IMSA announced the 2027 schedules Thursday (March 19) for their two biggest series, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenges. The number of schedule changes are minimal for next year as no tracks will be added or subtracted from the WeatherTech schedule.
“Announcing our schedule this early in the year, which has now become our tradition, is a testament to the stability of our events and our promoter relationships, and we are grateful to all of our promoter partners,” stated IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “It also provides an opportunity for everybody involved – from stakeholders and participants to IMSA race fans – to adequately make their plans to attend well in advance. Nearly all of our events have seen year-over-year attendance increases the past few years, so it is conceivable that our strategy of announcing our schedules in March is paying dividends.”
Up until the past couple of years, IMSA would unveil their schedules for the following season at Road America at the end of July. Since a number of drivers compete in multiple series around the world, the goal to get out in front and try to prevent clashes.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
For 2027, there are no substantial changes to the WeatherTech schedule. There will be 11 rounds, but no class will compete in all of them. GTP teams will have nine races, while GTD and GTD Pro teams will have 10 each. The LMP2 class will have seven rounds.
The schedule will start with the ROAR Before the 24 Jan. 22-24, which will once again be mandatory for any teams that will compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Rolex 24 will be the next weekend, a move made beginning in the 2021 season that saves the teams money on travel.
The five-race Michelin Endurance Cup will once again be headlined by the Rolex 24. The subsequent rounds will be at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. All four classes will race together in the five Michelin Endurance Cup races and the sprint race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The GTP class will be the headliners in both of the returning street races at Detroit and Long Beach. The GTD class will partner at Long Beach, while the GTD Pro class will be at Detroit.
The LMP2 class will once again be the headlining class at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with the two GT classes. VIR will be the sole GT-only event on the schedule.
Finally, there will enhanced testing opportunities available prior to the five Michelin Endurance Cup races in 2027. Additional information will be released at a later date.
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IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
For Pilot Challenge, there will still be 10 races on the schedule in 2027, but there a couple of changes. The series will not make the haul to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca at the end of April, resulting in a near-three month gap after Sebring.
That race will be replaced by a standalone weekend at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park. It will be the first time that the series will race at Lime Rock since 2023. That 2023 race was a TCR-only event, so Grand Sport teams would be returning for the first time since 2022.
Even with the recent upgrades done at Lime Rock in order to support the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series LiUNA! 150 that was first held last year, there is still limited pit space. The short pit lane had to be expanded in order to hold 36 trucks.
In the past, there have been split races at Lime Rock when there were too many cars to race everyone at once. For now, this doesn’t appear to be in the plan, but the plans could change.
The remaining eight races on the schedule are unchanged. Daytona and Mid-Ohio will continue to be the two extra-length races on the schedule, with eight sprint races.
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The 2027 schedules for IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge, and the multiple one-make series that operate under the IMSA umbrella will be released at a later date.
