The 1999 American Le Mans Series was the inaugural season of the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and is now recognised as the 29th season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into three classes: LMP, GTS, and GT. It began March 20, 1999, and ended November 7, 1999, after eight races.

The American Le Mans Series officially replaced the dwindling IMSA GT Championship after the 1998 season. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which organized the 24 Hours of Le Mans, allowed IMSA's owner Don Panoz to create a series closely modeled after the formula used at Le Mans. The first official ACO-backed event had been held at the 1998 Petit Le Mans, which was part of the IMSA GT season but allowed ACO-spec cars to compete. The success of the event allowed Panoz to form the American Le Mans Series, which continued until its merger with Grand-Am in 2013.

Schedule

Rnd Race Length CircuitLocation Date 1 Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring 12 Hours Sebring International RacewaySebring, Florida March 20 2 Grand Prix of Atlanta 2 Hours 45 Minutes Road AtlantaBraselton, Georgia April 18 3 Grand Prix of Mosport 2 Hours 45 Minutes Mosport ParkBowmanville, Ontario June 27 4 Grand Prix of Sonoma 2 Hours 45 Minutes Sears Point RacewaySonoma, California July 25 5 Rose City Grand Prix 2 Hours 45 Minutes Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon August 1 6 Petit Le Mans 1000 Miles or 10 Hours Road AtlantaBraselton, Georgia September 18 7 Sports Car Championships 2 Hours 45 Minutes Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California October 10 8 Grand Prix of Las Vegas 2 Hours 45 Minutes Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, Nevada November 7Source: The following round was included on the original calendar but was later cancelled. +RaceLengthCircuitLocationDateCancellation reason San Diego Grand Prix2 Hours 45 MinutesStreets of San DiegoSan Diego, CaliforniaNovember 7Construction delays The inaugural ALMS season consisted of 8 races. Six were carried over from the previous seasons IMSA GT Championship which were 12 Hours of Sebring, Grand Prix of Atlanta, Mosport, Petit Le Mans, Laguna Seca and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only races not carried over were Lime Rock Park which switched to the USRRC schedule for 1999 and the second Sebring weekend. Sonoma and Portland joined the calendar to hold their first major endurance races since 1997 and 1994 respectively.

