The green flag has waved on the entry process for teams planning to compete in the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The earlier timeline, a full two months ahead of prior seasons, is the result of requests from many teams and manufacturer partners eager to confirm their plans for 2016.

In addition to the debut of WeatherTech as the new entitlement partner, the highly anticipated season will see the introduction of full FIA GT3 specifications in the GT Daytona (GTD) class and exciting new race cars in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in addition to a full complement of competitors in the Prototype (P) and Prototype Challenge (PC) classes.

The IMSA Road to Daytona begins later this fall, with the first WeatherTech Championship test at Daytona International Speedway on Nov. 17-18. The annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 test will be held Jan. 8-10, 2016, followed by the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31.

The twice-around-the-clock endurance classic will be the first event at the new Daytona International Speedway motorsports stadium upon the completion of the $400 million Daytona Rising project.

The 2016 season will feature a 10-race calendar for the Prototype class in the final year of its current technical configuration before shifting to new technical regulations beginning in the 2017 season.

The GTLM, GTD and PC classes will have 11 races each as part of a schedule that includes a total of 12 WeatherTech Championship races. The combination of event purses, special awards and year-end point funds will exceed $4 million.

Entry forms have been distributed to current TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race teams and also are available for download by new WeatherTech Championship participants within the competitor section of IMSA.com.

Entries will be accepted for review, through 5 p.m. ET on October 30, 2015. IMSA will review and confirm the selection of entries based on established criteria for the 2016 season.