The 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) was the 48th motor racing championship sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) (which traces its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship). It was the fifth season of the United SportsCar Championship and third to be held under the name as the IMSA SportsCar Championship. It began on January 27 with the 24 Hours of Daytona, and ended on October 13 with the Petit Le Mans.

Series News

2018 was the final season Fox Sports televised the series, NBC Sports Group becomes the series' broadcaster, starting in 2019. 2018 was also the final season Continental Tire provided tires for competitors.

Classes Prototype (P) (DPi and LMP2) GT Le Mans (GTLM) GT Daytona (GTD)

At the end of 2017 season, the Prototype Challenge (PC) class was reduced to a support series.

Schedule

Race schedule

The 2018 schedule was released on August 4, 2017 and featured twelve rounds.

Race Length Classes Circuit Location Date 1 Rolex 24 at Daytona 24 hours All Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida January 27–28 2 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring 12 hours All Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 17 3 BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach 1 hour 40 minutes P, GTLM Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California April 14 4 Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio 2 hours 40 minutes All Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio May 6 5 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix 1 hour 40 minutes P, GTD The Raceway on Belle Isle Detroit, Michigan June 2 6 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen 6 hours All Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York July 1 7 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes All Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Bowmanville, Ontario July 8 8 Northeast Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes GTLM, GTD Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 21 9 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase 2 hours 40 minutes All Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 5 10 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR 2 hours 40 minutes GTLM, GTD Virginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 19 11 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix 2 hours 40 minutes All WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California September 9 12 Motul Petit Le Mans 10 hours All Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 13

Calendar changes

The Circuit of the Americas was removed from the calendar, and replaced by a round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The GTD was removed from Long Beach due to space limitations. A non-championship round was held at Sebring in November 2018 with IMSA's 2019 rules for the GTD class, along with LMP3, GS, and TCR classes in the secondary series. This saw Michelin's debut as the 2019 series specification tire supplier.

Entries

Prototype The Prototype class is made up of LMP2 cars both in LMP2 trim, with the ACO specification Gibson V8 engine, and in Daytona Prototype international (DPi) trim, where manufacturers are allowed to use their own engines and bodykits, designed to reflect the automaker's design language. Acura (Oreca), Mazda (Riley Technologies), Cadillac (Dallara), and Nissan (Onroak Automotive) run chassis from the respective constructors featuring manufacturer-specific bodywork and engines.

Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan Onroak DPi Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6 2 Ryan Dalziel 1–6, 9, 11–12 Scott Sharp 1–6, 9, 11–12 Olivier Pla 1–2, 6 Norman Nato 12 22 Pipo Derani All Johannes van Overbeek 1–6, 9, 11–12 Nicolas Lapierre 1–2, 6 Ryan Dalziel 7 Timo Bernhard 12 Mustang Sampling Racing Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 5 Filipe Albuquerque All João Barbosa 1–5, 9, 11 Christian Fittipaldi 1–2, 6–7, 12 Gabby Chaves 6 Tristan Vautier 12 31 Eric Curran All Felipe Nasr All Mike Conway 1–2, 6 Stuart Middleton 1 Gabby Chaves 12 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6 6 Dane Cameron All Juan Pablo Montoya All Simon Pagenaud 1–2, 12 7 Hélio Castroneves All Ricky Taylor All Graham Rahal 1–2, 12 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 10 Jordan Taylor All Renger van der Zande All Ryan Hunter-Reay 1–2, 12 BAR1 MotorsportsRiley Mk. 30Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 20 Marc Drumwright 1 Brendan Gaughan 1 Eric Lux 1 Alex Popow 1 United Autosports Ligier JS P217 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 23 Fernando Alonso 1 Phil Hanson 1 Lando Norris 1 32 Paul di Resta 1–2, 6 Bruno Senna 1, 6 Will Owen 1 Hugo de Sadeleer 1 Phil Hanson 2, 6 Alex Brundle 2 Jackie Chan DCR JOTA Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 37 Robin Frijns 1 Daniel Juncadella 1 Felix Rosenqvist 1 Lance Stroll 1 78 Alex Brundle 1 António Félix da Costa 1 Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen 1 Ho-Pin Tung 1 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 38 James French 1–4, 6–7, 12 Kyle Masson 1–4, 6–7, 12 Patricio O'Ward 1–2 Joel Miller 1, 6 Nicholas Boulle 12 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 52 Sebastián Saavedra All Gustavo Yacamán 1–7, 9, 11 Roberto González 1–2 Nicholas Boulle 1 Will Owen 6, 12 José Gutiérrez 12 CORE Autosport Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 54 Jon Bennett All Colin Braun All Romain Dumas 1–2, 6, 12 Loïc Duval 1 Mazda Team Joest Mazda RT24-P Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4 55 Jonathan Bomarito All Harry Tincknell 1–3, 5–7, 9, 11 Spencer Pigot 1–2, 4, 6, 12 Marino Franchitti 12 77 Oliver Jarvis All Tristan Nunez All René Rast 1–2, 6 Lucas di Grassi 12 JDC-Miller MotorSports Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 85 Robert Alon All Simon Trummer All Austin Cindric 1 Devlin DeFrancesco 1, 12 Nelson Panciatici 2, 6 99 Mikhail Goikhberg All Stephen Simpson All Chris Miller 1–2, 6, 12 Gustavo Menezes 1 Spirit of Daytona Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R Cadillac LT4 5.5 L V8 90 Matt McMurry 1–2, 5–6 Tristan Vautier 1–2, 5–6 Eddie Cheever III 1–2

