| American Le Mans Series | |
|---|---|
| 2012 American Le Mans Series season | |
| Category | Sports car racing |
| Country or region | United States, Canada |
| Inaugural season | 1999 |
| Prototype Classes | LMP1, LMP2, LMPC |
| GT Classes | GT, GTC |
| Current Drivers' champion/s | LMP1: Chris Dyson & Guy Smith GT: Joey Hand & Dirk Müller LMP2: Christophe Bouchut & Scott Tucker LMPC: Ricardo González, Gunnar Jeannette & Eric Lux GTC: Tim Pappas |
| Current Teams' champion | LMP1: Dyson Racing Team GT: BMW Team RLL LMP2: Level 5 Motorsports LMPC: CORE Autosport GTC: Black Swan Racing |
| Current Makes' champion | LMP1: Mazda GT: BMW |
| Official website | americanlemans.com |
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC Le Mans Prototypes, and GT(2/E) and GTC Grand Touring cars. Race lengths vary from 1 hour 40 minutes to 12 hours.
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The series was created by Braselton, Georgia-based businessman Don Panoz and ran its first season in 1999.[1] Panoz created a partnership with the Automobile Club de L'Ouest (ACO), the organizers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the Petit Le Mans. The inaugural Petit Le Mans took place in 1998 as a part of the Professional SportsCar Racing series, in which Panoz was an investor. For 1999, the series changed its name to the American Le Mans Series, and adopted the ACO's rulebook.
The partnership with the ACO allows ALMS teams to earn automatic entries in the Le Mans 24 Hours. This was a practice that began with the inaugural Petit Le Mans, a practice that continues today, where 1st and 2nd place teams in each class earn entries to the next year's 24 Hours. The ALMS race at Adelaide in 2000 also received automatic entries.[2] Invitations were extended to the series champions beginning in 2003, for the 2004 race.[3] The ACO has always given high consideration to teams competing in ALMS races, and many ALMS teams have seen success in the 24 Hours.
The series began with eight races in 1999, beginning with the 12 Hours of Sebring, and ending at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The schedule expanded to 12 races in 2000, including two races in Europe, and one in Australia. In subsequent years, the European races disappeared, with the creation of the short-lived European Le Mans Series, and later the Le Mans Series. The series also began to move away from the rovals, road courses in the infield of large superspeedways, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, and Texas Motor Speedway. Lately, the series has visited more temporary street courses, many in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, at cities such as St. Petersburg, Florida and Long Beach, California. The series has raced at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mosport, Road Atlanta and Sebring in every year of its existence.
The series was the first motorsport racing series in North America to be recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), the United States Department of Energy and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) to be recognized as a "Green Racing Series", and is planned to hold an all-new series implemented on series races dedicated to the environment by holding their first-ever Green Challenge during the 2008 Petit Le Mans and would continue at least up to the entire 2009 season.[4]
In 2010 the American Le Mans Series signed its first title sponsorship agreement, with Tequila Patrón becoming a presenting sponsor for three seasons.[5]
The American Le Mans Series uses essentially the same rules as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there are 4 primary classes, though there are 2 extra "Challenge classes" using standardized cars. Purpose-built race cars with closed fenders compete in the Prototype classes (LMP1, LMP2, and LMP Challenge) and modified production sports cars compete in the Grand Touring classes (GTE-Pro and GTE-Am, both formerly GT2, along with GT-Challenge or GT-C). Each car is driven by multiple drivers (2 or 3, depending on the length of the race), and all cars compete together simultaneously. LMP1 generally contains factory teams while LMP2 contains privateer teams. In GTE-Pro, all of the drivers of a car are professional, while in GTE-Am, 1 or 2 amateurs are allowed to race with a professional driver in support. The two "Challenge" classes are formula-based, and are designed for privateers or rookies to have an easier time entering the series. Currently, the Challenge classes use the Oreca FLM09 (LMP) and the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GT), though there are reports that the ACO may open the Challenge class to other manufacturers in 2011 or later.[6]
The team points champions and runners-up in each class at the end of the season receive an automatic invitation to the next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In January 2008, the American Le Mans Series announced it would hold its first "Green Challenge" competition during Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, ahead of the Challenge being implemented at all ALMS races during the 2009 season. In conjunction with the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada and SAE International,[7] the Series has unveiled the Green Challenge's rules and regulations.[8] Two class leading vehicles ran low CO2 or green engines during the 2008 season - the GT1 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R with a E85 cellulosic ethanol powered 7.0 litre V8 and the LMP1 Audi R10 TDI with a 5.5 litre turbodiesel V12. Currently, the Michelin Green X Challenge awards invitations to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 1st and 2nd place winners in the Prototype and GT categories for the entire season.
The Challenge measures "Green" (based on fuel-type and other factors influencing emissions), "Speed" (overall speed), and "Efficiency" (based on fuel-economy). A formula is used to produce a score based on the 3 categories. The car with the lowest score at the end of the race wins the Challenge for that race.
The series' first season in 1999 was covered by NBC and CNBC. Since 2000 Speed Channel has broadcast the majority ALMS races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, while some of the series' other races have been broadcast on ABC, NBC, and CBS. For the 2011 season races will be shown live in their entirety on ESPN3.com with subsequent rebroadcasts on ESPN2 or condensed showings on ABC.
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