IMSA released Sunday the schedules for the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge seasons.
Both series feature reduced calendars compared to this year, with the TUDOR Championship set to visit Lime Rock Park for the first time, while not returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway or Kansas Speedway in 2015.
Each class will have a total of 10 races, compared to the 11-round season that Prototype, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona competitors had in 2014.
The Continental Tire Challenge Series, meanwhile, has been trimmed from a 12 to 10-round season in 2015, but with all events on TUDOR Championship weekends.
The 12-round TUDOR Championship season kicks off with the 53rd Rolex 24 at Daytona on Jan 24-25, which will also serve as the first of the four-round Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.
Sebring (March 21), Watkins Glen (June 28) and the season and championship-ending Petit Le Mans (Oct. 3) complete the four-round Cup.
The new Lime Rock event, scheduled for July 25, will be for PC and GTD competitors only, while IMSA’s visit to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has been adjusted for P, PC and GTLM competitors only.
However, the class format for the races at Long Beach (April 18), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (May 3), Detroit Belle Isle (May 30) and Virginia International Raceway (Aug 23) remain unchanged from this year.
IMSA has also confirmed a return to Road America (Aug. 9) and the Circuit of The Americas (Sept. 16), although it’s unclear if the latter event will again be in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship.
No reasons have been given for not returning to Indianapolis or Kansas, an ISC-owned property.
“This is simply an outstanding and exciting schedule for sports car racing fans across North America,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett in a statement.
“We wanted to further elevate what was an impressive TUDOR Championship schedule in 2014, and we accomplished that goal with the addition of Lime Rock Park by popular demand.
“Moving to 10 races per class addresses a desire and positive input voiced by many of our competitors.
“One of the most important components for all of our stakeholders is the fact that all 12 TUDOR Championship races will be televised on FOX Sports.”
As previously announced, the Roar Before the Rolex 24 official pre-season test is scheduled for Jan 9-11.
2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Schedule
*Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup events
2015 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Schedule
