2008 Road Atlanta

2008 was the tenth season for the American Le Mans Series. The rules for the championship were the same as those used at the legendary 24 Hour of Le Mans. This meant there were four categories competing for class honours.

Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) – These were the purpose built race cars powered by a 6.0-liter normally aspirated or 4.0-liter turbocharged engine. The vehicles could weigh no less than 924-kilograms (approximately 2,040-pounds). Competing in the series was the factory supported diesel-powered Audi R10. Privateer teams were entered in cars such as the Lola B06/10 and Creation CA07. These machines were powered by a wide range of engines producing between 600-700 horsepower.
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) – LMP675 class was introduced in 2001 for cars which could weigh no less than 675-kilograms. In 2004, this became the LMP2 class and the minimum weight was set at 775-kilograms (approximately 1,708-pounds). The rules were written so that the two LMP classes (LMP1 and LMP2) would be contending for the overall win. Manufacturers producing cars for this class included the Lola, Acura, Zytek and Porsche. LMP2 cars used smaller engines producing between 500-550 horsepower.
Grand Touring 1 (GT1) – This class included production-based vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and Aston Martin DBR9. The cars were permitted to use 8.0-liter normally aspirated or 4.0-liter turbocharged engines which produced between 600-650 horsepower. These cars could weigh no less than 1,125-kilograms (approximately 2,480-pounds).
Grand Touring 2 (GT2) – The GT2s were also restricted to a 1,125-kilogram weight rule and had similar engine limitations as the GT1 class. These were also production-based machines which included vehicles such as the Aston Martin DBRS9, Porsche GT3 RSR, Panoz Esperante GT-LM, Ford GT-R, Dodge Viper Competition Coupe and Ferrari F430 GT.

The 2008 ALMS schedule included eleven North American events. The season kicked off with the 56th edition of 12 Hours of Sebring. It was followed by a temporary street circuit at St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition to St. Pete, the series was also competing at Long Beach, Miller Motorsports Park and Lime Rock Park. The remaining events were held at Mid-Ohio, Road America, Mosport, Detroit (Belle Isle), Road Atlanta and the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Petit Le Mans was the penultimate round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series. This was the eleventh running of the event that was conceived to be a smaller version of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race length was set at 1,000-miles or 10-hours, whichever came first. The contest was held at Road Atlanta on the twelve turn 2.54-mile road course.

There were only two GT1 entries - both from Corvette Racing. The Corvettes lead the Grand Touring field into corner one on the first lap. At the front of this group is Johnny O’Connell in the pole-winning No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R. Immediately behind, O’Connell is the sister car driven by Olivier Beretta. Following the two Corvettes are sixteen GT2 competitors.

Allan McNish fought for the LMP1 pole position with Stephane Sarrazin in the Peugeot - Sarrazin proved to be quicker. McNish and his teammates, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro, would start second. Unfortunately, McNish crashed the car just before the race and the team started the contest after the green flag was given. By the fifth hour the team was back in contention and with thirty minutes remaining, McNish took the lead and victory.

Penske Porsches occupied the top three spots in LMP2 qualifying. Quickest of the trio was the No. 5 driven by Australian, Ryan Briscoe. Sharing the Porsche Spyder RS with Briscoe was Helio Castroneves. The pair swapped the overall lead with the Audi and Peugeot teams but in the end, they finished where they started – fourth overall and first in class.

During qualifying, the top of the GT2 leader chart was constantly changing but by the end of the session, Jaime Melo was the quickest in the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT. Melo shared the Ferrari with Mika Salo. Melo drove the opening stint and during the contest, the Ferrari shared the class lead with the Flying Lizard and Farnbacher Loles Porsches. Salo was first in GT2 during final hour and never relinquished the lead.

In the GT2 qualifying, Jorg Bergmeister was the first to lay down a pole-winning lap. But the competition upped their game and by the end of the session, he was fourth. Sharing the Flying Lizard Motorsports entry with Bergmeister was Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb. The No. 45 Porsche had its turn leading the race but was second in class when the checkered flag was given – just 2.317-seconds behind the winning Ferrari.

The battle for the LMP1 pole was between the Peugeot of Stephane Sarrazin and Allan McNish in the Audi. In his final attempt, Sarrazin beat McNish by 0.085-seconds. Sharing the Peugeot 908 HDI FAP with Sarrazin was Christian Klien and Nicolas Minassian. The trio took turns leading the contest but in the final thirty minutes, they were passed for the lead by McNish. They finished second – 4.512-seconds behind the winner.

Quickest of the non-Porsche LMP2 entries was the No. 26 Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX-01b – qualified by Franck Montagny. Indy driver, Tony Kanaan started the race – the driver line-up also included Marco Andretti. During the contest, Montagny was able to get in between the Penske Porsches and lead the class. Unfortunately for the team, an accident on lap-347 took them out of the running.

Roman Dumas was 0.088-seconds shy of beating his teammate, Ryan Briscoe, for the LMP2 pole position. Also driving the No. 7 Penske Racing Porsche Spyder RS was Timo Bernhard. The three Penske entries were always at the top of the lap chart - in fact, Dumas was the overall leader at the end of the second hour. At the conclusion of the event, the pair finished where they started – fifth overall and second in class.

Nicolas Minassian in the pole-winning Peugeot 908 HPI FAP leads a field of thirty-seven American Le Mans Series competitors into turn one on the first lap. In pursuit of Minassian, is the No. 2 Audi R10 TDI driven by Marco Werner and the Penske Racing Porsche Spyders of Ryan Briscoe and Timo Bernhard.

