The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is making a triumphant return to Mid-Ohio, one of America’s classic road courses as part of its newly announced 2018 schedule.

Like previous years, the season will start with what is known as the 36 hours of Florida, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Sebring 12 hour enduros.

The rest of the calendar is largely the same as previous years. One notable exception is the changes made to the Long Beach Grand Prix, which will become a Prototype/GTLM event only, dropping the GTD cars that competed in 2017.

In addition to the change at Long Beach, a fan favorite course will be returning to the schedule, Mid-Ohio.

Replacing Circuit of the Americas on the calendar, he series will race at the historic, 2.258-mile Ohio track May 4-6, 2018.

Grand-Am, one of the two series that merged to form the IMSA WeatherTech championship, last raced at the Lexington, Ohio course in 2013, with Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi taking the victory.

The other series in the merger, the American Le Mans Series, last raced at the facility in 2012.

“Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has a long and storied history of hosting world-class sports car races in front of a loyal and knowledgeable fan base,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton.

“We will build on that legacy next May with a field of Prototype and GT race cars that represent the pinnacle of the sport.”

With a full name like Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, it only makes sense for America’s premier sports car series to return to the hallowed ground. It’s a tricky track that has many in the series excited.

“It is great to be returning to Mid Ohio,” said Ken Payne, motorsport technical director, Michelin North America.  

“It is a challenging track that requires a high level of driver confidence and excellent chassis setup.”

The 2018 season will end at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, however, the event will be moved one weekend later and now take place October 10-13.