2021 Detroit Sports Car Classic

It was the seventh year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the eleventh annual running of the race, counting the period between 2007 and 2013 when it was a round of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series respectively.

[2] The race was held at the fourteen-turn 2.350 mi (3.782 km) Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan.

[3] Unlike its predecessors, the race was initially scheduled to be a standalone event, relinquishing its traditional joint weekend with the IndyCar Series in an attempt to avoid conflict with the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans.

[5] The DPi and GTD classes remained on the entry list from the initial date, with the latter still only scoring points towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

The race also marked the first event since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic that fans would be allowed paddock access, in accordance with the lifting of outdoor venue gathering restrictions in the state of Michigan.

[8] After the initial entry list was released, a pair of driver changes were made prior to the race weekend.

[11] The first practice session took place at 8:00 am ET on Friday and ended with Tristan Vautier topping the charts for JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing, with a lap time of 1:21.588, ahead of the No.

1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo of Madison Snow stopped at turn three.

[14] The second and final practice session took place at 12:00 pm ET on Friday and ended with Kevin Magnussen topping the charts for Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 1:20.068.

14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth with a time of 1:30.495, ahead of Richard Heistand in the No.

14 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry did not set a time after Aaron Telitz hit the wall at turn 2 in the first session.

As a result of winning the race, van der Zande and Magnussen advanced from sixth to fourth in the DPi Drivers' Championship.

[30] GTLM drivers, teams, and manufactures did not score full season points due to the event not counting for the overall championship.

GTD drivers, teams, and manufactures did not score full season points due to the event only counting towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.