1997 IMSA GT Championship
The 1997 Exxon World Sports Car Championship and Supreme GT Series seasons were the 27th season of the IMSA GT Championship. It consisted of open-cockpit prototypes referred to as World Sports Car (WSC) and Grand Tourer-style racing cars divided into GTS-1, GTS-2, and GTS-3 classes.
It began February 1, 1997, and ended October 26, 1997, after eleven rounds. 1997 would mark the final year in IMSA GT for the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Six Hours of Watkins Glen. In 1998, the SCCA's revived United States Road Racing Championship would acquire the events.
Schedule
Most races on the schedule ran with the GTS and WSC classes running separate races, sometimes with different lengths. Races marked with Both had both classes on track at the same time for the whole race.
| Rnd | Race | Length | Class | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolex 24 at Daytona | 24 Hours | Both | Daytona International Speedway | February 1 February 2 |
| 2 | Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring | 12 Hours | Both | Sebring International Raceway | March 15 |
| 3 | NAPA Grand Prix of Atlanta | 2 Hours | GTS | Road Atlanta | April 19 |
| WSC | April 20 | ||||
| 4 | Dodge Dealers Grand Prix | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | Lime Rock Park | May 26 |
| WSC | |||||
| 5 | First Union Six Hours at the Glen | 6 Hours | Both | Watkins Glen International | June 1 |
| 6 | California Grand Prix | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | Sears Point Raceway | July 13 |
| 2 Hours | WSC | ||||
| 7 | Mosport Festival | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | Mosport International Raceway | August 31 |
| 2 Hours | WSC | ||||
| 8 | Sportscar Grand Prix | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | September 20 |
| 2 Hours | WSC | ||||
| 9 | Festival of Road Racing | 2 Hours | WSC | Pikes Peak International Raceway | September 28 |
| 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | ||||
| 10 | NAPA Sebring Octoberfest | 2 Hours | WSC | Sebring International Raceway | October 18 |
| 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | ||||
| 11 | Visa Sports Car Championship | 1 Hour 45 Minutes | GTS | Laguna Seca Raceway | October 26 |
| WSC |
Season results
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Teams Championship
Points are awarded to the finishers in the following order:
- 25-21-19-17-15-14-13-12-11-10-...
Exception however for the 12 Hours of Sebring, which awarded in the following order:
- 30-26-24-22-20-19-18-17-16-15-...
And the 24 Hours of Daytona, which is awarded in the following order:
- 33-29-27-25-23-22-21-20-19-18-...
Teams only score the points of their highest finishing entry in each race.
WSC Standings
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Rd 11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dyson Racing |
Riley & Scott Mk III | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 33 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 19 | 25 | 264 |
| 2 | Moretti Racing |
Ferrari 333 SP | Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12 | 25 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 210 |
| 3 |  Dibos Racing |
Riley & Scott Mk III Ferrari 333 SP |
Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8 Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12 |
27 | 24 | 10 |
19 | 13 | 19 |
15 |
15 | 14 | 17 |
17 |
190 |
| 4 | Doyle/Riley & Scott |
Riley & Scott Mk III | Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 19 | 160 |
| 5 | Central Arkansas Racing |
Ferrari 333 SP | Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12 | 15 | 14 | 21 | 17 | 25 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 145 | ||
| 6 | Downing Atlanta Racing |
Kudzu DLM | Mazda 2.0 L 3-Rotor | 23 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 141 |
| 7 | FAB Factory Motorsport |
Spice SC95 Kudzu DG-2 |
Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8 Buick 4.5 L V6 |
15 | 17 | 8 |
11 |
19 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 120 |
| 8 | MSI Racing |
Riley & Scott Mk III | Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 | 12 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 111 | ||
| 9 | Support Net Racing |
Hawk C-8 Riley & Scott Mk III |
Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 Ford 5.0 L V8 |
21 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
96 | |||
| 10 | Screaming Eagles Racing |
Riley & Scott Mk III | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 79 | |||||
| 11 | Davin Racing |
Argo P Kudzu DLM |
BMW 4.0 L V8 Buick 4.5 L V6 |
17 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
8 |
8 |
2 |
69 | |
| 12 |  Courage Compétition |
Courage C41 | Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 67 | |||
| 13 | Team Scandia |
Ferrari 333 SP | Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12 | 29 | 30 | 59 | |||||||||
| 14= | Kopf Precision Products |
Keiler KII | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 18 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 56 | |||||
| 14= | TRV Motorsports |
Kudzu DL-4 | Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 56 | |||||
| 16 | URD Rennwagenbau USA |
URD WSC95 | BMW 4.0 L V8 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 36 | |||||||
| 17 |  Target 24 |
Riley & Scott Mk III | Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 L V8 | 19 | 14 | 33 | |||||||||
| 18 | Team South Carolina |
Hawk MD3R | Mazda 2.0 L 3-Rotor | 6 | 17 | 23 | |||||||||
| 19 |  Graham Williams |
ProSport 3000 | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 22 | 22 | ||||||||||
| 20 | Fantasy Junction |
Cannibal | Chevrolet 6.0L V8 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 20 | |||||||
| 21 | John Christie |
X-250 | Ferrari F310E 4.0 L V12 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 22 | Bill Dollahite |
Spice BDG-02 | Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 23 | Wheel Works |
Bennett Special MkII | Pontiac 5.0 L V8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
External links
- World Sports Racing Prototypes - 1998 IMSA GT Championship results