2025 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge

In 2025, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) was celebrating its 56th anniversary. IMSA was founded by NASCAR's Bill France, John Bishop (a former executive director of the Sports Car Club of America), and Bishop's wife, Peggy. They succeeded in creating their vision to build a sanctioning body for professional road racing in North America. From its humble roots, IMSA currently sanctions eight different race series: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup North America, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge, IMSA HSR Prototype Challenge and the Mustang Challenge.

The 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship consists of eleven race weekends.

January 17-19 - Roar Before the 24 - Daytona test
January 22-26 - Rolex 24 at Daytona
March 12-15 - Twelve Hours of Sebring
April 11-12 - Long Beach
May 9-11 - WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
May 30-31 - Detroit Street Circuit
June 19-22 - Watkins Glen International
July 11-13 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
August 1-3 - Road America
August 22-24 - Virginia International Raceway
September 19-21 - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - road course
October 8-11 - Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (Petit Le Mans)

The IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup will be a separate championship that recognizes the top finishers in five events:

Rolex 24 at Daytona
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen
TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks
10-Hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

There are four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) - These are purpose-built race cars and the quickest in the series. They are prepared to either LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) or LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) guidelines. Chassis from Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic and Oreca are available to those teams choosing the LMDh rules. Cars built to LMH specifications are allowed more freedom in design. However, all vehicles are subject to a Balance of Performance. This season, there are entries from Porsche (Porsche 963), BMW (BMW M Hybrid V8), Cadillac (Cadillac V-Series R) and Acura (Acura ARX-06).
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) - These are purpose-built race cars developed by four approved constructors. The LMP2 cars are powered by a 3.8-liter Gibson V8 engine. Competitors use chassis' from ORECA, Ligier and Riley Technologies. These vehicles can compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24-Hours of Le Mans.
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) - This production-based class uses FIA-GT3 technical regulations. Vehicles in the category include the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2, Mercedes AMG-GT3, Lexus RC F GT3 and Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. The vehicles in this group weigh 2,915 lbs, and the engines produce approximately 540 horsepower. The IMSA technical staff uses many methods to ensure parity.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD Pro) - This category uses the same cars as GTD but adopts current GTLM Sporting Regulations on driver ratings, qualifying grid placement, and race procedures. GTD Pro is geared toward factory-supported teams and drivers; on-track performance levels achieved by the GTD Pro class are expected to exceed that of the GTD.

The GTP category did not compete at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The seventh race weekend of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers would compete in the Chevrolet Grand Prix, a two-hour, forty-minute contest around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Twelve LMP2 competitors charge into Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s turn one for round four of their championship. At the front of the field is the pole-winning No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 shared by PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron. Trailing the leader is the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 of Tom Blomqvist and the category points leader, Daniel Goldburg. They are followed by the Steve Thomas and Hunter McElrea ORECA.

The No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 was driven by PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron. The duo entered round four of the LMP2 championship in second place, but had yet to claim a class victory. The team was on pace early with Hyett securing the category and overall pole in qualifying. Hyett shot into first place at the start and led ninety laps before pitting. After the driver changes cycled through, they were back out front and captured the win.

DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa was joined by Giacomo Altoe for round six of the GTD Pro championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Altoe is the 2024 Ferrari Challenge Europe Champion. He performed the qualifying duties in the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 and was twenty-fifth fastest overall and tenth in class, almost a second slower than the pole-winning BMW. A risky race strategy saw the team make one less stop for fuel, which was rewarded with a victory.

The No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 entered the event as an unlikely candidate to secure the GTD division. The best result of the season for drivers Trent Hindman and Danny Formal was an eighth place. In qualifying, Formal was twenty-seventh fastest. By the final hour of the race, Hindman was in the lead, and unlike his competitors, he gambled and remained on the track. A late-race caution allowed the team to secure the victory.

The round four LMP2 podium for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. In the center are the winners, PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron, from AO Racing. This was the team’s first victory of the season. To the left of the winners are the second-place finishers, Tom Blomqvist and the points leader, Daniel Goldburg. Rounding out the top three are Riley Motorsports, Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga.

The GTD points leaders after five rounds of the 2025 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are Philip Ellis and Russell Ward, who claimed wins at Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway. The pair shares the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Ward qualified 0.218 seconds slower than the class pole-winning Lexus of Jack Hawksworth. The team finished second in their division and twenty-first overall.

