Why IMSA is poised for a renaissance in American sports car racing.
The Illinois native isn’t just “Midwestern nice” either. He’s widely considered one of the nicest men in motorsport. His passion for racing can disarm even the most cynical among us. That’s a good thing in his line of work.SIGN UP FOR THE TRACK CLUB BY R&T FOR MORE EXCLUSIVE STORIES
Doonan’s first IMSA races as an attendee were at Road America in 1979—he was nine—and 1981, when the Grand Touring Prototype era began. “It was magical,” he tellsThe idea with LMDh was to re-create the magic, and in the IMSA WeatherTech series, the GTP name was revived for the occasion. Doonan was part of early discussions that led to LMDh in his previous role as head of Mazda Motorsports, a job he held for eight years to moderate success. He sees a large part of his job now as fostering collaborations among all of those with a vested interest in LMDh. “The only way, I think, in the end, to get to the unveiling in the first race of this new platform in 2023 is with everybody working together,” Doonan said in an earlier phone interview.
His job is, in part, to create a good place for automakers and advertisers to invest their money. Part of that is defining classes that are cost-effective to both enter and to stay in. “Another vision of ours is to make sure that we’re positioning ourselves, not just IMSA, but all the stakeholders, for a nice, clear path, such that when people make an investment to race here, whether it’s an OEM or an individual race team, they know roughly what’s coming for the next five years.
“For us, it’s about being present,” he says, “being vocal about our story, because you’re right: There’s a big spotlight on auto racing in general, and because of the number of OEMs that are participating, we have a very great story to tell and an incredible stage. . . . This is the ultimate laboratory and the ultimate proving ground. And we need to tell that story as much as we possibly can to take good advantage of the momentum that the whole sport has at the moment.
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