IMSA Confirms Belle Isle Race In 2021

IMSA has confirmed that the series will return to the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan for the 2021 season. After originally being pencilled in as a ‘To Be Determined’, the race now has a set date: June 4/5. For the first time in the event’s history, it will not run concurrently with the NTT IndyCar Series which will be run a week later on June 12-13.

“It was unfortunate that we were not able to host the Detroit Grand Prix in 2020 due to COVID-19, but we are so excited to welcome fans back to Belle Isle with not one, but two great weekends of racing and family entertainment,” said Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker. “The first weekend in June will be a sports car celebration with the exotic cars of IMSA.

The event will feature DPi, LMP2, and GTD cars. It is normal for GTLM cars to not run at Belle Isle to allow factory GT teams to focus on preparations for Le Mans and the Le Mans test days, which typically falls on the same weekend as the Belle Isle round.

“As the ‘Automotive Capital of the World,’ Detroit is an extremely important market to all of our automotive partners, so we are naturally thrilled to return in 2021,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “The WeatherTech Championship drivers, teams, manufacturers and partners will have the opportunity to stand in the spotlight as the headline event of the weekend and we know they will deliver an outstanding performance.”

Tickets for the event will be made available in early 2021. Fans with tickets for the 2020 race that chose to defer the tickets to 2021 will get priority when sleeting their viewing options.

Of note, the NTT IndyCar Series round from Belle Isle conflicts with the 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours.

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