1999 Mosport International Raceway - American Le Mans Series

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was created by Don Panoz and debuted in 1999. Panoz aligned the ALMS rules with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1999, there were three classes:

Le Mans Prototype (LMP) – These were the purpose-built race cars powered by a 6.0-liter normally aspirated or 4.0-liter turbocharged engine. The vehicles can weigh no less than 900-kilograms. There is a two-car factory effort from BMW and Panoz. However, the fields are filled with privateer teams entered in cars such as the Riley & Scott MK III, Lola B98/10 and Ferrari 333 SP.
Grand Touring Sport (GTS) – This class is for production-based cars such as the Dodge Viper GTS, Saleen Mustang SR and Porsche 911 Turbo. The vehicles are permitted to use 8.0-liter normally aspirated or 4.0-liter turbocharged engines. These cars can weigh no less than 1,100-kilograms.
Grand Touring (GT) – The GT cars are also restricted to an 1,100-kilogram weight rule and have similar engine limitations as the GTS class. These are also production-based cars such as the BMW M3 and Porsche 911 RSR. Unlike the GTS entries, competitors in this category cannot use carbon fiber brakes.

In its first season, the ALMS held eight events.

March 20 – Sebring International Raceway, Florida
April 18 – Road Atlanta, Georgia
June 27 – Mosport International Raceway, Ontario
July 25 – Sonoma Raceway, California
August 1 – Portland International Raceway, Oregon
September 18 – Road Atlanta, Georgia
October 10 – Laguna Seca, California
November 7 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nevada

Mosport International Raceway hosted round three of the American Le Mans Series. The 1999 Grand Prix of Mosport had a total of thirty-five entries and thirty-three starters. Teams would compete for two hours, forty-five minutes around the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course.

Thirty-three cars funnel into Mosport International Raceway’s turn one for round three of the 1999 American Le Mans Series. Leading the pack is the No. 2 Panoz Motor Sports Panoz LMP-1 Roadster shared by second-place starters Jan Magnussen and Johnny O’Connell. Behind Magnussen is the second Panoz Motor Sports entry, which won the pole, driven by David Brabham and Eric Bernard.

After two races, the Panoz Roadster’s best result was a fifth-place at Road Atlanta. However, the cars showed speed at Mosport. The No. 2 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster of Jan Magnussen and Johnny O’Connell started on the outside of the front row. They fought with their teammates, David Braham and Eric Bernard, and the Rafanelli entry. A penalty-free event gave the team their first victory.

Team Oreca used round three of the American Le Mans Series at Mosport to launch their two-car GTS assault. The team was fresh off their victory at the 24-Hours of Le Mans. Co-driving the No. 91 Dodge Viper GTS was Olivier Beretta and David Donohue. Beretta qualified second in class but moved into the lead early. The team’s two entries traded the top spot throughout the contest, with Beretta and Donohue winning.

In the opening rounds of the 1999 American Le Mans Series, the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 RSR recorded first and second-place finishes in the GT category. But it appeared that their luck had changed this weekend at Mosport when the car had a heavy crash in practice. The Job crew worked feverishly and repaired the Porsche for the race. Drivers Cort Wagner and Dirk Mueller started last and won their class.

They came, they saw and they left. BMW Motorsport, this year’s winners at the 24-Hours of Le Mans, entered two of their BMW V12 LMR for round three at Mosport. The No. 42 BMW of JJ Lehto and Jorg Muller was third-fastest in the qualifying and their teammates, Bill Auberlen and Joachim Winkelhock, were scheduled to start fifth. However, BMW withdrew the cars citing concerns over the safety of the track.

At Road Atlanta, Hans Stuck was paired with Boris Said in the No. 10 Prototype Technology Group BMW M3 and finished fourth in GT. At Mosport, Said was replaced with Christian Menzel. The car started twenty-second overall and first in class. The pair controlled the race until an emergency stop was required to replace a flat tire. Then they lost a lap during the only caution period and finished second.

The second Panoz Motor Sport entry was driven by David Brabham and Eric Bernard. During his stint, Bernard started on the pole and battled with his teammate, Jan Magnussen and Mimo Schiattarella. Braham moved the No. 1 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster to the lead. While avoiding a slower car, he went off-course and pitted to clean the radiator. Fuel was added during the stop which resulted in a penalty and second-place result.

The No. 92 Team Oreca Dodge Viper GTS was driven by Tommy Archer and Karl Wendlinger. Archer used his extensive knowledge of Mosport to earn the GTS pole and start sixteenth overall. The class lead ‘see-sawed back and forth’ between the No. 92 Viper and their teammates, Olivier Beretta and David Donohue. Both cars finished on the same lap, but Archer and Wendlinger could only manage second.

