Qualifying results: 1 P 90 GT2 BMW E92 M3 Joey Hand 2:06.950 2 P 92 GT2 BMW E92 M3 Dirk Mueller 2:07.073 3 P 45 GT2 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Joerg Bergmeister 2:07.362 4 P 3 GT2 Corvette C6.R Jan Magnussen 2:07.387 5 P 4 GT2 Corvette C6.R Olivier Beretta 2:07.619 6 P 87 GT2 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Wolf Henzler 2:07.740 7 P 62 GT2 Ferrari F430 GT Jaime Melo 2:07.740 8 P 40 GT2 Doran Ford GT MK 7 David Murry 2:08.188 9 P 21 GT2 Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford Dominik Farnbacher 2:08.800 10 P 11 GT2 Dodge Viper Comp Coupe Chris Hall 2:08.822 11 P 44 GT2 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Seth Neiman 2:13.501 12 P 47 C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Guy Cosmo 2:16.098 13 P 57 C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Martin Snow 2:17.202 14 P 08 C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Bill Sweedler 2:18.289 15 P 36 C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Bob Faieta 2:18.970 16 P 02 C Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Donald Pickering 2:20.554
no Prototypes? 16 cars? and what's with the GT3 Cup cars in a new class? I haven't really followed ALMS this season...what's going on?
I hate to see it, but they're hurting. GT3 added as field fillers. No Audi or Penske Spiders. It just cost more to develop one off cars than to buy a Grand Am chassis for $150k and stuff a motor in it. And a large percentage of the ticket buying public dosen't know the diff, or dosen't care because Grand Am can be a good show at times. Prototype means just that, and spec car means just that. They define themselves. It also defines budgets. Oh Yeah, that was just GT2 qualifing.
1 P 66 P1 Acura ARX-02a Gil de Ferran 9 1:48.216 2 P 9 P1 Acura ARX-02a David Brabham 8 1:49.039 3 20 P2 Lola B09 86 Mazda Marino Franchitti 8 1:51.010 4 15 P2 Acura ARX-01B Adrian Fernandez 9 1:51.222 5 16 P2 Lola B09 86 Mazda Guy Smith 4 1:51.832 6 P 6 P2 Porsche RS Spyder Klaus Graf 7 1:51.922 7 P 12 P1 Lola B06/10 AER Chris McMurry 7 1:53.649 8 P 37 P1 Lola B06/10 AER Jon Field 2 1:55.209 What an effort by Guy Smith in the #16 - less than an hour before qualifying the car was in the wall with suspension issues - he comes out in qualifying about mid-point and takes 3th. Congrats to Marino - first pole for Dyson with the Lola/Mazda. Again....Gil is on a roll, such a shame he's retiring at the end of the season. Jon was Jon - knowing he had a head gasket issue he sets a blazingly fast time knowing the issue would have to be fixed - imagine what if he didn't have an engine issue.....got to love the guy - as he says this racing is his weekend relaxation!
Atherton is suppose to be making a major announcement tomorrow regarding the future of ALMS and the classes. Here's more to give a insight as to happenings in ALMS-->> Here’s something to keep in mind as this weekend’s racing action unfolds: The American Le Mans Series on Sunday will announce its blueprint for the future. Series boss Scott Atherton will give “some indication of what is planned for 2010” ahead of the seventh round of this year’s championship at Road America. No details have been confirmed, but expect a reorganization of the ALMS’s multiclass structure to be in the cards. A one-class GT division is a given, since the GT1 category finally withered and died upon Corvette Racing’s move to GT2 at Mid-Ohio last weekend. And, Atherton has previously said that there are no plans to rejuvenate the top GT class with the new breed of GT1 contender that will compete in Europe next year. He described Chevrolet’s decision to take on Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and others in GT2 as the “perfect opportunity to embrace the idea of a single GT class.” He insisted that there was “no identifiable GT1 grid for the ALMS” next year. The ALMS could move down a similar path in the prototype ranks by allowing LMP1 and LMP2 machinery to race head-to-head in much the same way as it did in 2006-'08. He admits that he is a fan of a single prototype class but won’t “confirm that is the way we are heading.” Atherton’s blueprint could well contain some alternative scenarios. His comments indicate that LMP1 could remain as a stand-alone class if both Audi and Acura commit to full-season programs in 2010--which is far from certain. “We have several different options that take into account different circumstances,” he said. “It’s a case of, if this happens, we do this, and if that happens, we do that.” Audi has so far remained silent on a full return to the ALMS next year. Acura refuses to discuss its plans for 2010, but Honda Performance Development boss Erik Berkman, who masterminds the Acura prototype program, said that “we don’t like the idea of no competition.” Next year’s schedule will not be announced on Sunday, Atherton said. He has decided that the calendar will not be published until “everything is locked down.” Don’t expect major changes to this year’s 10-race schedule, but Atherton hasn’t ruled out potential new venues. However, he dismissed speculation of an IndyCar/ALMS race weekend in Edmonton. * * * * * I would question his comment about there being one prototype class - IMO that would only work and be valuable if the ACO says one P class for LeMans - if he goes back to 06-08 the cars don't meet ACO specs - that's why Penske didn't take his LeMans invites. Also question his comment about not announcing a sked untiil everything is locked down - does he really believe that Audi will commit at this time to racing in the US next year - with his current thought he may not have his schedule until the first of the year - what's wrong with the schedule announced at Petit as always, and if Audi wants to come then they have the dates - can't see that he's gaining anything. At this point in time, he needs to be doing all he can to promote the series instead of putting people off......
