It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for all of us at DSC HQ to plan another horrifying travel schedule. But before we begin jetting around the world again, covering the sport we hold so dear, it’s well worth looking back at 2019.
2019 was memorable for a variety of reasons. Toyota won Le Mans again, IMSA celebrated its 50th anniversary, Super Sebring exceeded everyone’s expectations, the ELMS and IGTC continued to see growth, and post-race penalties cost countless teams pole positions, wins, podiums and titles, keeping us guessing long after each meeting was over!
The on-track action was at times good, bad and ugly. It was a year which had a bit of everything, and all of us at DSC enjoyed another 12 months of trotting the globe telling stories, taking pictures and creating podcasts.
So, without further adieu, here’s a look back at our season, with a picture from each major race meeting or event we attended:
(Photo credits: David Lord, Martin Spetz, Andrew Hall, David Downes, Peter May, Michelin, Corvette Racing, Nick Foster and Optimum Motorsport)
January 9th: The year began, as always, with theRoar Before The Rolex 24
January 13th: Next up was the penultimate round of the Asian Le Mans Series season at Buriram
January 30th: The first major event was the Rolex 24, which saw Wayne Taylor Racing claim a win in the rain
February 2nd: We then headed to Bathurst for Earl Bamber Motorsport’s huge 12 Hour win
March 1st: The Asian Le Mans season finale was up next at Sepang
March 17th: The FIA WEC/IMSA doubleheader at Sebring was a huge success!
March 18th: Another big Endurance Cup win for Cadillac came in the 12 Hours
March 30th: Ferrari wins its first IGTC race at Laguna Seca
April 10th: Tommy Erdos returned to prototype racing at the ELMS Prologue
April 15th: DragonSpeed won the ELMS season opener at Paul Ricard
April 24th: The British GT season kicked off at Oulton Park
May 6th: Wild weather in the FIA WEC’s 6 Hours of Spa!
May 7th: McLaren made its IMSA GTD debut at Mid Ohio
15th May: ELMS at the Temple of Speed
May 23rd: GT4 battle royale at Snetterton
June 3rd: Ford preps for its final Le Mans with the GT at the Test Day
June 17th: Toyota wins back to back Le Mans 24 Hours
June 23rd: Skippy loved his first trip to the Nürburgring…
25th June: …For the Nürburgring 24 Hours, which featured classics on the support bill
25th June: Busy pit-lane in the British GT weekend at Donington
July 1st: FINALLY! Mazda wins in IMSA
20th July: First ELMS race at Barcelona since 2009
26th July: The Ginetta G60-LT-P1 returns at the WEC Prologue
29th July: Another wet and wild Spa 24
1st August: An Aston Martin Vantage GT2 is eligible for the Silverstone Classic… Feel old?
August 6th: Pilgrim’s drop in the British GT finale
27th August: The DSC team visits Suzuka for the first time for the IGTC 10 Hours
31st August: Another ELMS-WEC double-header
1st September: Both were four-hour races, the 2019/20 WEC season was go
September 3rd: World Challenge America at WGI
September 15th: Classic track, but controversy reigned as long-time operator SCRAMP was removed in questionable circumstances
24th September: Big off for Algarve Pro during the ELMS weekend at Spa
5th October: On safari during the 6 Hours of Fuji
12th October: Grand finale to IMSA 50 at Petit Le Mans
3rd November: A rare shot of the inaugural FIA Motorsport Games at Vallelunga in the dry!
9th November: Back in China for the four-hour FIA WEC race
24th November: Before the 2019/20 Asian Le Mans Series got underway later in the month
14th December: The decade went out with a bang in the 8 Hours of Bahrain!
