like the split between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League this split has been detrimental to the sport as a whole. Attendance, sponsorships and media coverage have dropped dramatically since the split in 1998.
The ALMS and the ACO have disagreed on several point since the inception of their relationship which have caused lower than expected number of entries on the grid. This has forced the ALMS to make decisions that are contrary to ACO rules to boost field size and fan interest by allowing cars to campaign the 2005 season that do not conform to ACO rules. However, the announcement of Porsche's return to Le Mans style prototypes and several new chassis becoming available for 2006, there is optimism that the ALMS will rebound.
The series
These are the series that are run by the IMSA organisation
Current series
American Le Mans Series
The
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was launched in 1999 by Dr. Don Panoz as a replacement for the dwindling
IMSA GT Championship. With keystone races such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, the series serves as qualifier for the
24 Hours of Le Mans. The
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) who runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans has given their full backing of the American Le Mans Series, which currently runs two classes of Le Mans Prototypes and two classes of Grand Touring cars.
IMSA Lites
IMSA Lites is a series for single seater sportscars sponsored by Hankook Tire. There are three categories within the series, in each category. Onward from 2007, all cars raced are identically to each other with identical engines of each class. The main category,
Lite 1 uses an
Elan Motorsports Technologies DP02, http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites1%20Tech%20Regs%20_attachment%201_.pdf
Lites 2 consists of West Racing WR1000, powered by a
Kawasaki ZX-10R enginehttp://www.westracecars.com/index.cfm?template=catalog&form_product=654 http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites2%20Tech%20Regs%20_attachment%202_.pdf and
Lites 3 consists of SCCA Sports Racer specification car powered by a Mazda MP2 engine. http://www.imsaracing.net/2007/lites/bulletins/IMSA%20Lites%203%20Tech%20Regs%20(attachment%203).pdf
Formula BMW USA
The
Formula BMW USA series is one the North American version of the open-wheel series supported by
BMW. All running identical chassis powered by BMW motorcycle engines, the series serves as stepping stone for formula car drivers moving into higher international series. A world championship of all Formula BMW series is run at the end of the year, taking the top drivers from Formula BMW USA and the other similar series elsewhere in the world.
GT3 Cup
The
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge is a one make series dedicated to the
Porsche 911 GT3 and is similar to the Porsche Supercup. The series is more cost effective then the Supercup in that drivers are allowed to race either newer
Porsche 997-generation 911s or older
Porsche 996s in a different class.
Star Mazda Championship
The
Star Mazda Championship is a
Mazda supported open-wheel road racing support series that serves to help drivers escalate through the ranks of American open-wheel racing. All teams run identical chassis with Mazda Wankel engine out of a Mazda RX-8.
Panoz Racing Series
Originally began as
Women's Global GT Series, formed by Lyn St. James in 1999, the series began as a support race to ALMS for women racers, using the race modified version of the Panoz Esperante series of cars.http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/amati/biography.html The series was an invitational affair with forty one drivers are selected out of four hundred applicants to participate in the Women’s Global GT Series.http://sumagazine.syr.edu/summer01/features/sportinglife/sportingpg2.html The grid would usually consists of experienced racers such as former Formula One drivers,
Giovanna Amati and
Divina Galica, NASCAR's
Shawna Robinson, and Italian Audi factory team touring car racing driver Tamara Vidali against talented amateur drivers from varying degrees of professions, such as radio personality, police officer, law student, and racing simulations art designer for
Microsoft.http://www.f1rejects.com/drivers/amati/biography.html
One of its most notable drivers to graduate from the Women series is
Milka Duno, who currently competes, as of the 2007 season, in
Indy Racing League.
The series would run for another year before the rules was changed to allow male drivers to compete, therefore it became the
Panoz Racing Series. In 2004, the series would be split into a two-season series, a Winter and Summer GT series which would consist of races held over three rounds followed by finale round at a major ALMS race. The Summer Series finale would take place at the
Petit Le Mans. The Winter Series would follow after that race concluding at the
12 Hours of Sebring
Defunct series
IMSA IS
The
International Sedan series was ran between 1971 to 1993http://members.aol.com/autoracg/
IMSA GT
IMSA RS
The
IMSA RS (abbreviated as Racing Stock or Radial Sedan) began as the
Baby Grand Series, which was originally sponsored by B.F. Goodrich (therefore known as
Goodrich Radial Challenge), in
1971 to attract racers who did not have the budgets that was required in the GT category as well as an emphasis on "compact sedans" such as the AMC Gremlin. Limited preparation was permitted, and since the entrants were meant to be street-driven race cars, the rules required the retention of headlights, seats, upholstery, window cranks, stock brakes and original springs and radial tires. Only the exhaust systems and shock absorbers were free and like its GT counterpart, engine size, otherwise the series itself was based on rival
Sports Car Club of America Trans-Am's
Two-Five Challenge rule. http://www.bsedan.com/hist25.html http://www.grmotorsports.com/news/012005/potent-pintos-these-drivers-have-no-worries-about-being-hit-from-behind.php The series, which would later be known as
Champion Spark Plug Challenge, became dominated by a mostly by
Mazda's
Mazda Wankel engine Mazda RX-2 and Mazda RX-3 as IMSA specified heavier weights than piston-engined cars and prohibited any modifications to the rotors. http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=mazdaSpeedMotorsportsRacingHeritageCommon§ionParameter=heritage01 The Datsun also had a fair share of fun within the series with cars such as the
Datsun 510 and Nissan 200SX. Many drivers also sut their teeth into the series such as Don Devendorf, of Electramotive fame,
Jim Downing, of Kudzu and Bobby Rahal. The final season was run in 1984 before it was replaced by the newly reformatted series for the following year, whilst retaining its sponsor until 1988.http://www.pbase.com/mwphoto/87mors Nowadays, there are revival races run for this category.
