IMSA’s plan for expanded series-sanctioned testing in 2027 has given Head of BMW M Motorsport’s Andreas Roos some concerns.
On Thursday afternoon, IMSA revealed next year’s relatively unchanged schedule for its WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. One of the notable items that is different, though, is a plan to have sanctioned testing at all five tracks that host endurance rounds.
IMSA already has an annual series-wide sanctioned test at Daytona with the Roar Before the Rolex 24, which will take place January 22-24 next season. The series has also sorted an offseason test at Daytona the past few years, which has taken place in either November or December. Additionally, there was a sanctioned test at Sebring International Raceway in February of 2025. The ‘planned tests’ are eligible to WeatherTech Championship teams only, but not mandatory.
With more details over information and specific dates to be announced later, there remains a level of uncertainty.
Considering there are a number of complexities that vary from Balance of Performance (BoP), learning Michelin’s new Pilot Sport Endurance GTP tire, among other things, Roos weighed in with his thoughts to Motorsport.com.
“This has to be clearly looked at what makes sense and what does not,” Roos said. “Because at the end, we have a very strict testing regulation in terms of amount of testing, and this is also to keep the costs under control. The more you go testing, the more expensive it gets.
“There are topics, which always the more you run, the better it is, the more knowledge you create, the more data you create.”
And even though BMW M Motorsport pivoted its IMSA program from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to Team WRT over the offseason, Roos believes testing would still present minimal learnings since the BMW M Hybrid V8 has been a player since the GTP class developed in 2023.
“On the other hand, we run now, more or less the same car since 2023, so there are only small things which are adjusted left and right, now with the new tire or things like this,” Roos said. “But this doesn’t mean that the field is completely mixed up.
“So we have to clearly see what is needed and what we have to do, and the main thing is to keep the costs under control. Because when you look outside and read the news every day, I think it’s not also the best time to spend more money than what is needed.”
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