IMSA has announced that John Doonan will become the new president of the organization effective January 1, 2020 with his first day on the job scheduled for Monday, October 21st. Doonan will be filling the role left by Scott Atherton, who announced his retirement last month.
In his previous role, Doonan was the director of motorsports for Mazda North America Operations, where he was responsible for the overall strategy and management of Mazda’s motorsports programs in North America. He joined Mazda in 2003 as the regional advertising manager in the Midwest region and was promoted to the director of motorsports position in 2011.
While in that position, Mazda's motorsport programme was headed by the Mazda Team Joest operation in the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) category, which earned the marque three victories in the 2019 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship, including Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen. Mazda also recently launced the Mazda3 TCR, which is intended for use in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
“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.”
“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,” added 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.”
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