Four Exciting Race Weekends Remain in 2021 at IMS
August 31, 2021 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sports Cars, SCCA, Indy Autonomous Challenge Take Center Stage This Fall
Four unique race weekends, featuring an impressive, varied array of machinery and competitors, are coming to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this September and October in an exciting, fan-friendly conclusion to the 2021 season at the Racing Capital of the World.
Tickets for the Porsche Sportscar Together Fest, SCCA Runoffs and Indianapolis 8 Hour are available now at IMS.com. Limited attendee information for the Indy Autonomous Challenge will be available soon at IMS.com.
A look at the upcoming events in September and October at IMS:
Porsche Sportscar Together Fest – Friday, Sept. 10 through Sunday, Sept. 12
•Details: This spectacular three-day festival will celebrate Porsche car culture with on-track race action and interactive experiences highlighting the breadth of the brand.
This event is engineered for families with a dedicated Fan Zone and infield activities appealing to all ages. Among the planned entertainment is live music, morning yoga, yard games, Kids’ Zone and a full Porsche model lineup featuring GT cars. Also, sign up for ride-along activities, like autocross and off-road, with Porsche Track Experience instructors. These dynamic modules are located in the infield adjacent to the Fan Zone.
One-make race competition is the backdrop to these exciting activities and will be presented in three racing series – Porsche Carrera Cup, Porsche Sprint Challenge and Porsche Club Racing.
Fans also can explore the Zentrum building, which hosts a number of Porsche areas, including the Porsche Classic Restoration Challenge, the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta, Tequipment, Exclusiv and the Porsche Design merchandise store.
•Circuit: IMS Road Course
SCCA Runoffs – Friday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 3
•Details: The 58th SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the annual crown jewel of Sports Car Club of America competition, serving as a gathering for the top amateur racers in America to earn a prestigious national championship in numerous classes featuring a variety of racing machines of all shapes and sizes. Twenty-six separate classes will hold their championship races.
This is the second time the prestigious event will take place at IMS, with the first in 2017. The Racing Capital of the World burnishes an impressive lineup of legendary tracks to host the Runoffs during its 50-plus-year history, including Daytona, Road Atlanta. Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca, Sonoma, VIR and Road America.
Record-setting numbers of entrants are lured by the attraction of competing on the most famous racetrack on Earth. This year’s Runoffs at IMS are on schedule to be the second-largest in history, second only to the first Runoffs at IMS, which drew a record 969 entries.
•Circuit: IMS Road Course
Indianapolis 8 Hour – Friday, Oct. 15 through Sunday, Oct. 17
•Details: The elite sports car drivers and evocative brands of the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli will compete for the second consecutive year at IMS in the Indianapolis 8 Hour endurance race.
Since 2016, the series has brought together some of the world’s great standalone endurance events to compete under the FIA’s global GT3 sports car regulations. The race weekend at IMS is part of a globe-trotting campaign that races on at least three continents.
The world’s biggest luxury automotive manufacturers also consider Intercontinental GT Challenge as a key component of their customer racing programs. Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche are among the prestigious manufacturers competing in the series.
Also racing that weekend along with the Intercontinental GT Challenge is its North American series, GT World Challenge America.
•Circuit: IMS Road Course
Indy Autonomous Challenge – Saturday, Oct. 23
•Details: Energy Systems Network (ESN) is the organizer of the $1.5 million prize competition designed to engage university teams from around the world to program autonomous-modified race cars and compete in the world’s first autonomous competition on the famed 2.5-mile oval. The prize will be awarded to the team that advances autonomous technology the furthest in the competition.
The Indy Autonomous Challenge is a prize competition, which includes 10 teams and 21 universities from nine countries. The primary goal of the IAC is to advance technology that can speed the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles and deployments of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). These enhancements will lead to increased safety and performance in all modes of racing and commercial transportation.
The Challenge builds upon the success and impact of the 2004-2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, which led to the advancement of new technologies and invigorated the prize challenge model of promoting innovation – as well as IMS’s roots dating back to 1909 as a proving ground for the nascent automotive industry. More than a century later, IMS has contributed to countless breakthroughs in automotive performance and safety, including the first rear-view mirror.
Opportunities for limited attendance will be announced soon.
•Circuit: IMS Oval