Johnny O’Connell handled the qualifying duties for the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette - which he would share with Ron Fellows and Jan Magnussen. O’Connell battled for the GT1 pole with Olivier Beretta and was successful. The two Corvettes traded the class lead but in the sixth hour, the No. 4 Corvette developed an engine issue which required an extended pit-stop. The No. 3 Chevrolet cruised to a comfortable victory.

As the qualifying session drew to a close, it was apparent that the overall and LMP1 pole was a contest between the No. 1 Audi driven by Allan McNish and the Peugeot of Stephane Sarrazin. The No. 2 Audi R10 TDI shared by Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner would start third. When the No. 1 Audi failed to take the starter’s flag, Audis best chance for an overall victory rested with Luhr and Werner. In the end, they finished third in class.

Completing a Penske Racing sweep of LMP2 qualifying was Sascha Maassen in the No. 6 Porsche Spyder RS. Also driving this Porsche were Patrick Long and Emmanuel Collard. The trio remained in contention during the contest and finished on the same lap as the overall and class winner. At the checkered flag, they claimed the final spot on the LMP2 podium.

Missing the GT2 pole position by just 0.057-seconds was second fastest qualifier Dirk Werner. Werner was sharing the Farnbacher Loles prepared Porsche GT3RSR Bryce Miller and Jorg Hardt. The No. 87 Porsche exchanged the class lead with several other GT2 competitors. In the fourth hour, Hardt was knocked off course by an LMP car. The team fell out of contention and eventually, retired on lap-277.

The third fastest qualifier in GT2 was the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GT driven by Dirk Muller. Co-driving the Ferrari with Muller was Dominik Farnbacher. The pair was in contention early in the contest but could not maintain the pace of their competition. At the end of the event, they were two laps behind the class leaders – fifteenth overall and third in GT2.

Qualifying the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette was Olivier Beretta. Beretta and Johnny O’Connell traded the fastest times in GT1 and at the end of the session, O’Connell was quicker. The two Corvettes swapped the GT1 lead but in the sixth hour Oliver Gavin encountered an engine problem and an extended pit-stop was necessary. This took the Beretta/Gavin/Papis entry out of contention. They finished six laps behind their teammates.

POS.	CLASS	DRIVERS	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	LMP1	McNish / Pirro / Capello	Audi R10 TDI	394	-
2	LMP1	Minassian / Sarrazin / Klien	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	394	-
3	LMP1	Werner / Luhr	Audi R10 TDI	394	-
4	LMP2	Briscoe / Castroneves	Porsche RS Spyder	394	-
5	LMP2	Bernhard / Dumas	Porsche RS Spyder	394	-
6	LMP2	Collard / Maassen / Long	Porsche RS Spyder	392	-
7	LMP2	Leitzinger / Franchitti / Lally	Porsche RS Spyder	391	-
8	LMP2	de Ferran / Dixon / Pagenaud	Acura ARX-01b	388	-
9	LMP2	Dyson / Smith	Porsche RS Spyder	384	-
10	GT1	O'Connell / Magnussen / Fellows	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	365	-
11	GT1	Beretta / Gavin / Papis	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	359	-
12	GT2	Melo / Salo	Ferrari F430 GTC	358	-
13	GT2	Bergmeister / Henzler / Lieb	Porsche GT3RSR	358	-
14	LMP1	Watts / Pla	Ginetta-Zytek 07S	355	-
15	GT2	Muller / Farnbacher	Ferrari F430 GTC	355	-
16	LMP2	Kanaan / Montagny / Andretti	Acura ARX-01b	347	Accident
17	GT2	Jonsson / Krohn / van de Poele	Ferrari F430 GTC	346	-
18	GT2	Aucott / Kaffer / Daoudi	Ferrari F430 GTC	344	-
19	GT2	Law / Pechnik / Neiman	Porsche GT3RSR	339	-
20	GT2	Figge / Tafel	Ferrari F430 GTC	331	-
21	GT2	Pilet / Van Overbeek	Porsche GT3RSR	311	Accident
22	GT2	Cocker / Turner / Drayson	Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2	294	Mechanical
23	GT2	Pastorelli / Basseng / Pastorelli	Porsche GT3RSR	291	Accident
24	GT2	Lazzaro / Pilgrim / Pappas	Ford GT-R	291	-
25	GT2	Milner / Hand	Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford	282	-
26	LMP2	Fernandez / Diaz / Jourdain	Acura ARX-01b	281	Accident
27	GT2	Feinberg / Hall	Dodge Viper Competition Coupe	280	Did Not Finish
28	GT2	Werner / Miller / Hardt	Porsche GT3RSR	277	Mechanical
29	GT2	Murry / Robertson / Robertson	Ford GT-R	263	Engine
30	LMP1	Lewis / Hines / Forgeois	Lola B07/17 Judd	237	Accident
31	LMP1	Field / Berry / Field	Lola B06/10 AER	160	Mechanical
32	LMP1	Simpson / Primat / Campbell-Walter	Creation CA07 AIM	138	Transmission
33	LMP1	McMurry / Burgess / Willman	Lola B06/10 AER	122	Accident
34	LMP1	Halliday / Hall / Stirling / Werner / Miller	Creation CA07 AIM	113	Accident
35	LMP1	Mowlem / Johansson / Jeannette	Zytek 07S	73	Accident
36	GT2	Drissi / Gigliotti / Goossens	Chevrolet Corvette C6	37	Mechanical
37	LMP2	Sharp / Brabham / Franchitti	Acura ARX-01b	16	Mechanical

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