GT Le Mans Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R Chevrolet LT5.5R 5.5 L V8 3 Antonio García All Jan Magnussen All Mike Rockenfeller 1–2 Marcel Fässler 12 4 Oliver Gavin All Tommy Milner All Marcel Fässler 1–2, 12 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8 24 John Edwards All Jesse Krohn All Nick Catsburg 1–2 Augusto Farfus 1 Tom Blomqvist 6 Chaz Mostert 12 25 Connor De Phillippi All Alexander Sims All Bill Auberlen 1–2, 6, 12 Philipp Eng 1 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE Ferrari F154CB 4.0 L Turbo V8 62 Toni Vilander 1–2, 12 James Calado 1–2 Alessandro Pier Guidi 1–2 Davide Rigon 1 Andrea Bertolini 12 Miguel Molina 12 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT Ford EcoBoost D35 3.5 L Turbo V6 66 Joey Hand All Dirk Müller All Sébastien Bourdais 1–2, 12 67 Ryan Briscoe All Richard Westbrook All Scott Dixon 1–2, 12 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR Porsche M97/80 4.0 L Flat-6 911 Patrick Pilet All Nick Tandy All Frédéric Makowiecki 1–2, 12 912 Earl Bamber All Laurens Vanthoor All Gianmaria Bruni 1–2 Mathieu Jaminet 12

GT Daytona Team Chassis Engine Drivers Rounds GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Lamborghini DFJ 5.2 L V10 11 Mirko Bortolotti 1 Rik Breukers 1 Rolf Ineichen 1 Franck Perera 1 19 Christian Engelhart 1 Christoph Lenz 1 Louis Machiels 1 Ezequiel Pérez Companc 1 Max van Splunteren 1 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 14 Dominik Baumann All Kyle Marcelli All Philipp Frommenwiler 1–2, 12 Bruno Junqueira 1 15 Jack Hawksworth All David Heinemeier Hansson 1–2, 4–7, 9–12 Dominik Farnbacher 1 Scott Pruett 1 Sean Rayhall 2, 12 Mario Farnbacher 6, 8 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 16 Wolf Henzler 4–5, 7 Michael Schein 4–5, 7 58 Patrick Long All Christina Nielsen All Robert Renauer 1–2, 6, 12 Mathieu Jaminet 1–2 Montaplast by Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 29 Sheldon van der Linde 1–2, 6, 12 Christopher Mies 1–2, 6, 12 Kelvin van der Linde 1 Jeffrey Schmidt 1 Alessio Picariello 2 Daniel Morad 12 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 33 Jeroen Bleekemolen All Ben Keating All Luca Stolz 1–2, 6, 12 Adam Christodoulou 1 75 Kenny Habul 1–2, 4–6 Mikaël Grenier 1–2, 6 Thomas Jäger 1–2, 6 Maro Engel 1, 4 Bernd Schneider 5 CJ Wilson Racing Acura NSX GT3 Acura JNC1 3.5 L Turbo V6 36 Till Bechtolsheimer 2, 6 Marc Miller 2, 6 Kuno Wittmer 2 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS Audi DAR 5.2 L V10 44 Andy Lally All John Potter All Andrew Davis 1–2, 6, 12 Markus Winkelhock 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Lamborghini DFJ 5.2 L V10 48 Bryan Sellers All Madison Snow All Andrea Caldarelli 1 Bryce Miller 1 Corey Lewis 2, 12 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 51 Daniel Serra 1–2, 6 Paul Dalla Lana 1–2 Pedro Lamy 1–2 Mathias Lauda 1–2 Oswaldo Negri Jr. 6, 9, 11 Francesco Piovanetti 6, 9, 11 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 59 Matteo Cairoli 1 Sven Müller 1 Harald Proczyk 1 Steve Smith 1 Randy Walls 1 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 63 Cooper MacNeil All Alessandro Balzan 1–2, 4 Gunnar Jeannette 1–2, 6, 8, 10–12 Jeff Segal 1, 5–7 Alessandro Pier Guidi 9 Daniel Serra 12 64 Townsend Bell 1–2, 6, 11–12 Frankie Montecalvo 1–2, 6, 11–12 Bill Sweedler 1–2, 6 Sam Bird 1 Matteo Cressoni 12 HART Acura NSX GT3 Acura JNC1 3.5 L Turbo V6 69 Ryan Eversley 1–2, 6 Chad Gilsinger 1–2, 6 John Falb 1 Sean Rayhall 1 Tom Dyer 2, 6 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 71 J. C. Perez 1–2, 6, 12 Loris Spinelli 1–2, 6 Kenton Koch 1–2 Robby Foley 1 Daniel Morad 6 Felipe Fraga 12 Maximilian Buhk 12 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 73 Jörg Bergmeister 1–2, 6, 9, 11 Patrick Lindsey 1–2, 6, 9, 11 Tim Pappas 1–2, 12 Norbert Siedler 1 Spencer Pumpelly 12 Wolf Henzler 12 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8 82 Santiago Creel 1 Martin Fuentes 1 Matt Griffin 1 Miguel Molina 1 Ricardo Pérez de Lara 1 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 Acura JNC1 3.5 L Turbo V6 86 Katherine Legge All Álvaro Parente 1–2, 4, 6–9, 11–12 Trent Hindman 1–2, 12 A. J. Allmendinger 1 Mario Farnbacher 5, 10 93 Justin Marks All Lawson Aschenbach All Mario Farnbacher 1–2, 12 Côme Ledogar 1 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 BMW S63 4.4 L Turbo V8 96 Don Yount 1–2, 6, 12 Jens Klingmann 1 Mark Kvamme 1 Cameron Lawrence 1 Martin Tomczyk 1 Dillon Machavern 2, 4, 6, 12 Markus Palttala 2, 6, 9, 12 Bill Auberlen 4–5, 7–8, 10–11 Robby Foley 5, 7–11

Notes

Race results Bold indicates overall winner.