IMSA CEO Ed Bennett has told DSC that the IMSA Prototype Challenge is set to introduce a number of ‘mini-endurance events’ in their 2018 calendar ahead of the introduction for next season of the proposed LMP3 ‘World League’

IMSA’s LMP3 offering is out of step with the other ACO sanctioned LMP3 Championships around the world as it offers single driver sprint, format races only on its 2017 calendar.

The Series though has seen healthy numbers of LMP3 cars entered alongside a second class for the previous IMSA Lites machinery.

“We want to build the class sustainably,” said Bennett, “It’s clearly a class with a future, particularly as a development tool, but to align with the ACPO’s new idea, which again we support but which has a way to go to get to a finished format, we would need to put together some races that are something beyond our current format.”

Despite much talk of the LMP3 class being welcomed into the main IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Series the current three year plan is for a three class system: Protoype (featuring both DPI and LMP2), GTLM (for GTE spec cars ) and GTD (for GT3 spec cars).

“We’ve communicated that plan to the paddock and we’re happy with it. LMP3 has a huge future we believe but for us at the moment it is in the right place.