The American Le Mans Series is the most difficult year of their existence behind them eleven years now and it has survived. The cause of the problems was the economic crisis that made the 2009 season to a transition and change: 2010 ALMS will be another series.
Late last year we had big dreams for the 2009 season: the third-last race of the season in Detroit announced Acura its inputs and promotion to the LMP1 class with the two teams of Gil de Ferran and Duncan Dayton (Patron Highcroft Racing). They wanted to rebel against the nine-year dominance of Audi wanted to seriously compete for the title. With a gasoline against the powerful diesel that would indeed be difficult, which it was aware, but it was worth a try. That same weekend, Corsa Motorsports also announced its entry for the 2010 season with a hybrid car in the combination Ginetta-Zytek. All seemed well.
Bad news
Then came the bad news: Chevrolet, first from the house where it was admitted in September to try to mothball the iconic GT1 Corvettes for the next 24 hour race at Le Mans, and in December from Germany: Audi will be sports-car program 2009 brand new with the R15 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to focus and take part in neither the European nor the American Le Mans Series on a full time basis. Given the dire situation of the automotive companies a financially understandable decision, athletic but very bad, because one would hardly be able to test the new model in the race. And Acura was not happy, because no opponent is the marketing effect of LMP1 victories but significantly reduced, even if it predominate instead be unrivaled.
But that's not enough, because even auto tycoon Roger Penske had two bad news: on the one hand, the ALMS project combining Porsche and Penske terminated after four successful years with the RS Spyder and would instead of the much lower 2010 in Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series start, the other would have held the Penske Detroit Sports Car Challenge at the Belle Isle street course for financial reasons are deleted.
The latter did not weigh too heavily, because it still sufficiently important race on popular routes, but had led to the departure of Porsche to the big problem is that now the second prototype class, almost all of their lost power and importance. Were left there, only the Lowe's-Fernandez Acura (even Andretti-Green Racing had to drop out) and the two Dyson team, which, however, after two years with the Porsche RS Spyder new Lola coupe, Mazda Motors and BP also got a new main sponsor.
This move also now three (of four) classes that were somewhere between dead and half dead. There was good news for the GT2, BMW would be in cooperation with Rahal-Letterman Racing two factory-supported M3 GT2 Corvette and send across the Atlantic after the end of the GT1-era factory supported two models using GT2. The loss of the Tafel Racing Ferrari, and some part-time team was able to be more brands and more competition more than compensates.
Sebring!
After the policy-heavy winter began but finally the season with one of the highlights of the season classic sports car scene, the 12 Hours of Sebring. 27 teams appeared in the 57th Edition of the race, 15 of them from the GT2 field, one of which, unfortunately, had to leave the VICI team, sponsored by the lack of quality again, so "Strietzel" Stuck and his son were brought to a common use (with Nicky Pastorelli) . Pole was a surprise to the Acura: they had tinkered a lot during the winter and came up with the idea to assemble at the front and rear tires, which should lead to a larger extent due to the more mechanical grip and more cornering speed. That would be enough against the Audi R15, which completed its first race, and who also had traveled further improved 908 but not yet, it soon became clear at the beginning of the second round were both Audi and one of the Peugeot (the second being launched the pit lane) passed. And so developed in the LMP1 class race, which makes the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2009 on the best of me racing the entire racing season (eleven of the twelve hours I saw live and I do not regret a missed hour!): Two technologically sophisticated cars with very different concepts (vs. open car. Coupe, airflow through the car vs. over the car, V10 vs. V12), which provided, in spite of differences over the entire half day of time an exciting, tight duel. On the finer details I want to take no longer at this point, I recommend Don's analysis of the time, and Youtube, here one of the many duels:
In the end, Audi won with Capello / McNish / Kristensen, because Peugeot had Montagny / Sarrazin / Bourdais about an hour before closing due to a puncture a shift in tactics to take into account and so lost at the end of the length of this one stops.
Difficult times
After the departure of Peugeot, Audi and Co. then began the most difficult part of the season. About the race, I can not tell too much, because I've only seen it in sections. The reason: too MotorsTV apparently fell into financial problems and passed all the races except the Sebring and Petit Le Mans just as abridged recording with one week delay. I will not criticize the excessive, with a transmitter on the order must surely be turning in the difficult times pennies, but enjoyable course that was not the same. The transfers and the comment but were well worth seeing, it got even current German time ALMS driver as an expert, eg, Wolf Henzler, which of course was only by the one-week delay at all possible, and brought some interesting insider views.
