The DPi and LM P2 separated in 2019 in IMSA

With the arrival of the new DPi prototypes in early 2017, theIMSA had retained a single proto category, including the newcomers with the LM P2, accepted as part of the collaboration with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest in terms of sporting and technical regulations.

But the American entity made it official last night, on the sidelines of the Road America event, the separation of the two classes DPi and LM P2 starting with the 2019 season.

Thus, the DPi will no longer be provided with a Performance Balance linked to the LM P2, and will be balanced separately, via a method equivalent to that seen in GTLM and GTD. As for LM P2, the emphasis will be placed on Pro-Am, as in WEC, without Performance Balance applied.

The LM P2 and GTD crews, another category highlighting Pro-Am, must be made up of at least one Bronze or Silver driver for any non-event race. Endurance, and can only have a maximum of one Platinum pilot. Driving time on the Endurance rounds will be limited for Gold and Platinum drivers.

The two classes LM P2 and GTD will once again offer the best Bronze/Silver driver an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, via the Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Awards. The reward can be used via any team, not just those competing in IMSA.

Finally, note that only one official test session, the Roar Before the Rolex 24, organized from January 4 to 6, will be organized in 2019. The GTD teams will only be able to benefit from two days of driving, on Friday and Saturday.

Extensive collaboration for driver categorization

In addition to these important changes concerning the separation of prototypes, IMSA announced the establishment of a procedure to study the categorization of drivers in LM P2 and GTD. IMSA will still use the FIA ​​system (Bronze – Silver – Gold – Platinum) but will additionally analyze the performance of drivers in the American series.

This data will be shared with the FIA ​​committee for the implementation of the driver categorization for the next period of application of the categorizations.