How the next step in the IMSA and WEC convergence can reunite multiple fronts
OPINION: Following the latest convergence connection permitting Le Mans Hypercars from the World Endurance Championship to compete against LMDh entries in the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023, it could open up enticing options not only to manufacturers but also for the calendar and race formats
Many were euphoric that day 18 months ago when the LMDh category was announced on the eve of the Daytona 24 Hours in January 2020. Finally, they cried, we had one set of regulations straddling the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America.
That was true. But crucially what we didn't have were two sets of regulations crossing over between the series. So to my mind there wasn't a true convergence. That changed last week.
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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
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