But, as I said, not only European television has had it rough, and the series itself was in St. Petersburg at all, only 17 cars at the start (three times LMP1 and 2, the rest GT2), in Long Beach, only four more . In the LMP1 dueled each of the Acura (where everyone was allowed to win once) in the GT1 the two Corvette in the LMP2 dominated the individual Acura was reliability and slightly higher speed and the GT2 beginning of the season is still completely in the hands of the Flying Lizard Combo Long / Bergmeister. Ergo: it was too exciting with so few cars in front and pretty much be distributed podiums not, so we had a problem. And her favorite phrase with the "four classes of cars in one race" was the U.S. commentators also recite no more, so something had to be done urgently.
Therefore, ALMS chief Scott Atherton called simply the "ALMS Challenge Class" for professional and amateur riders from the IMSA GT3 Cup to life. For five of the last seven races of the series, starting in Salt Lake City, each with some Porsche 997 GT3 Cup should be suitably qualified (ie in the Cup itself successful) may compete pilots. The trip to Canada you saved the team for financial reasons, and also at the Petit Le Mans was dispensed with this class because there are enough other vehicles were present. Of course, the focus was still on the three higher classes, but the Challenge class is regarded as a nice asset, that Porsche makes cups can offer interesting race, we know also from Europe and it was thanks to the new category, one or the other duel be seen on the track and in the long race could be always a few spare minutes to find it. Won the title after victories in three of the five races, Martin and Melanie Snow. A little irony here is that one of the new class, first as a springboard for the young sports-car driver generation praised to which these two certainly do not belong (not that I want because Mrs. Snow to offend, so what you do not, but after all, have won two in 1999 with Patrick Huisman in our own team, the 12 Hours of Sebring in the GTS class). The two are but a very likeable couple and racing fit in well with the quite familiar ALMS.
That did not change the fact that in the higher classes was initially quite monotonous. In Long Beach, Salt Lake City, Lime Rock and Mid-Ohio each won de Ferran Motorsports in the LMP1, LMP2 and Fernandez in the Flying Lizard GT2. The only exception is the Dyson won at Lime Rock combo Franchitti / Leitzinger's first win for the team with the new Lola-Mazda. And because the shop is the team's only 50 miles away in Poughkeepsie, NY, there was also a very emotional win at home. And the first professional victory, the team celebrated on the track near Lakeville, CT, and indeed 1985th So beautiful story. Also nice is the Corsa Motorsports Ginetta-Zytek and Mowlem / Johansson arrived at the wheel in his first race with a hybrid drive and the very first stage. While one should fight over the whole year to still have problems, set up the car with the heavy hybrid technology on board right at Lime Rock but it was enough for seven laps behind the two Acura, but five laps from the Dyson- LMP2 at the finish.
The second half of the season: it is more colorful ...
The next race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the LMP2 class was enhanced by a pleasing comeback: that of the Cytosport team of Greg Pickett, of an "old" Porsche RS Spyder had bought the Dyson team and the Black Forest Klaus Graf began as a co-pilot. It might have been the very first race and get the class win, if not the Fernandez team's pit stop on the last caution period would have kept so short that there is a whole lap ahead surreptitiously. Since exactly the same and again at the next race in Elkhart Lake passed both BMW and early an unchallenged double win guaranteed, have changed the safety car rules accordingly. The victory of Munich was still justified, because after they had used the first half of the season mainly for testing and development, we now want to attack and dominated the entire weekend in Wisconsin. Won in LMP1 for a change again Brabham / Sharp for Highcroft, the championship was exciting.
Also on the magnificent stretch of Mosport near Toronto regained Highcroft and Fernandez (after engine problems in Dyson) their classes, was, meanwhile, is in the GT2 still a bit more interesting: this time it was not the Porsches and BMWs, which lead to the victory, but the two new Corvette and the risk-Ferrari, who had been kept mostly unobtrusive in the background. After a hard duel finally retained O'Connell / Magnussen the upper hand and drove a few tenths of a second to the first victory for their new GT2 car.
