2023 IMSA Esports Global Championship
Just where the real-world IMSA season left off is where the IMSA Esports Global Championship will kick off as the series begins its second season at Road Atlanta.
The opening round of a four-race slate this weekend will feature a two-class, 45-car grid of GTPs and GTDs, the standard for the season, with the racing being contested under a sprint format, a 2-hour and 40-minute timed race, exactly the same as real-world IMSA.
The GTPs will be made up of “the Acura ARX-06, BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R, and Porsche 963,” according to IMSA, with the GTDs seeing a mix of “BMWs, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, the Mercedes-AMG, and Porsches.”
By the end of the season, the championship-winning teams in each class will grab a $25,000 cash prize for their successes, but there is a long time away from that as teams have to prepare and attack this tricky circuit at Road Atlanta.
The season opener features some proven veterans on track Sunday, with eNASCAR champion Casey Kirwan behind the wheel for the Cadillac-based team XSet V-Series. r.
Other familiar teams that fans will recognize are CrowdStrike Racing, who will be in the GTP class this season, and BMW M Team Redline.
Also, teams such as Williams will have a significant footprint on the grid, being involved with many different entries across both classes for race one.
Road Atlanta should provide a great opening test for these drivers as they open the season.
If anything can be translated from the season finale to the opening race of the virtual season, one fact is that passing can be troubling at this track, and staying clean early could be important for teams, especially in GTP where the class is loaded and space is limited.
Pit strategy will be a factor.
Referencing back to the grid, with their being 20 or more cars, in the case of the GTDs, the pits may see an influx than usual, something that should play a factor more so for the GTP class.
It will be very interesting to see how drivers attack the first thirty minutes or so of the race.
With the season being as short as it is, drivers should be pushing early in terms of gaining position, as points will be crucial in the first race of a four-race sprint.