American Challenge
The
American Challenge or known in full as
Kelly American Challenge, otherwise abbreviated as
AAC was a category for US built cars and throughout the series, it has always been run as a support race to the premier GT series. Starting in 1977, the series ran until 1989. http://members.aol.com/autoracg/ In 1992, all this was rewarded, when the premier GTO category was renamed to GTS due to sponsor reasons, rather than leaving the GTO category redundant, the title was reallocated to the former American Challenge cars, as a result, they would be run alongside GTS cars. This series started the careers of
Irv Hoerr,
Kenny Irwin, Jr, Patty Moise, Clay Young, Lyn St. James and Paul Gentilozzi. http://www.wspr-racing.com/wspr/results/imsa/nf_imsa_home.html WSPR-Racing.com
IMSA Renault Cup
The
Renault Cup is an one-make racing series that ran between 1982 to 1985. The series began with the Renault 5 which the series went on for another until the car's discontinuation in the US. The series went on for the remainder of the three seasons with the Renault Encore. http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/6402/mrrh.htm http://www.michronicleonline.com/articlelive/articles/352/1/Charles-Downes-still-fast-and-furious-at-60/Page1.html
IMSA Showroom Stock
In 1985, IMSA would undergo a major rules reformat while still retaining its sponsor, therefore it was still known as its Champion (spark plug) moniker. This time, the series was more restricted to current models that is being available in dealerships throughout the US, other than that, the series had rules and race format that were similar to the RS series, being an endurance series. At the end of the 1987 season, Champion stepped down as sponsor and was replaced by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, therefore, the series was renamed
IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship or commonly known as
Firehawk Series, after the brand of Firehawk performance tires.
Total prize purses, year-end point funds and manufacturer contingency awards in 1991 amount up to $1 million. As required by the sponsor, all cars are required to use its own Firehawk SZ or Firehawk SV tires which can be shaved to racing depth or the all season Firehawk GTX, Robert Bosch GmbH and Kendall Oil are also associate sponsors. Most of the drivers that compete in the series are amateurs or semi professional, with a few made their living out of competing in the series, Dorsey Schroeder and John Andretti are one of the few drivers that cut their teeth in the series.Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5 Meetings usually attracts over ninety entries and are often televised and duration of the race varies from one 2 hour and a helf event to one 24 hour race. The series would solder on until 1998, by then known as
Speedvision Cup.
There are three classes, sorted in order from the highest
- Grand Sport Class
- Sport Class
- Touring Class,
IMSA Bridgestone Supercar Championship
IMSA also hosted the
Bridgestone Supercar Championship, sponsored by the sister brand of Firestone,
Bridgestone, which was for medium to higher end sports cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette,
Porsche 911 Turbo,
Nissan 300ZX or Lotus Esprit and was run between 1991 up until 1995. Usually a support race to the GT races, running at 30 minutes which were televised, the series attracted some of the well known professional drivers such as Hans Joachim Stuck,
Hurley Haywood,
Elliot Forbes-Robinson and
Paul Newman. http://www.wspr-racing.com/wspr/results/imsa/nf_imsa_home.htmlwith a total prize fund of $555,555 for the 1992 season. All cars had to run on roadgoing Bridgestone Potenza RE71 tires which are trimmed to semi-racing depth and during a wet race, cars race on full depth.Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5
The series was not without controversy, mainly for the all composite Consulier GTP as it was bordering on the showroom stock ethos as well as being criticised for having little common with cars that the general public see on public road. Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation, Nigel McKnight, Motorbooks, ISBN 0-87938-652-5The GTP, debuted with just four silver Consulier Series II GTP at Lime Rock in 1991, despite having a 2.2 liter turbo with about 195 hp connected to a 5 speed gearbox, weighing at 2100 lbs, the car took a pole to chequered flag finish easily outpaced the other more powerful but heavier cars, especially if they were piloted by talented and more experienced drivers such as Hurley Haywood in a factory Porsche,
Boris Said's
Callaway Cars Incorporated Twin Turbo
Corvette, and Jim Minnaker in a factory ZR1 Corvette. It was subsequently announced by IMSA felt that it was not in the best interests of the series to allow the Consulier to win, so as a result they added a 300 lb weight penalty to the GTP before being barred from the series at the end of the season despite taking a runner up spot.http://matt_yapit.tripod.com/American-auto.html.
World Sports Racer
References
External links
- IMSA Racing - Official website
