New IMSA Mobile App Developed In Partnership With Microsoft Launches

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

New IMSA Mobile App Developed In Partnership With Microsoft Launches

Enhanced App Available Now For iOS, Android, Windows Devices

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 29, 2015) – The viewing experience for fans of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and other series sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) will be enhanced greatly beginning with this weekend’s Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda via the new IMSA mobile app.

Developed in partnership with Microsoft, the free app is available now for phones and tablets using iOS, Android or Windows operating systems and features expanded content and experiences for users.

A base experience includes series news, videos and team and driver bios. By registering for the app, users may also unlock a free “premium” experience featuring live streaming video and IMSA Radio audio as well as complete live timing and scoring data. Live offerings include:

· TUDOR Championship – Streaming video of races (where available), in-car cameras and qualifying. IMSA Radio and live timing and scoring coverage for all official sessions.
· Continental Tire Challenge – Streaming video of races. IMSA Radio and live timing and scoring for all official sessions.
· Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama – Streaming video and IMSA Radio of races. Live timing and scoring of practice and qualifying.
· Lamborghini Super Trofeo – Streaming video and IMSA Radio of races. Live timing and scoring of practice and qualifying.
· Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda – IMSA Radio race coverage and live timing and scoring for all official sessions.

Premium registrants also have the opportunity to customize their experience by selecting their favorite participating TUDOR Championship manufacturer including BMW, Chevrolet and Porsche.

“Our strategy has been to develop the best possible digital products for our fans,” said David Pettit, IMSA vice president, marketing. “Our partners at Microsoft worked with us to create an intuitive, easy-to-use and content rich app. We are confident our fans will quickly identify this as an indispensable asset while with us at the track or as a second-screen experience they must have at their fingertips whether they are watching at home or elsewhere.”

The state-of-the-art app was created by Microsoft and its development partner, InterKnowlogy, using Microsoft Visual Studio and Xamarin software and Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. It will be featured in the keynote speech in a pair of upcoming Microsoft developer and technology conferences, the BUILD 2015 conference in San Francisco beginning today and running through Friday, May 1 and the IGNITE conference in Chicago on May 4-8.

“Microsoft Visual Studio was pleased to partner with IMSA to deliver a completely new app experience for race fans,” said Matt Nunn, Microsoft director, developer tools product marketing. “The combination of Visual Studio, Xamarin and Azure enabled us to deliver a full set of apps covering all of the major platforms in a very short timeframe. We were able to reuse about 80 percent of our code across all of the apps which allowed us to gain the efficiency we needed to cross the finish line while Azure provides the infrastructure we need to scale for race day fan demand.”
Next up for IMSA and the TUDOR United Championship is the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, May 3. The two-hour and 40-minute race featuring all four TUDOR Championship classes will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 at 4 p.m. ET.

ABOUT IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 with a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA – a company within the NASCAR Holdings group – is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.

For more information visit http://www.IMSA.com and follow IMSA at www.Facebook.com/IMSA and Twitter: @IMSA.

ABOUT MICROSOFT
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

ABOUT MICROSOFT VISUAL STUDIO
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 is an integrated solution that enables individuals and development teams of any size to turn their ideas into exceptional, compelling applications. It enables all stakeholders involved in software delivery to take advantage of state-of-the-art tooling to create outstanding experiences that delight end users with a simplified development solution that enables quality through all the tasks and roles involved in a software project.

For more information, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio.

Contact:

Nate Siebens

Senior Manager, IMSA Communications

(386) 310-6568

nsiebens