The second group to receive the Starter’s flag at the Chevrolet Grand Prix was the GTD and GTD Pro competitors. Leading the group is the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen. On the quarter-panel of the BMW is the No. 14 Vasser-Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 shared by Ben Barnicoat and Aaron Telitz. Trailing the leaders are the two Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The LMP2 points leader is Daniel Goldburg, who has class victories at Daytona International Speedway and Watkins Glen International. Before round four, Goldburg worked with co-drivers Rasmus Lindh and Paul Di Resta. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he shared the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 with Tom Blomqvist. The car started second and finished in the runner-up position by a margin of 1.087 seconds.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entered two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The No. 4 Corvette was driven by Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg. Milner qualified fourth in GTD Pro and eighteenth overall. Early in the race, the pair lost time in the pits and fell to ninth. With 80 minutes left in the contest, the team chose to top off the fuel. The strategy allowed Catsburg to move to the front of the field and finish second.

The round six rostrum for the GTD Pro category of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge. In the center are the surprise winners from DragonSpeed, Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoe, who used an aggressive strategy to secure the victory. The runner-ups, from Corvette Racing, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg, are standing on the left. Completing the podium are the third-place finishers, Klaus Bachler and Laurin Heinrich.

A fan favourite in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 called Rexy. Rexy is piloted by Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler. Heinrich was last year’s GTD Pro champion with three class victories. The Austrian Bachler won titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship and Asian Le Mans Series. Bachler qualified the Porsche third in class and twelfth overall. The duo remained in contention during the race and finished third in their category.

Finishing third overall and in the LMP2 category was the No. 74 Riley Motorsports prepared ORECA LMP2 07 of Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga. Robinson was the 2021 and 2023 LMP3 champion before moving to the LMP2 class. Robinson performed the qualifying duties and was the ninth fastest. During the race, they moved up the order. A late-race penalty received by TDS Racing resulted in a third-place finish for the pair.

In GTD qualifying, Jack Hawksworth was the fastest in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3. Hawksworth’s time was quick enough to place him second in the GTD Pro category. However, GTD Pro and GTD competitors are gridded separately. His co-driver was Canadian Parker Thompson. The pair kept pace with the lead group, but a conventional race strategy was insufficient to secure the win. They finished third in class.

The GTD podium for the sixth race of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In the center are the winners, Trent Hindman and Danny Formal. This was a momentous event for Formal as he spun after contact on the opening lap and went on to collect his first WeatherTech victory. On the left are the second-place finishers, Philip Ellis and Russell Ward. Completing the top three are Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	LMP2	Hyett / Cameron	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
2	LMP2	Goldburg / Blomqvist	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
3	LMP2	Robinson / Fraga	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
4	LMP2	Fayer / Hanley	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
5	LMP2	Sales / Beche	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
6	LMP2	Fittipaldi / Cumming	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
7	LMP2	Hill / Dalziel	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
8	LMP2	Thomas / McElrea	ORECA LMP2 07	113	-
9	LMP2	Farano / van der Zande	ORECA LMP2 07	110	-
10	GTD Pro	Altoè / Costa	Ferrari 296 GT3	108	-
11	GTD Pro	Milner / Catsburg	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	108	-
12	GTD Pro	Heinrich / Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	108	-
13	GTD Pro	Garcia / Sims	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	108	-
14	GTD Pro	Caldarelli / Mapelli	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	108	-
15	GTD Pro	Verhagen / Snow	BMW M4 GT3	108	-
16	GTD Pro	Mies / Vervisch	Ford Mustang GT3	108	-
17	GTD Pro	Telitz / Barnicoat	Lexus RC F GT3	108	-
18	GTD Pro	Hesse / Harper	BMW M4 GT3	108	-
19	GTD Pro	Priaulx / Rockenfeller	Ford Mustang GT3	108	-
20	GTD	Hindman / Formal	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	108	-
21	GTD	Ward / Ellis	Mercedes-AMG GT3	108	-
22	GTD	Hawksworth / Thompson	Lexus RC F GT3	108	-
23	GTD	Wickens / Udell	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	108	-
24	GTD	De Angelis / Stevenson	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO	108	-
25	GTD	Iribe / Schandorff	Ferrari 296 GT3	108	-
26	GTD	Triarsi / Koch	Ferrari 296 GT3	108	-
27	GTD	Foley / Gallagher	BMW M4 GT3	108	-
28	GTD	Fidani / Bell	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	108	-
29	GTD	Adelson / Skeer	Porsche 911 GT3 R	108	-
30	GTD	Franco / Serra	Ferrari 296 GT3	108	-
31	GTD	Altzman / Megennis	Ford Mustang GT3	108	-
32	LMP2	Clarke / Dillmann	ORECA LMP2 07	106	Accident
33	GTD	Goikhberg / Farnbacher	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	105	-
34	LMP2	Kurtz / Quinn	ORECA LMP2 07	53	Accident
-	LMP2	Kraut / Andrews	ORECA LMP2 07	-	Withdrawn

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