The IMSA weekend at Road America has grown faster in recent years than anything else on the schedule at the track outside Elkhart Lake.
The Motul SportsCar Grand Prix is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, putting a cap on a weekend that includes the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series as well as Porsche Carerra Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge and Mustang Challenge single-marque events.
Here’s a primer for the weekend.
What is IMSA?
A sports car series owned by NASCAR, IMSA has 11 weekends throughout the year, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race the last weekend of January.
Its main division is the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, which will feature 49 cars in four divisions on the track together at Road America.
GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) is the top class, with entries from Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Porsche powered by diverse internal combustion engines with a common energy-harvesting hybrid system. LMP2 also features swoopy prototypes, while cars in the GTD and GTD Pro classes resemble their street-going counterparts.
What and where is Road America?
Road America, one of the premier road courses in the world, winds through more than 640 acres in rural Sheboygan County. The main entrance is off Highway 67, less than 5 miles north of downtown Plymouth and 3 miles southeast of Elkhart Lake.
The racetrack was designed to be 4 miles, although various sanctioning bodies have measured it at fractions over that. That doesn’t really matter on IMSA weekend as races are timed events.
What’s the best way to watch a race at Elkhart Lake’s Road America?
Although there are several sets of bleachers, there is no assigned seating and there are numerous vantage points around the grounds. Shuttles are available. Getting around on a busy race day can be challenging.
Turns 1, 3, 5, 7 and 12 are popular spectator areas, as is the Carousel, a sweeping right-hander composed of 8-10. A sandy area outside the Carousel, known as the beach, opened two years ago and another overlooking the Kink (Turn 11) last year.
How much do tickets cost for IMSA at Road America?
Admission is $40 daily Thursday, $50 Friday, $85 Saturday and Sunday or $190 for the weekend. Those 16 and under get in free with a paid adult admission. Tickets are available at the gate.
Parking is free. Carry-in food and beverages are permitted.
What is the schedule for July 31-Aug. 3 Motul SportsCar Grand Prix featuring IMSA weekend at Road America?
The Mustang Challenge, Lamborghini Trofeo and Porsche Carrera Cup support series are on track Thursday afternoon.
On Friday, a 90-minute WeatherTech Championship practice is scheduled for 2 p.m., and all other series are on track.
Saturday includes WeatherTech Championship practice at 9:05 a.m. and qualifying sessions by class beginning at 4:40 p.m. The 2-hour Road America 120 Michelin Pilot Challenge race is set for 2:05 p.m. Also, IMSA has an autograph session beginning at 12:15 p.m. at the team transporters in the paddock.
On Sunday, IMSA opens the grid at 11:50 a.m. to allow fans to see the cars close up. The race is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. and is a timed event lasting 2 hours 40 minutes.
Mustang Challenge races at 8 a.m. Saturday and 8:20 a.m. Sunday, Lamborghini Trofeo at 11:55 a.m. Saturday and 9:25 a.m. Sunday, and Porsche Cup at 10:55 a.m. Saturday and 10:35 a.m. Sunday.
Spectator gates open at 7 a.m. all days.
Are Road America IMSA qualifying and races on television or available via streaming?
The race is available live in the United States only on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
On Saturday, the Road America 120 and WeatherTech qualifying stream on Peacock.
What are the storylines and who are the drivers to watch in IMSA at Road America?
After four straight victories by Porsche Penske Motorsports to start the season in the premier GTP class, Acura and Cadillac have gotten back to the top step of the podium in the past two races. Penske’s Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche 963 have the most victories (three) in 2025 and teammates Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet lead the standings by virtue of podium finishes in five of the six events. Tandy and Jaminet teamed for the victory at Road America in 2024, and Nasr and Campbell won in ’23. Nasr also was part of the winning team in 2021 while driving for Action Express.
Parity prevails in GTD Pro with Ford, Porsche, BMW and Ferrari having won races. Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims lead the GTD Pro standings with Corvette Racing, although neither of Corvette’s two cars have won. Lexus has struggled with bad luck, with Birchwood native Aaron Telitz and various codrivers yet to podium in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing RC F GT.
Robert Wickens, injured in an IndyCar crash in 2018, is competing in the non-endurance portion of the schedule in the GTD class with DXDT Racing, a first-year team, in the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R equipped with hand controls. He qualified second at Long Beach and third in Toronto, and Wickens’ best finish in three starts came in the most recent race, fourth in class at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park with Alec Udell.
What other racing does Road America host?
Remaining events open to the public are GT World Challenge sports cars Aug. 15-17, the fall vintage weekend Sept. 12-14 and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Oct. 3-5.
The track also hosts IndyCar, SCCA club racing, MotoAmerica motorcycles and two other vintage weekends as well as the Gridlife motorsports/music/lifestyle festival.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about IMSA at Road America: tickets, schedule, tips, TV and storylines
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