The ‘best of the rest’ in the GTS division was the No. 55 Saleen / Allen Speedlab Saleen Mustang SR. Sharing the Saleen Mustang were Terry Borcheller and Ron Johnson. They were gridded nineteenth overall and third in class for the Grand Prix of Mosport. However, they were unable to match the pace of the Vipers and crossed the finished two laps behind the Team Oreca entries in third place.

The Prototype Technology Group entered three BMW M3 in the GT division. The No. 7 BMW was raced by Johannes van Overbeek and Brian Cunningham, who won the previous round at Road Atlanta. A spin early in the event and then contact, which resulted in the fender rubbing the tire, took them out of contention. They would but finish three laps behind the winners but claim the final position on the class podium.

There were several Riley & Scott MK III entered at Mosport, but the quickest of them all was the No. 0 V10 Judd-powered Team Rafanelli shared by Mimo Schiattarella and Erik Comas. With the withdrawal of the BMWs, they were gridded third overall. The duo ran in the top three during the race and pitted early to take the lead. However, Comas entered the pits too fast on his last stop and the penalty left them with a third-place finish.

Local hopes for the overall victory rested on the shoulders of the Multimatic Motorsports team. The No. 06 Lola B98/10 was scheduled to be piloted by former Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan and Multimatic’s lead driver, Scott Maxwell. However, Sullivan had a change of heart and his seat was filled by Kenny Wilden. After two engine changes and various issues were resolved, the Lola started seventh and finished ninth.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	ENTRANT	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	LMP	O'Connell / Magnussen	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster	Panoz Motor Sports	122	-
2	LMP	Bernard / Brabham	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster	Panoz Motor Sports	122	-
3	LMP	Comas / Schiattarella	Riley & Scott Mk III	Team Rafanelli SRL	122	-
4	LMP	Leitzinger / Forbes-Robinson	Riley & Scott Mk III	Dyson Racing	121	-
5	LMP	Angelelli / de Radigues	Ferrari 333 SP	Doyle-Risi Racng	120	-
6	LMP	McNish / Kelleners	Porsche 911 GT1 Evo	Champion Racing	119	-
7	LMP	Caffi / Taylor	Ferrari 333 SP	Doyle-Risi Racng	118	-
8	LMP	Theys / Lienhard	Ferrari 333 SP	Doran Enterprises	117	-
9	LMP	Maxwell / Wilden	Audi R8	Audi Sport North America	116	-
10	LMP	Bentley / Bingham	Riley & Scott Mk III	Hybrid R&D	115	-
11	GTS	Donohue / Beretta	Dodge Viper GTS	Dodge Viper Team Oreca	111	-
12	GTS	Archer / Wendlinger	Dodge Viper GTS	Dodge Viper Team Oreca	111	-
13	LMP	Downing / Smith	Kudzu DLY	Downing Atlanta	110	-
14	GTS	Borcheller / Johnson	Saleen Mustang SR	Saleen / Allen Speedlab	109	-
15	LMP	Field / Guimont	Lola B98/10	Intersport Racing	108	-
16	GT	Mueller / Wagner	Porsche 911 RSR	Alex Job Racing	108	-
17	GT	Stuck / Menzel	BMW M3	Prototype Technology Group	106	-
18	GTS	Schumacher / O'Steen	Porsche 911 GT2	Schumacher Racing	106	-
19	GT	van Overbeek / Cunningham	BMW M3	Prototype Technology Group	105	-
20	GTS	Graham / Morton	Porsche 911 GT2	CJ Motorsport	100	-
21	GT	Auberlen / Peeler	Porsche 996	Team PRC	100	-
22	GT	Willingham / Reiser	Porsche 911 RSR	Reiser Callas Rennsport	99	-
23	GT	Havens / Fitzgerald	Porsche 911 RSR	Alex Job Racing	98	-
24	GT	Mowlem / Stanton	Porsche 911 RSR	Reiser Callas Rennsport	98	-
25	LMP	Gounon / Tinseau	Lola B98/10	DAMS	97	Overheating
26	GTS	Snow / Collins	Porsche 911 GT2	Martin Snow Racing	97	-
27	GT	Argetsinger / Polidori	Porsche 911 RSR	Team ARE	92	-
28	LMP	Weaver / Wallace	Riley & Scott Mk III	Dyson Racing	83	Overheating
29	GT	Simo / Cunningham	BMW M3	Prototype Technology Group	81	-
30	GTS	Brown / Pilgrim	Porsche 911 GT2	Chiefie Motorsports	72	Accident
31	LMP	Dollahite / Davies	Ferrari 333 SP	Dollahite Racing	61	Accident
32	GT	Conte / Holt	Porsche 911 RSR	GT Contemporary Motorsports	11	Wheel Bearing
33	LMP	Matthews / Lazzaro	Ferrari 333 SP	Matthews Racing	8	Engine
34	LMP	Lehto / Müller	BMW V12 LMR	BMW Motorsport	0	Did Not Start
35	LMP	Winkelhock / Auberlen	BMW V12 LMR	BMW Motorsport	0	Did Not Start

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