Grand Touring Under
 |
|
| Category | Sportscar racing |
|---|---|
| Country | North America |
| Inaugural season | 1971 |
| Folded | 1998 |
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.
The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill France, Sr.. Racing began in 1971, and was originally aimed at two of FIA's stock car categories, running two classes each; the GT (groups 3 and 4) and touring (Group 1 and 2) classes. The first race was held at Virginia International Raceway; it was an unexpected hit with both the drivers and a handful of spectators who attended.
For the following year, IMSA founder John Bishop brought in sponsor R. J. Reynolds, and in 1975 introduced a new category: All American Grand Touring (AAGT). In 1977, the series would go through a series of major changes. IMSA permitted turbocharged cars to compete for the first time, as well as introducing a new category: GTX, based on Group 5 rules. In 1981, after Bishop decided to not follow FIA's newly introduced Group C rules, he introduced the GTP class for sports prototypes. In 1989, Bishop sold off his organization. After a period of decline in the early 1990s, the "Sports Car" category was introduced in 1993 to replace the GTP category in 1994.
After a period of multiple ownerships, the organization was eventually renamed Professional Sports Car Racing (PSCR). In 1999, PSCR decided to drop their own championship series in order to sanction a new series: the American Le Mans Series. Despite having various official names, the GT series was known commonly as the "IMSA series", as it had been the organization's dominant series.
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