American Le Mans Series
Template:Infobox Sports Car Championship The American Le Mans Series (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 four classes: LMP1 and LMP2 for Le Mans prototypes, and GT1 and GT2 for Grand Touring cars. Race lengths vary from 1 hour, 40 minutes to 12 hours.
History
The series was created in 1999 by Georgia-based businessman Don Panoz. 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. 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, 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.[1] Invitations were extended to the series champions beginning in 2003, for the 2004 race.[2] 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 Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. The series has raced at Laguna Seca, Mosport, Road Atlanta and Sebring in every year of its existence.
Overview
The American Le Mans Series uses essentially the same rules as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As with the 24 Hours, the cars are divided into four classes. Purpose-built race cars with closed fenders compete in the Prototype classes (LMP1 and LMP2) and modified production sports cars compete in the Grand Touring classes (GT1 and GT2, formerly GTS and GT). Each car driven by multiple drivers (2 or 3, depending on the length of the race), and all cars compete together simultaneously.
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. Additionally, privateer teams (teams that are not supported by manufacturers) compete for the IMSA Cup as well as special prizes for each race. Currently, factory teams from Audi (LMP1), Porsche and Acura (LMP2), Chevrolet (GT1), and Panoz, Ferrari, and Porsche (GT2) all compete in the series. Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, and Chrysler factory teams have competed in the past.
Past champions
Note: Driver champions may not have necessarily driven for the same team which won the Teams Championship.
See also
