Watkins Glen gains extra IMSA race as Canadian round is cancelled

The series will stay on at the Glen after the Sahlen’s Six Hours race on 27 June, to run a 2hr40min event on Friday, 2 July.

The new race will feature all five classes (DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTLM and GTD), while only the GTD race will count towards the eight-race Sprint Cup point standings.

The event replaces the race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which has again been cancelled for 2021 due to quarantine requirements for travellers 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.”

“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,” Printup added.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge teams will race both weekends, while the IMSA Prototype Challenge moves in on the evening of Wednesday, 30 June. All three series will practice and qualify on Thursday, 1 July and racing action kicks off with IMSA Prototype Challenge at 11:45 AM ET on Friday, 2 July.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen weekend also includes double-header 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.