IMSA, in partnership with iRacing, Michelin, and the Virtual Competition Organization is set to host the IMSA eSports Global Championship for the second consecutive year. This year’s four-race season will run from November 5 to December 16 and visit four of IMSA’s most iconic tracks: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen International, Sebring International Raceway, and Daytona International Speedway.
The IMSA eSports Global Championship will mirror the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in format with two hour and forty-minute races featuring all four IMSA GTP manufacturers and a full slate of GT3 machines.
“In its debut season the IMSA Esports Global Championship proved to be a success, with upwards of 180,000 viewers for the four-race championship,” IMSA President John Doonan said.
“IMSA and the sport of sim racing have experienced remarkable growth in the past couple of seasons and we look forward to full fields and fierce competition in the 2023 IMSA Esports Global Championship. We are particularly excited by the fact that many of the world’s leading marques will again be participating in the series, giving sim racers and teams a unique opportunity to work closely with those world-class racing programs.”
Among the teams that will compete are Max Verstappen’s Team Redline, Porsche’s factory-supported eSports team Coanda, Williams eSports, and BMW’s official eSports team, BS+ Competition.
The announcement further solidifies the relationship between IMSA, which is owned by NASCAR, and iRacing. iRacing gaining access to and building all four of the new GTP machines in their debut year was a major milestone for the simulation company.
“iRacing and IMSA have enjoyed a productive relationship for more than a decade,” said Tony Gardner, president of iRacing. “Our partnership with IMSA enables more than 230,000 iRacers around the world to race virtual versions of the world’s fastest sports cars on the great North American road courses featured in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
“The IMSA Esports Global Championship continues our great partnership with IMSA as well as with many of the world’s leading makers of high-performance sports cars.”