IMSA has had some of the coolest race cars on the planet over their decades of racing, with GTP and GTP Lights being some of their coolest. In the late 1980’s, when many believe GTP was at it’s all time best, there were some of the most famous GTP cars of all time battling it out all over the world. But the 1989 Nissan Grand Prix of Miami was something special. This is old school street course racing, and with cars that just make your heart sing. Check out the complete 1989 Miami Grand Prix right here and tell us which IMSA GTP or GTP Light was your favorite on the track.
Video Description:
Watch the original ESPN Speedworld broadcast of the 1989 IMSA Nissan Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Xtra. Racing on May 3rd of 1989, this GTP race had a 25 car grid. Two classes of cars raced, GTP, and GTP Lights. Including iconic cars such as the Nissan GTP ZX-T and the Porsche 962C. The overall win went to the No.83 Nissan GTP ZX-T driven by Geoff Brabham.
The IMSA Grand Prix of Miami launched in 1983, when promoter Ralph Sanchez brought sports car racing to downtown Miami with a street course through Bayfront and Bicentennial Parks — IMSA’s first true street race. That 1983 race was ended early due to torrential rain and the entire area being flooded after 27 laps. Despite the race ending before it was 50% complete, Sanchez paid the full purse — including $50,000 for first to Al Holbert in his Chevrolet March GTP car.
Through the ’80s and early ’90s, it became an early-season highlight of the IMSA GT Championship, with winners like Al Holbert, Geoff Brabham, and Juan Manuel Fangio II mastering one of the most ambitious street circuits of its time. In 1984, Derek Bell made a dramatic pass for the win at the end of the Biscayne Blvd main straight in the Löwenbräu Porsche 962 over Darren Brassfield in the Budweiser Chevrolet March GTP — a true battle of the beers.
The event ultimately ended after 1993 as rising costs, downtown construction, and shifting event priorities made the large-scale street layout harder to sustain. Still, the IMSA Grand Prix of Miami helped the rise of North American street racing and cemented Miami as a landmark city in IMSA history — long before today’s Miami Grand Prix. #IMSA #autoracing #motorsport #sportscars #imsaclassic
