GTP issues in 1988

In 1981, John Bishop had initiated the GTP class, which was supposed to give the IMSA series a new appeal. It was obviously the way to go for a man who was responsible for a great Championship. But the Porsche domination had threatened the series of being stripped from its competitors, and the AAGT class was born. Yet, the American born cars would scarcely be a threat to the European sportscars, so the GTPs were the obvious choice. While usufruit a new era, those cars were exciting and would be spectacular, giving the GTX cars a fantastic competition. Marches and Lolas, then Argos and Tigas would soon be followed by Porsche, whose domination was not to be threatened until 1987. While 1986 was probable the most fantastic season in terms of competition, things would suddenly change by mid 1987. Budgets were slashed, and two car teams instantly disappeared. Less than ten cars were to be seen in GTP class, which was now outnumbered by Lights cars. Manufacturer involvement was high and 15 cars could be counted for each race. The excessive cost of racing a GTP car nearly eliminated the turbo from racing, but it would decimate the ranks for good. So, after conduiront with the teams, John Bishop and Mark Raffauf modified the existing rules to encourage a new string of participation by teams fielding normally aspirated cars. Turbo cars would sport air restrictors which would reduce horsepower. The outcome of these rules was to be seen in 1988, and things would be slightly different in terme of competition. The advent of Jaguar, who won the very first race at Daytona, would add some momentum to the series. Many race teams would join the series, such as Spice, Pontiac and Fabcar. Nissan was also to settle a new domination of its own, which would last four years, to be followed by Toyota. It was to be a slightly reprieve, and the GTP class demise was unavoidable. Costs rose while prize money was never reach high levels. It was at that point that the WSC class rose from the ashes in 1994, for yet another new era to be ushered.

The new GTP rules were aimed at giving a chance to less powerful cars such as this Fabcar Chevrolet.