John Doonan Named IMSA President

John Doonan, the current motorsport director at Mazda North American Operations, is set to take over from Scott Atherton as the President of IMSA.

Atherton, who announced his retirement from his front-line IMSA role prior to last weekend’s Petit Le Mans, will be succeeded by Doonan, who will take over the role on January 1st 2020. His first day on the job has been scheduled for Monday October 21st 2019.

“John is a fantastic choice to become our next president, to build upon the momentum of our just-completed 50th anniversary season and take our sport to the next level,” said Ed Bennett, IMSA chief executive officer.

“He is respected, well known in our paddock, and brings a strong passion for motorsport that will greatly benefit everyone involved.”

Doonan joined Mazda in 2003 as the regional advertising manager in the Midwest region. In 2005, Doonan became manager, motorsports and team development and was promoted to director of motorsports in 2011.

Since then he has built the brand’s IMSA programme, which this year with the RT24-P scored its first win in the DPi ranks at Watkins Glen. He has also played a big role in building Mazda’s ‘grassroots motorsport’ programmes in single seater and touring car racing.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime and dream opportunity after attending IMSA races since I was young boy,” Doonan said.

“I am very humbled and truly honored to have the opportunity to join the IMSA team and I’m really looking forward to making a positive impact for our sport, our partners and our industry.”

IMSA will kick off its 51st season with the 2020 Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway on January 3-5. The 58th running of the season-opening Rolex 24 will take place Saturday and Sunday, January 26-27.

As the dust settles on this news, we’d recommend listening to Marshall Pruett’s latest podcast, which is a full interview with Doonan, below:

Featured image courtesy of Mazda Motorsports