Then should follow the Petit Le Mans, the second highlight of the season. Audi, Peugeot and Oreca traveled from Europe with their prototypes, the team from the British Minister, and Lord Paul Drayson (building permits several years ago whose emblem incidentally, contains a golden steering wheel) presented after a few years, proud of its new GT2 LMP1 Lola (in British Racing Green with Union Jack, to me beside the Gulf-Aston Martin the most beautiful car of the season). The race but unfortunately fell victim to the storms, the region had already devastated the entire week before the race. The result was a termination after 184 of the scheduled 394 laps and a double victory for Peugeot, which reflected not the real balance of power: the Audi of McNish / Capello was almost the entire race in the lead, but the rain chaos came in the final laps to victims . In addition, Allan McNish had managed, in one of the turn to 120 rounds from accumulating yellow flags from the track, which he lost the lead. Gives it to the race report here to read. With room 6 for the Highcroft Acura over a decapitated 24th Rank for de Ferran was also the title race final defense verdicts for Highcroft (Brabham / Sharp). De Ferran (de Ferran (Pagenaud) had in an otherwise tight duel never recover from the failure of the first race at Sebring in the LMP2 Class was long all right, won the title of the Fernandez Acura (Fernandez / Diaz). In GT2 it would take a miracle to make the risk-Ferrari (Salo / Melo) in the final race of the Flying Lizard Porsche (Bergmeister / Long may overtake).
Under these conditions, was the 4 hour race at Laguna Seca, the final act of the season. The race was rather a celebration of the career of Gil de Ferran, who had already announced mid-season, the end of his active career. In a snow-white car in the Indy 500 winner won the 2003 pole and win again now. The referenced miracle in the GT2 was missing, but it was the last time her high, Bergmeister and Magnussen dueled lap after lap for the class win, Magnussen outdated in the meantime by the pit exit was by the race but called back to right, and finally tried in the last curve, Bergmeister with a slight push to clear the stern of the ideal line. The left is not the fallen, and urged the Danes to start / finish in the wall, resulting in a violent departure. An unattractive and certainly worth discussing the season. Despite the mountain master action was excessive, on the other hand, I'm not a friend of such maneuvers, such as of Magnussen in the last corner ...
This made it difficult season is over and one has it survived well under the circumstances. To the great 2007 and 2008 could tie due to lack of competition in the prototype classes, not quite, but you have fought bravely and made the right decisions.
View
As the leaders understandably do not have the expectation that next year will again significantly more teams with prototypes at the door of the organizers, one has to considered, starting from 2009 introduced Porsche Challenge Cup, a new concept for the series, enter this into effect in 2010 is: the LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes are merged into one class, produced by different rules, a balance of power. The years 2007 and 2008 have already shown that there should be no problem because the Porsche RS Spyder was often struggle in this period against the big prototypes from Audi for overall victory. As the second-highest category leads to the "LMP Challenge Class" is a: are there competing for the Formula Le Mans prototype unit developed by Oreca against each other. Equipped with a GM V8 engine should be able to enter private teams in the series cost. The current GT2 is umgelabelt the GT class was introduced in 2009 and continue to exist, the challenge category, and even expanded. The development is likely to be the right one for the ALMS, although I would prefer to unity in the ALMS cars, without particularly in the area of the prototypes.
Revised but not only was the class rules, but also the calendar. This is unfortunately a race fell out, and that St. Petersburg. May fit the ALMS organizers of appointment not for the IndyCar Series has scheduled their St. Pete weekend (yes there is one down together), because is just a week after the season opener at Sebring. However, since from St. Petersburg to Tampa Bay, only about 100 miles from Sebring is, the transfer would actually be a problem. Perhaps you have simply canceled the race due to lack of interest in the team last season. St. Pete has no tradition, and thus finally the big names like the Long Beach Grand Prix, the second race as it retains the calendar. Thus it has in the last three years has somewhat unwillingly by three city courses: 2008 Houston, 2009 and 2010 Belle Isle St. Petersburg. About the loss of race itself, I'm obviously disappointed not to these three in particular because I sprint race of LMPs on tight street circuits can not be interesting (although I like the St. Pete course like it).
Then comes the most important schedule change: Laguna Seca is preferred in May and extended to six hours. This is one of the series, a third pillar alongside Endurance Sebring and the Petit Le Mans and perhaps once again attracted to one or the other team that wants to test for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Which is likely, however, preclude the course on the U.S. west coast, pretty much nothing in common with the French track has. Anyway, it should be, but again a nice race. The rest remains unchanged: only the demanding course of the newer generation near Salt Lake City (but scheduling is also behind Le Mans slipped into July), then Lime Rock, Mid Ohio, Road America, Mosport, and fittingly, as season finale Issue # 13 the Petit Le Mans - then hopefully with better weather. The ALMS calendar is thus one of the most interesting in the whole world of motorsport and hopefully we can brace ourselves for an exciting and interesting 2010 season.
Part 2 of the sports car season retrospective will look at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the European and the Asian Le Mans Series, Part 3 with the "Michelin Green X Challenge" and the efforts to green racing sports cars.
Pictures of the ALMS season 2009 (Sebring)
No related posts.
Nice article!