With the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the acknowledged jewel in sports car racing's crown, the American Le Mans Series has been created by entrepreneur Don Panoz to offer sports car teams the opportunity to compete all season to Le Mans rules.
This has earned the support of the top sports car racing teams such as Porsche, Ferrari, Riley & Scott and Lola. Manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, General Motors and Panoz have entered works cars in the American Le Mans Series. The attraction is, class winners from the Petit Le Mans, Nurburgring and Adelaide events are exempted from pre-qualifying for the next Le Mans 24 Hours.
It's no surprise that the American Le Mans Series has attracted a formidable driver roster. Sports car endurance racing legends Hurley Haywood, Bob Wollek and Allan McNish compete with American hotshoes Butch Leitzinger, Bill Auberlen, David Donohue and Dorsey Schroeder. Additionally, Former Formula 1 drivers Stefan Johansson, JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas, Jan Magnussen, Michele Alboreto, Karl Wendlinger and Hans Stuck are just a few of the drivers who participate in the American Le Mans Series along with last year's runner-up in the prototype category David Brabham and former champion Wayne Taylor.
After a period of turmoil in sports car racing, the American Le Mans Series has brought much needed stability. It is based on a multi-year contract with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest - the organizers and rights holders for the French 24-hour race. Races are run under the sanction of Professional SportsCar Racing, Inc.
The cars are divided into three classes.
Prototype class
GTS class
GT class
SUPPORT RACES
The Women's Global GT Series,
fresh off its first season as the first professional women's auto racing series
in North America, opens March 17 with the Superflo 12 Hours at Sebring Presented
by Dodge, with veterans of the inaugural voyage and newcomers alike expected
to participate.
The series, founded by Don Panoz as a companion
to the American Le Mans Series, features women drivers in equally-prepared
Panoz Esperante sedans provided by the Panoz Racing School at Road Atlanta
in Braselton, Ga.
Cindi Lux of Aloha, Ore., won the 1999 championship
as five different drivers posted victories in the six-race set. Race winners
were Divina Galica of Sebring, Fla., the only driver to win twice, Lux, Allison
Duncan of San Rafael, Calif., Audrey Zavodsky of New Boston, Mich., and Sara
Senske of Kennewick, Wash.
Among the early entrants for the opener are
Milka Duno of Caracas, Venezuela, who finished third in series points last
year, and Belinda Endress of Newbury Park, Calif., the series' most improved
driver.
For 2000, the series travels to new markets
in Sebring, Charlotte (April 1 weekend) and Texas (Sept. 2) and revisits Sears
Point (July 23), Road Atlanta (Sept. 30) and Las Vegas (Oct. 29).
4 CLASSES FOR 2001:
Professional Sports Car Racing,
Inc.
(SPORTS CAR), the sanctioning body which organizes
and officiates the
American Le Mans Series, has announced the
addition of driver, manufacturer
and team championships for the "LM" P 675 class
for the 2001 season.
"This year, 'LM' P 675 cars
were permitted to participate in ALMS events,
but due to the limited number of cars available
for competition, they were
grouped with the more powerful 'LM' P 900 cars
in driver, manufacturer and
team championships," said Doug Robinson, Managing
Director of SPORTS CAR.
"As the 2001 season approaches, interest from
chassis and engine
manufacturers continues to grow and car availability
has increased
significantly. Now is the time to take the
next step."
The 2001 American Le Mans
Series will include the following categories and
classes as defined in the ACO "2001 SPECIFICATIONS":
Le Mans Prototype Category:
"LM" P 900
"LM" P 675
Le Mans Grand Touring Category:
"LM" GTS Class
"LM" GT Class
For 2001, the supplementary
regulations for each event in the ALMS will list
the prize money posted for the top 20 overall
finishing positions, along
with class bonuses posted for the top four
positions in each of the four
classes.
The standing supplementary
regulations for the ALMS, contained in the 2001
SPORTS CAR Code, will outline the championships
for drivers as well as car,
chassis, engine and tire manufacturers in all
classes.
BRITISH ROUND IN 2001:
Britain's Donington Park will host a round of the European Le Mans Series in 2001, series officials announced today.
The Leicestershire circuit
Park will play host to the European arm of the
successful ALMS on the 14 April date which
was left vacant on the calendar announced in September. The event had been
earmarked for a British venue following the series' inaugural outing at Silverstone
last season, but doubt remained over its venue. Brands Hatch had also expressed
an interest in hosting the race, while Silverstone was keen to stage a repeat,
but could not synchronise its calendar to that of the ALMS.
"I am delighted that such
a prestigious championship as this one will be
coming to Donington Park," Robert Fearnall,
the circuit's CEO said, "The
Easter weekend race will be one of the highlights
of the year."
There will now be five European
races within the ELMS calendar, and the
British round will be the first of those. The
second race will follow the
pre-qualifying weekend for the Le Mans 24 Hours,
and is scheduled for 20 May at Jarama in Spain.
"It was really important to
us to have a race in Britain as, historically,
there is a strong and enthusiastic following
for sportscars there," ALMS
founder Don Panoz admitted, "Donington has
some superb facilities on offer, and I'm sure they will put on a great show
for everyone."
Practice and qualifying for
the two-hour 45minute race will be on Friday 13 April, with the race held
on Saturday. No details have been released to
confirm whether the event will run into the
evening as its counterpart at
Silverstone did this year.