Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022 – Sports Cars, Touring Cars and More

This week in Motorsport Series News I look at the new Mustang GT3 project, the return of IMSA GTP, Touring Car news from Canada, Germany and New Zealand, a new V8-based series in Canada and more. 2022 is heating up!

Sports Car News

Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022
  • Arguably the biggest news in sports cars last week was Ford unveiling their Mustang GT3 plans for the 2024 IMSA season. The car will be developed with longtime partner Multimatic with potential plans to include Le Mans and the Intercontinental GT Challenge plus factory supported teams.
Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022
  • Along with the Mustang GT3 news, IMSA is honoring its past while looking to its future with the announcement that in 2023 the LMDh class will now be known as the GTP class. “In an ongoing attempt to make sure that what we’re doing on the racetrack is understandable to our most loyal audience members as well as the new audience that we continue to attract, we took a step back and looked over the years to find a name that stood out the most for IMSA,” series president John Doonan told RACER.
  • In more IMSA news, the series has admitted that they are monitoring the LMP2 chassis change timeline. “We’re continuing to gauge the marketplace here,” he said. “We’re continuing to have conversations with our partners at the ACO, Pierre Fillon, Thierry Bouvet, about what we do as a sport in this space. No decisions yet.”
  • Porsche has provided an update on their 2023 LMDh project. The vehicle will be fielded in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under the team name, Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We were spoiled for choice with the engine for our LMDh prototype, because the product range offers several promising baseline units,” explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “We decided on the V8-biturbo, which we feel offers the best combination of performance characteristics, weight and costs. The kick-off to the active test programme was an important step for the project.”
  • Lamborghini and IMSA have extended their partnership agreement that will continue to see Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America under IMSA sanctioning through at least the 2026 season.
Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022
  • The proposed ‘Vanwall’ LMH ‘Hypercar’ from the ByKolles team has been shown in complete (but rendered) form, but their hypercar entry has been rejected by the ACO. Daily Sportscar reports that the rejection is related to a significant challenge to the team’s usage of the Vanwall brand, the registering of it in Germany first reported by the site in mid-December. Gorgeous looking car you have to admit regardless of who owns the name.

Touring Car News

Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022
CTCC Photo Credit: Phillip Sutherland
  • The Canadian Touring Car Challenge is gearing up for 2022 with a 10 round calendar. The championship will be featuring a five-event calendar and a multi-class structure featuring TCR and GTSport cars.
  • Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing has emphasized that it will continue to support customer teams in TCR Germany following the split between Hyundai Germany and Engstler Motorsport.
  • Finally, details of the New Zealand Touring Car Masters series rules are emerging. New sporting and technical regulations are expected to be announced as well as a “performance-based” driver classification system.

More Motorsport Series News

A lot is happening in the run-up to the 2022 season and here is a selection of more motorsport series news of interest from around the globe.

  • The Spec MX-5 Challenge is a great way to get involved in racing in America with a relatively reasonable financial outlay. In the video below, Mazda Motorsport explains why and gives viewers an idea of where they are headed with the series.
Motorsport Series News for February 2, 2022 - Sports Cars, Touring Cars and More
  • The F3 Cup has been called off for this year but they are planning a 2023 return.
  • GT Celebration will host a preseason test at Apex Motor Club February 10-11, 2022. Over the course of two days drivers will have over five hours of track time. Limited spots available so make sure to reserve yours today. Eligible Cars: GT3, GT4, LMP3, Cup Cars, Radicals, Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, TCR
  • Calabogie MotorSports Park has announced the launch of “V8 Thunder Cars Canada.” In its inaugural season, two race weekends have been planned at Calabogie MotorSports Park. The main eligibility requirement is that the car must meet the safety regulations of a recognized sanctioning body, such as CASC-OR, SCCA, Lucky Dog or similar as described in the Series Rules. The second eligibility requirement is that it is powered by a V8 motor.
  • I have mentioned Geoff Emery’s Porsche Pro-Am title appeal in past columns and it seems that his appeal has been rejected again. While he has vowed to appeal to the civil court system, no word yet on if he will actually do so.
  • Finally, could the Toyota-based 86 Coupes replace the Miata as an all around, low cost race car for the amateur club racer in the United States? Two veteran American racers seem to think it has potential.

That is it for this week’s Motorsport Series News round-up. Get ready for this afternoon’s selections from the Motorsport Prospects Marketplace.

Mark Boudreau
Author: Mark Boudreau

Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.