Why IMSA’s downtown Detroit GTP debut was divisive

Thanks to the vision of Roger Penske and the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the event – which was a Formula 1 round from 1982 to 1988 – returned last year as a flagship IndyCar Series round in the shadow of General Motors’ imposing towers of its Renaissance Center that forms its global HQ. For now, at least. The streets of Detroit are also no stranger to sportscars, with Trans-Am (which supported F1 in the mid-1980s and IndyCar from 1989-91) and the American Le Mans Series (in the late 2000s) gracing previous events.

After racing on another temporary Detroit track, at nearby Belle Isle from 2007-2022, IMSA’s premier series made its debut this weekend on the tight downtown circuit, after its second-tier Pilot Challenge series was the guinea pig for its resurrection last year. That race was best remembered for a wild crash, where Robert Megennis’s BMW mounted Rory van der Steur’s Aston Martin at Turn 3 and vaulted over the top of it. You could see why IMSA’s teams didn’t want to risk their precious LMDh cars in their inaugural GTP season with the electrical hybrid system, as well as its GTD cars – especially for some with the 24 Hours of Le Mans just weeks away.

So it came as little surprise that this year’s 100-minute event was interrupted five times by full-course cautions for crashes or debris. After an occasionally chaotic race, the response was mixed to say the least. For instance, Porsche’s Felipe Nasr , who finished fourth after a sparkling comeback .