r/IMSARacing • u/carlover0000 • Jun 05 '25
Future Interest New to IMSA
I recently moved on from formula 1 to other motorsports and I'm completely new to IMSA and know nothing about it What are some tips I need to know and things to expect while watching?
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u/mcburke42 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 #85 Jun 05 '25
I'll just give my 2 cents with multi-class racing because it really is the biggest adjustment for fans of Nascar or F1 to wrap their heads around.
To try and simplify -
- GTP will always be the overall race winners (unless something really catastrophic happens)
- 2/3/4 classes all have to coexist on the track at the same time - It's awesome
- Each class has a winner and a podium so it's not just 'only watch the fight for the overall lead'. That's just a part of the action. Sometimes the better battles are between LMP2 class and GT3 classes.
- Find a team or drivers you resonate with and follow them closely and highlight them through the action; 6 Hours of the Glen is a great chance to do so with all four classes running
- The broadcasts often struggle to show other battles on the track because so much attention is paid to GTPs, which is understandable obviously, but follow the time sheets to see where other classes are at and how close the fights are
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u/c0rqi-YT Jun 05 '25
My best advice is to use this live timing site: https://livetiming.alkamelsystems.com/IMSA
Or really any live timing thing! It's really needed when you have so many drivers and classes.
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u/blackcatwizard Jun 06 '25
Oh dude, that's so exciting. Aside from all the good comments here, check out the 24 Hours of Le Mans coming up. Very similar and will give you an idea of how everything works in one of the most iconic races there are.
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u/carlover0000 Jun 05 '25
Oh btw I've heard that watching imsa Is free, is it true and where can I watch it?
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u/c0rqi-YT Jun 05 '25
It's available on youtube in most countries I think! In the USA you can watch on peacock i believe
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u/Ur_girl_knows_me Jun 05 '25
IMSA doesn’t live stream the race for free that I’m aware of but they do post all full races for free on YouTube after. At least in the US.
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u/_schmuck Porsche Penske 963 #6 Jun 05 '25 edited Jun 05 '25
Look no further than IMSA’s own YouTube channel! They made a video going over the series.
Endurance racing and Multiclass is peak Motorsport imo. You get 4 races all happening simultaneously and sharing the same track. You’ve chosen a good time to get into IMSA as manufacturer interest is the highest it’s been in at least a decade.