The Field's sat out a wet Sat. morning warm-up last week to change the motor so they had a new?/diff? motor then. Great guys they are. They remembered me from the flight back from Sebring and got me out of the rain up in their pit lane control booth.
pretty good race - guess no one else is watching it?? - David suggested we might have gotten more folks on here had I put spoiler - why didn't I?? seems only a handful of us really care which is a shame.......... about 28 minutes left and a great restart - de Ferran is awesome - different pit stop with only three tires ...looks like the spyder might be on the podium as Chris Dyson had an issue...at least the Ferrari is in third!! oop's Pat Long just past Pierre Kaffer...Lizards now in third Carol
Really gotta love Jon Field ! ! ! when that pace car goes in it's balls to the wall for 7 minutes ! ! ! Dirk Mueller is awesome - had that stop-hold for 60 seconds and now he's in second with Pat Long on his tail....sensor loose on Zytek and John is hauling! Porsche really out performing the Vettes. 3 1/2 G's at breaking at Canada Corner - dang Pat got loose and the Vette slight contact and passed...
nice finish! props to Brabahm and Highcroft. The M3's are looking really good, the "combined" GT2 class with Porsche/Ferrari/BMW/Corvette is turning into a great battle.
Woke up just in time to catch the last restart. Hindie's excited voice served as my alarm clock this morning! lol We need another Ferrari or two in the field. Autosport is reporting this based on Atherton's statement. - The American Le Mans Series is to overhaul its class regulations for 2010 in a bid to improve the level of competition and the size of the entry. The current LMP1 and LMP2 classes are to merge into a single LMP class, with performance adjustments made to ensure that the cars can all compete equally. However for the series' premier Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans events the championship will revert to the ACO's standard LMP1 and LMP2 rules as the ALMS is keen that both races remain fully compatible with the Le Mans 24 Hours. An additional prototype division will be created in the ALMS for the ORECA-built Formula Le Mans cars used on the Le Mans Series bill in Europe. This one-make class will be known as LMP Challenge. With the decline of GT1, the GT2 class is to be rebranded as GT but will otherwise remain unchanged. The GT Challenge class for Porsche GT3 Cup cars, introduced this year as a grid-boosting measure, will be retained, with the rules opened slightly to allow other varieties of the Porsche GT3 to compete. "The new format for 2010 will create more opportunities for more teams and manufacturers to participate in the American Le Mans Series, while at the same time providing fans with the chance to see new cars, teams and drivers in both prototype and GT competition," said championship boss Scott Atherton. "There is no question that developments in the economy - and especially the auto industry - have changed the business environment now and for the foreseeable future. For any organisation to remain 'status quo' is a likely death sentence. "The global economic situation has created a new paradigm that is requiring all businesses to take innovative approaches to how they must operate going forward. We believe we have implemented changes that will enable the series and our participants to thrive." After a highly successful 2008 season, the ALMS has struggled this year due to the departure of Audi and Porsche from the prototype ranks, and with the decline in GT1 worldwide. The introduction of the Challenge class has kept fields in the 20-30 range for much of the season, but the decision to fall in line with the ACO and introduce greater difference in performance between the LMP1 and LMP2 cars has meant that only the two LMP1 Acuras have been in contention for race victories since Sebring.
Pretty fun race to watch in person and the crowd size was decent. I was hoping for some rain to spice things up but unfortunately never happened. Would love to see at least one more 430.
Was cool being there...as usual, but this year was a changeup for me. I'm normally in the Corvette corner when it comes to ALMS at RA, but I had a chance to meet and speak with Tech director Rick Mayer before the race thanks to a good friend of mine. Hence, Red was the color I was rooting for.
Watched the race on Speed and really enjoyed it! Great finish with good results for Highcroft and Rahal Letterman. Good to see the Bimmers finally running at the top. Well done to all classes in this event! Gary
speculation is/was Petit LeMans but apparently the chassis hasn't been delivered yet so perhaps 2010?? Carol
Thanks Carol! I hadn't seen too much mentioned about it lately. Have you heard if there is going to be any factory support from Jaguar behind the entry, or is it going to be purely a privateer effort? Gary
