The 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) was the third season of the United SportsCar Championship and first to be under the name as the IMSA SportsCar Championship organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It was the 46th season of IMSA-sanctioned GT Championship sportscar racing tracing its lineage to the 1971 IMSA Camel GT season. It began on January 30 with the 24 Hours of Daytona and ended on October 1 at Petit Le Mans.
The class structure remained largely unchanged from 2015, with the major change coming in GTD which was now run full GT3 spec machinery.
The 2016 schedule was released on August 8, 2015 and featured twelve rounds.
There were also two test sessions before the beginning of the season. They were held on November 17âÂÂ18 at Daytona International Speedway, as well as The Roar Before the 24, also at Daytona, January 8âÂÂ10.
NOTE: Because of a high car count for the Mazda Raceway event, there will be two separate two-hour races with two categories racing in each race.
All entries use an Oreca FLM09 chassis powered by a Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8.
Bold indicates overall winner.
Championship points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Points are awarded based on finishing positions as shown in the chart below.
Points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event. Drivers must complete a minimum driving time (outlined to teams prior to each event) in order to score points. A driver does not score points if the minimum drive time is not met.
In addition, for each car credited with a race start, each driver nominated in that car also receives one additional âÂÂstarting point.âÂÂ
Team points are calculated in exactly the same way as driver points, using the point distribution chart and âÂÂstarting points.â Each car entered is considered its own âÂÂteamâ regardless if it is a single entry or part of a two-car team.
There are also a number of manufacturer championships which utilize the same season-long point distribution chart, minus the âÂÂstarting pointsâ used for the driver and team championships. (The âÂÂstarting pointâ is not used in manufacturer championship points.) The manufacturer championships recognized by IMSA are as follows:
Each manufacturer receives finishing points for its <u>highest finishing car in each class</u>. The positions of subsequent finishing cars from the same manufacturer are not taken into consideration, and all other manufacturers move up in the order.
The points system for the 2016 season is the same as in 2015.
The points system for the North American Endurance Cup is different from the normal points system. Points are awarded on a 5-4-3-2 basis for drivers, teams and manufacturers. The first finishing position at each interval earns five points, four points for second position, three points for third, with two points awarded for fourth and each subsequent finishing position.
At Daytona (24 hour race), points are awarded at six hours, 12 hours, 18 hours and at the finish. At the Sebring (12 hour race), points are awarded at four hours, eight hours and at the finish. At Watkins Glen (6 hour race), points are awarded at three hours and at the finish. At Road Atlanta (10 hour race), points are awarded at four hours, eight hours and at the finish.
Like the season-long team championship, North American Endurance Cup team points are awarded for each car and drivers get points in any car that they drive, in which they are entered for points. The manufacturer points go to the highest placed car from that manufacturer (the others from that manufacturer not being counted), just like the season-long manufacturer championship.
For example: in any particular segment manufacturer A finishes 1st and 2nd and manufacturer B finishes 3rd. Manufacturer A only receives first-place points for that segment. Manufacturer B receives the second-place points.