Watkins Glen gains extra IMSA race, Canadian round canceled
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will race twice at Watkins Glen in the space of six days, following the cancelation of the round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
The series will stay on at the Glen after the Sahlen’s Six Hours race on June 27, to run a 2hr40min event on Friday, July 2.
The WeatherTech 240 at The Glen will start shortly after 6 p.m. ET that Friday evening with TV coverage airing on NBCSN on Saturday, July 3 at 8pm. ET.
The two-hour, 40-minute race will feature all five WeatherTech Championship classes (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM and GTD). The GTD race will count only toward the eight-race WeatherTech Sprint Cup point standings.
The event replaces the race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which have again been canceled for 2021 due to quarantine requirements for travelers into Canada. A statement states that “IMSA looks forward to returning to the historic Canadian circuit in 2022.”
IMSA President John Doonan said: “We are grateful to Watkins Glen International president Michael Printup and his team for helping us arrive at a solution when it became apparent that we would be unable to make our planned trip to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park this year.
“Likewise, we are thankful that our partners at the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)’s Glen Region are willing to share their previously scheduled event weekend at The Glen with us as well. We sorely missed the opportunity to race at Watkins Glen last year, but we’re delighted to bring those loyal fans two IMSA event schedules in little more than a week in 2021.”
Said Printup: “We are always excited to add another event to The Glen’s calendar. We look forward to celebrating with fans and enjoying the incredible road course action of IMSA.”
Tickets for both the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the WeatherTech 240 at The Glen event weekends may be purchased at TheGlen.com.
The Michelin Pilot Challenge teams will race both weekends while the IMSA Prototype Challenge moves in on the evening of Wednesday, June 30. All three series will practice and qualify on Thursday, July 1 and racing action kicks off with IMSA Prototype Challenge at 11:45 a.m. ET on Friday, July 2.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen weekend also includes doubleheader races from Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. In total, five of the seven IMSA-sanctioned series will be in action at Watkins Glen in the span of one week.
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