The
American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (
ALMS) is a
sports car racingSports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
series based in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the
24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC
Le Mans PrototypeA Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
s, and GT(2/E) and GTC
Grand TouringA grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
cars. Race lengths vary from 1 hour, 40 minutes to 12 hours.
History
The series was created by
Braselton, GeorgiaBraselton is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 7,511....
-based businessman
Don PanozDr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...
and ran its first season in 1999. Panoz created a partnership with the
Automobile Club de L'OuestThe Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...
(ACO), the organizers of the
24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
, to begin a 10-hour race in the spirit of Le Mans, dubbed the
Petit Le MansThe Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
. 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
AdelaideThe Adelaide Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the central business district of the city of Adelaide in South Australia....
in 2000 also received automatic entries. Invitations were extended to the series champions beginning in 2003, for the 2004 race. 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
1999The 1999 American Le Mans Series season was the first season of the IMSA American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Touring race cars divided into three classes: LMP, GTS, and GT...
, beginning with the
12 Hours of SebringThe 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
, and ending at
Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:...
. The schedule expanded to 12 races in
2000The 2000 American Le Mans Series season was the 2nd season for the IMSA American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Touring race cars divided into 3 classes: LMP, GTS, and GT...
, 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 SeriesThe European Le Mans Series was a sports car endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that was created in 2000 and ran its only season in 2001 before being cancelled. It was created by Don Panoz as an expansion on his successful American Le Mans Series run by IMSA...
, and later the
Le Mans SeriesThe Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...
. The series also began to move away from the rovals, road courses in the infield of large superspeedways, at
Charlotte Motor SpeedwayCharlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
, Las Vegas, and
Texas Motor SpeedwayTexas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
. Lately, the series has visited more temporary street courses, many in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, at cities such as
St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
and
Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. The series has raced at
Laguna SecaMazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a paved road racing track used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, originally constructed in 1957 near both Salinas and Monterey, California, USA....
,
MosportMosport International Raceway is a multi-track facility located north of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a half-mile paved oval; a 2.4 km advance driver and race driver training facility with a quarter-mile skid pad Mosport International Raceway...
,
Road AtlantaRoad Atlanta is a 2.54-mile road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, USA. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur sports car and motorcycle races, racing and driving schools, corporate programs and testing for motorsports teams...
and
SebringSebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility located near Sebring, Florida.Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States, its first race being run in 1950...
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 AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(the EPA), the
United States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
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 MansThe 2008 Petit Le Mans powered by the Totally New Mazda6 was the eleventh running of the Petit Le Mans and the tenth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, United States of America on October 4, 2008...
and would continue at least up to the entire
2009 seasonThe 2009 American Le Mans Series season was the eleventh season for the International Motor Sports Association's American Le Mans Series. It began on March 21, 2009, and ended on October 10, 2009 after ten events. The series was composed of Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Tourer race cars divided...
.
In 2010 the American Le Mans Series signed its first title sponsorship agreement, with
Tequila PatrónPatrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
becoming a presenting sponsor for three seasons.
Overview
The American Le Mans Series uses essentially the same rules as the
24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
. 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 or LMP-C) 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.
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.
Michelin Green X Challenge
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 EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, the
Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
,
Environment CanadaEnvironment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
and
SAE InternationalSAE International is an organization for engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. The Society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others.SAE...
, the Series has unveiled the Green Challenge's rules and regulations. Two class leading vehicles ran low CO2 or green engines during the 2008 season - the GT1
Chevrolet Corvette C6.RThe Chevrolet Corvette C6.R is a grand tourer racing car built by Pratt & Miller and General Motors for competition in endurance racing. It is a replacement for the Corvette C5-R racing car, applying the body style of the new C6 generation Chevrolet Corvette as well as improvements to increase the...
with a E85
cellulosic ethanolCellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants.It is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that comprises much of the mass of plants. Lignocellulose is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin...
powered 7.0 litre V8 and the LMP1 Audi R10 TDI with a 5.5 litre
turbodieselTurbodiesel refers to any diesel engine with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is the norm rather than the exception in modern car and truck diesel engines...
V12. Currently, the
MichelinMichelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
Green X Challenge awards invitations to the
24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
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.
Television
The series' first season in 1999 was covered by
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and
CNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
. Since 2000
Speed ChannelSpeed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
has broadcast the majority ALMS races, including the
12 Hours of SebringThe 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
and
Petit Le MansThe Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
, while some of the series' other races have been broadcast on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
,
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. 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.
See also
- Le Mans Series
The Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...
- European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series was a sports car endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that was created in 2000 and ran its only season in 2001 before being cancelled. It was created by Don Panoz as an expansion on his successful American Le Mans Series run by IMSA...
- Radio Le Mans
Radio Le Mans is the English language radio service for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.It first broadcast at the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans.- History :...
- List of Le Mans Prototypes
External links