The storylines in the 2024 season of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship may have lacked some of the impact brought by the introduction of the new GTP class the year prior, but there were plenty of fascinating moments and tales in the past 12 month.
Here, in no particular order, are nine of the top 10 stories of 2024. As for the 10th, or the very top story… well, wait until tomorrow.
Porsche wins the Rolex
Porsche Penske Motorsports had a respectable season in the inaugural year of the new era of GTP in 2023, including three victories and a shot at the championship. What was missing was a win in the longer races – and for a company like Porsche which made its motorsport name in endurance racing, that’s not ideal.
Porsche fixed that as Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell and Josef Newgarden took a solid win over Whelen Cadillac Racing at Daytona. It was not only the start of a championship season for the overall championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup, but kicked off a number of endurance wins for PPM 963s in 2024, including the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener at Qatar, followed by another Endurance Cup victory at Watkins Glen and a second WEC win at Fuji – and that doesn’t take into account Hertz Team Jota’s win at Spa-Francorchamps.
Wayne Taylor Racing breaks its losing streak.
The previous season had produced a rare result for Wayne Taylor Racing – a winless season with its single Acura ARX-06. Still in the championship fight at the end, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque had failed to put the car in victory circle all season.
Expanding to two cars for 2024, surely the team’s luck would turn around. The new No. 40 delivered at Sebring, with Jordan Taylor, Louis Delétraz and Colton Herta taking the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours victory. In the process, Delétraz, who had certainly proved his pace in LMP2, made claim to stardom in the GTP ranks as well. Taylor and Albuquerque would break their losing streak as well a few races later when they took a win on the streets of Detroit.
Nick Tandy’s pass for the lead to win at Laguna Seca
It had been looking like a Cadillac kind of day at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as the two Cadillac Racing V-Series.Rs locked out the front row in qualifying and led early. The tire strategy for the No. 01 Cadillac didn’t pay off, but the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing machine looked good, and perhaps could produce a payoff from pole for Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken.
Nick Tandy, though, had other ideas. Tandy and the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 were in full attack mode, and when Aitken made a wrong choice in traffic as the clock wound down, Tandy made his move. Aitken tried to go left of a Corvette heading to Turn 4, and Tandy dove toward the other side, the inside of the upcoming turn. Aitken ended up with two tires in the dirt on drivers left, while Tandy swept through for the lead.
It ignited the season for the No. 6 of Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet, which had been off to a rough start. The No. 6 963 would podium in five of the final six races, missing the podium sweep (and perhaps the championship) only due to the technical infraction at Indy.
36 Hours of Florida winners
Winning IMSA’s two longest endurance races, which happen to be the first two races of the season even if there is a couple of months recuperation in between, is no mean feat. Those that have accomplished the task include Shelby American, Brumos Racing, Tequila Patron ESM, Corvette Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing.
Add Era Motorsport and Winward Racing to the illustrious list. Era Motorsport won LMP2 at both events with Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel and Connor Zilisch. Not only did it launch the team to a third-place finish in the championship, it helped establish Zilisch as a legitimate star.
Winward’s double in Florida was the beginning of three Michelin Endurance Cup wins for Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje, four wins overall and a dominating championship. It was a prime bragging point in a season full of bragging points.
Lamborghini looks like a contender in the rain at Indy
Nobody expected much from the new Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini SC63. Starting a year behind the other LMDh cars in GTP, with development setbacks from a big crash, and running only four endurance races starting at Sebring,the team had a big hill to climb.
But at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Romain Grosjean at the wheel in pretty intense rain, the Lamborghini was the fastest car on the track and legitimately running in the lead. It wouldn’t last though, as a pit stop penalty took them out of the lead, and contact with the Proton Competition Mustang left the car with a broken suspension. But it was certainly a bright spot for a program that had faced a host of challenges.
BMW’s one-two at Indy
BMW M Team RLL had shown promise on numerous occasions, and even had a victory in the first season of the M Hybrid V8, although it was one they didn’t get to celebrate in victory lane. But for the most part, the team lacked either pace or luck in every race.
In the inaugural six-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, through, they had both, and it resulted in a one-two finish for the two M Hybrid V8s, the No. 24 of Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn leading home the No. 25.
Eng took the lead from Louis Delétraz in a move that is certainly a contender for pass of the year, along with Nick Tandy seizing the lead at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Taking the top two spots of the podium at Indy was certainly the highlight of an otherwise dismal season for the team.
While we’re at it, let’s not forget the fact that Indianapolis was now a six-hour race, and the fifth race in the Michelin Endurance Cup. That was, in itself, a story worthy of a top 10.
Ford vs. Chevy rivalry renewed
It may have, so far, lacked the intense on-track battles of previous iterations, but the renewed Ford vs., Chevrolet battle as both marques introduced new GT3 cars, the Mustang GT3 and the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, was certainly cause for excitement.
It’s a rivalry almost as old as motorsports, most recently seen in IMSA competition as the Corvette C7.R and Ford GT did battle in GTLM. Chevrolet took first blood in the renewed fight, scoring victory at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, while Ford is still seeking a win for its Mustang.
A wholesale shakeup in the Ford driver lineup for 2025, and a year of development for the Mustang and Corvette, may allow the rivalry to continue anew.
Bourdais and van der Zande win Petit Le Mans
We knew it was a swansong. We knew that wherever Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande ended up for 2025, their long partnership in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R was over. Sure, they had a long shot at the championship coming into Petit Le Mans, but the odds of that were close to zero. So, really, all they could really hope for was to go out with a victory.
And that’s exactly what they did. Van der Zande passed Nicky Tandy in the No. 6 PPM Porsche and swept into the lead in Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta’s Turn 1 – another candidate for pass of the year. Then there was the drama in the final minutes with the Cadillac’s lights turning off and on, the electrical glitch threatening the team’s opportunity for victory before van der Zande found the solution and sailed to the win.
Now Bourdais’s focus turns to WEC and LMP2, while van der Zande goes to Acura with Meyer Shank Racing. But their partnership ended in the best way one might have asked for.
First time winners in GTD
The second half of the season in GTD saw a flurry of first-time winners. While Winward dominated the first part of the season, the second belonged to the rookies and other who found their way to the top step of the podium for the first time.
Robby Foley had certainly been to victory circle, and Patrick Gallagher has had his share of wins in other series, but together the duo took their first GTD victory for Turner Motorsport at Road America. The next race at VIRginia International Raceway produced the first win for Korthoff Preston Motorsports in GTD, as well as initial wins for Mikael Grenier and Kenton Koch in the GTD class. IMSA rookies Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer had their first victory (with Jan Heylen) for Wright Motorsports in the IMSA Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then Conquest Racing’s Manny Franco and Albert Costa took their first win in their rookie season at Motul Petit Le Mans with Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
And that doesn’t count the first-time winners in GTD PRO, including AO Racing, Paul Miller Racing and, again, Conquest. It was a great season of firsts in the GT classes.
There was one more story that, in the minds of many, tops them all. But you’ll have to tune in tomorrow to see if our top moment matches yours.