ALMS, Petit Le Mans – Preview
Another Georgian Classic?

Petit 2010 preview – what to write about?  To be honest, covering an event like this is like covering a couple of three-ringed circuses going on simultaneously.  Every team, or even every participant, has their own story to tell.  Here especially, there are just too many to cover them all properly.

It’s the end of the season for the ALMS.  It’s the middle of the ACO Fall classic – the de-facto world championship that is not quite a world championship.  It’s Road Atlanta.  It’s 10 hours or 1000 miles.  It’s an integral part of sportscar racing and likely one of the top three or four sportscar races in the world.

Heading into my now annual trip to the land of red clay (hopefully solid this time), the following is what I’ll be looking for (after I get some of Vanessa’s cookies), plus just the opportunity to catch up as well as wind down.  It’s been a very long year…

Story Line 1 - Obviously, the one that will be paid the most attention will be Audi vs. Peugeot. 

The giants of the sport are at it yet again.  No one will be making any excuses this time – it’s not about getting ready for Le Mans or anything else.  It’s all to be laid out on the track.  Both manufacturers have new cars coming next season, so there is really no tomorrow for them (other than round 3 of the Intercontinental Le Mans Challenge) - this is the one that both are aiming for.

It looks like the ILMC will be taking the headlines from now on.  Good for the sport?  In general, yes, but if it erodes the now support series – the ALMS and the LMS – it may not be a good thing at all.

Story Line 2 – ALMS season long championships are on the line here.  Unfortunately for those involved in the Championships, their day in the sun may be overshadowed by the battle of the juggernauts.  That’s the danger of a series within a series – something will likely grab the limelight and in this case it’s the diesel war.

LMP and GT(2) effectively tied up.  Both Highcroft and the Lizards No. 45 are in the same situation – completing 70% of the race distance will sew up the championships for them, no matter what their competition does. 

Highcroft holds a 152 – 136 advantage over Cytosport.  With only five entries in P2, 70% will do it for them.  The manufacturer battle in Prototype is a bit tighter, but still controlled by Highcroft for HPD.  It would again take a DNF for Highcroft/HPD, plus a finish for a Lola in either class to bring Lola a championship.

GT2 requires a No. 45 Lizard DNF (or non-top 10 finish in class) and a top-three class-finish for Gianmaria Bruni in his Risi Ferrari to take the title. 

The manufacturer championship is a different matter – it’s Porsche 139, BMW 138 and Ferrari 129 - this one could go to the wire.

GTC is like the others, with the Black Swan pairing of Tim Pappas and Jeroen Bleekemolen controlling their own destiny.  They own a 17 points advantage over Shane Lewis in the drivers chase and a seven-point advantage over AJR in the teams championship.  Black Swan is in control of these championships and just making it to the finish will go a long way in gaining them the titles. 

LMPC is a totally different matter.  Scott Tucker and Gunnar Jeannette are tied in the driver’s championship.  Dead even. 

With the rules the way they are, you’d have to think that Scott Tucker has an advantage, as he can score points in either of the Level 5 Motorsports entries, but 1000 miles or 10 hours is a very long time. 

A lot can happen, very quickly at Petit, as we’ve seen in the past.

Story Line 3 – New cars.  Porsche Hybrid.  Panoz Abruzzi.  Ford GT for ACS Express Racing.  A second Ford GT for the Robertsons, with significant Dunlop assistance.  A second Jaguar for Rocketsports.

It’s unknown how these cars will feature (in the case of the Panoz – not likely at all as it seems the car isn’t ready to race) but it does add to the interest level of the race, at least initially.

For the Hybrid Porsche, the race is really not much more that an exhibition run, or an infomercial brought to you by Porsche and the ALMS.  Yes, it’s being used as a test by Porsche, but you can be sure that the ALMS and the ACO are very interested in seeing what’s going on.

Story Line 4 – European additions.  Every year, it’s the same in the build up - this has to be the year the most European teams are coming over.  Not this year, as the count is again low.  Besides the Peugeots and Audis, we have Oak Racing and their Pescarolo P01. 

That’s it.  ‘Maybe next year’ seems to be a common thought here…

Story Line 5 – Next season.  Will there be any announcements?  What is the state of The Series?  Stay tuned…

Story Line 6 – It’s Petit Le Mans – enough said.  Thus far, in testing, there has been some of that wet stuff around, but for now it appears as if the weather is looking good for the rest of the week and what promises to be yet another classic race in the Georgian hills. Fire ants be damned….

Gary Horrocks