Virtual racers around the globe can share in the excitement and anticipation as the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season builds to its dramatic conclusion by participating in the IMSA iRacing Triple Crown Challenge.
Unveiled today by IMSA in partnership with iRacing.com’s premier motorsport racing simulation platform, the iRacing Triple Crown Challenge is open to all iRacing.com members. The three-race championship will take place on virtual tracks corresponding to three of the same actual tracks among the final four stops on the WeatherTech Championship schedule. The Triple Crown Challenge will utilize GT Le Mans (GTLM) cars in a one-class, 60-minute race format, with the schedule following roughly the same cadence as the real-life WeatherTech Championship calendar.
Competitors will vie for prizes that include a VIP weekend for two to any WeatherTech Championship event in 2021.
The announcement comes on the heels of the highly praised IMSA iRacing Pro Series of races that included many IMSA drivers and took place during the shutdown of actual racing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s great to continue to expand our IMSA eSports initiatives,” said Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing Director of Marketing. “We have a long-standing partnership, which has blossomed in recent years, most notably with the iRacing Pro Invitational series this spring. That series featured many of the real-world IMSA drivers and teams competing on iRacing, and it was hugely successful.
“The new series will be open to all 170,000 iRacing members,” Bobbitt added. “It will be a great way for sim racers to engage with IMSA and see firsthand how exciting online sports car racing is. We are looking forward to a great series!”
The iRacing Triple Crown Challenge events are set for Oct. 11 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Oct. 25 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Nov. 8 at Sebring International Raceway. Each race starts at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on iRacing’s YouTube channel.
Championship points will be tabulated for entrants in the top split (the uppermost division based on iRacing rankings). The top split champion will win a VIP weekend for two to a 2021 WeatherTech Championship event. A participant who competes in all three races, no matter the split, will be randomly selected to receive a VIP weekend for two to a 2021 WeatherTech Championship event. Travel is not included in either VIP experience.
Other prizes randomly awarded to participants in splits below the top division include Team IMSA store credits, IMSA 50th Anniversary season books and IMSA prize packs.
To learn more and register for the IMSA iRacing Triple Crown Challenge, visit www.iracing.com/imsa-iracing-triple-crown-challenge/.