Originally the season finale was supposed to be the San Diego Grand Prix held on a 1.5 mile Road course at the former Naval Training Center. However, the season finale would eventually be moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to construction delays. Entry list Sources: Le Mans Prototype (LMP) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. Team Rafanelli SRLRiley & Scott Mk IIIJudd GV4 4.0 L V100 Eric van de Poele1–2, 6–8 Tomáš Enge1, 6 David Saelens1 Mimmo Schiattarella2–8 Érik Comas3–5 Sintura RacingSintura S99Judd GV4 4.0 L V1000 Richard Dean7 Kurt Luby7 Multimatic MotorsportsLola B98/10Ford 5.1 L V806 Scott Maxwell1–3, 6 Harri Toivonen1–2, 6 Danny Sullivan1*, 3* Ken Wilden3 Panoz Motor SportsPanoz GTR-1 (Rd. 1) Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S (Rd. 2–8)Ford (Roush) 6.0 L V8 (Rd. 1) Ford (Élan-Yates) 6.0 L V8 (Rd. 2–8)1 David BrabhamAll Éric BernardAll Klaus Graf1* Andy Wallace6Panoz GTR-1 (Rd. 1–2) Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S (Rd. 3–8)Ford (Roush) 6.0 L V8 (Rd. 1–2) Ford (Élan-Yates) 6.0 L V8 (Rd. 3–8)2 Johnny O'ConnellAll Jan MagnussenAll John Nielsen1 Memo Gidley6 Whittington Bros.Riley & Scott Mk III (Rd. 1) Lola B98/10 (Rd. 2, 4–5)Ford (Roush) 6.0 L V85 Don Whittington1–2, 4–5 Dale Whittington1, 4–5 Hurley Haywood1 Tim Hubman2 Transatlantic RacingRiley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V88 Scott Schubot1–2, 4–7 Henry Camferdam1–2, 5–6 Duncan Dayton1 Rick Sutherland4, 6 Butch Leitzinger7 Doyle-Risi RacingFerrari 333 SPFerrari F310E 4.0 L V1211 Max AngelelliAll Didier de RadiguèsAll Anthony Lazzaro1 Xavier Pompidou612 Alex CaffiAll Wayne TaylorAll Juan Manuel Fangio II1 Max Angelelli1 Andrea Montermini6 J&P MotorsportsPanoz LMP-1 Roadster-SFord (Élan-Yates) 6.0 L V813 Klaus Graf6 Jan Lammers6 Franz Konrad6 Hybrid R&DRiley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V815 Chris Bingham1–5, 7–8 Ross Bentley1–5 Marc Duez1 Rick Sutherland7–8 Dave Cutler8 Dyson RacingRiley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V816 James Weaver1–5, 7–8 Andy Wallace1–3 Dorsey Schroeder1 Rob Dyson4 Ron Fellows5 Elliott Forbes-Robinson5, 7–820 Butch Leitzinger1–6, 8 Elliott Forbes-Robinson1–6 James Weaver1, 6 Rob Dyson1* Andy Wallace8 Dollahite RacingFerrari 333 SPFerrari F310E 4.0 L V1218 Bill DollahiteAll Mike DaviesAll Doc Bundy1 Price & BscherBMW V12 LMBMW S70 6.0 L V12(1) (4–6)26 Thomas Bscher1, 4–6 Bill Auberlen1 Steve Soper1 Pedro Lamy4–6 Doran Lista Racing Doran Matthews RacingFerrari 333 SPFerrari F310E 4.0 L V1227 Didier TheysAll Mauro Baldi1–2, 7–8 Fredy Lienhard1, 3–6 Stanley Dickens636 Jim MatthewsAll Tommy Kendall1–2 Mark Dismore1 Anthony Lazzaro3 Stefan Johansson4–8 Scott Dixon6 Intersport RacingLola B98/10Ford (Roush) 6.0 L V828 Jon FieldAll Ryan Jones1–2, 6 Chris Goodwin1 Martin Guimont3 Niclas Jönsson4–6, 8 Paul Debban7Riley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V829 John Mirro1–4, 6 Sam Brown1–4 Butch Brickell1 Andy Petery1 Paul Debban5 Bruce Trenery5 Tim Hubman6 Vic Rice6–7 Spencer Trenery7–8 Genesis RacingRiley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V831 Rick Fairbanks1 Dave Dullum1 Kurt Baumann1Hawk MD3RChevrolet 6.0 L V832 Jeff Altenburg1–2 Rick Fairbanks1–2 Chuck Goldsborough1 Nygmatech MotorsportsRiley & Scott Mk IIIFord 5.0 L V831 Kurt Baumann6–7 Tony Kester6 Dave Dullum6 Stan Wattles7 Champion RacingPorsche 911 GT1 EvoPorsche 3.2 L Turbo Flat-638 Bob Wollek1–2, 6 Thierry Boutsen1–2 Dirk Müller1 Allan McNish3–8 Ralf Kelleners3, 6–8 Andy Pilgrim4–5 BMW Motorsport Schnitzer MotorsportBMW V12 LMRBMW S70 6.0 L V1242 J.J. Lehto1, 3–8 Jörg Müller1, 3, 6 Tom Kristensen1 Steve Soper4–5, 7–843 Joachim Winkelhock1, 3–8 Yannick Dalmas1 Pierluigi Martini1 Bill Auberlen3–8 Steve Soper6 Autoexe MotorsportsAutoexe LMP99Ford 6.0 L V844 Franck Fréon1 Yojiro Terada1 Banshee RacingBanshee Mark 2Ford ???47 Tony Ave2* Ernie Lader2* Scott Goodyear2* Kopf PrecisionKeiler KIIFord 5.0L V860 Kris Wilson1, 4 Tim Moser1, 4 Downing/AtlantaKudzu DLMMazda 2.0 L 3-Rotor62 Rich Grupp1–2, 6 Dennis Spencer1–2, 6 A.J. Smith1 Barry Waddell6Kudzu DLYMazda R26B 2.6 L 4-Rotor63 Jim Downing1–6 Chris Ronson1, 4–5 Steve Pelke1 Howard Katz2, 6 A.J. Smith3 Franck Fréon6 Konrad MotorsportLola B98/10Lotus 3.5 L Turbo V8 (Rd. 1) Ford 5.0L V8 (Rd. 6)66 Jan Lammers1, 6* Franz Konrad1 Tim Hubman1 Mike Hezemans6* Spreng RacingSpice HC94Chevrolet ???69 Gustl Spreng1* Kersten Jodexnis1* Robinson RacingRiley & Scott Mk IIIChevrolet 6.0 L V874 George Robinson1–2, 4–6 Jack Baldwin1–2, 4–6 Irv Hoerr1, 6 DAMSLola B98/10Judd GV4 4.0 L V1075 Jean-Marc Gounon3, 6–8 Franck Montagny3, 6–8 Christophe Tinseau6 Audi Sport Team JoestAudi R8RAudi 3.6 L Turbo V877 Michele Alboreto1 Rinaldo Capello1 Stefan Johansson178 Emanuele Pirro1 Frank Biela1 Perry McCarthy1 TRV MotorsportRiley & Scott Mk IIIChevrolet 6.0 L V8(1–2) (6–7)95 Jeret Schroeder1–2, 6–7 Tom Volk1–2, 6–7 Pete Halsmer1 Barry Waddell1 Lyn St. James6 Team CascadiaLola B98/12BMW 4.0 L V8 (Rd. 1) Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 (Rd. 4–5)97 Shane Lewis1, 4–5 Ed Zabinski1, 4–5 Vic Rice1

AMG-Mercedes had planned on entering their Mercedes-Benz CLR into the final three races of the season but cancelled their Sportscar program after a disastrous performance at Le Mans.

Grand Touring Sport (GTS) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. CJ MotorsportPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-604 John Morton1–6 John Graham1–6 Davy Jones1 Roock Motorsport North AmericaPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-608 Claudia Hürtgen6–8 André Ahrlé6–8 Hubert Haupt6 Corvette Racing Riley & Scott Inc.Chevrolet Corvette C5-RChevrolet 6.0 L V83 Ron Fellows1, 4, 6–8 Chris Kneifel1, 4, 6–8 John Paul Jr.1, 64 Andy Pilgrim1, 6 Scott Sharp1, 6 John Heinricy1 Kelly Collins6 Chamberlain MotorsportChrysler Viper GTS-RChrysler 8.0 L V1019 Didier Defourny6 Hans Hugenholtz6 Seiji Ara6 ITLA Capital Corp. IntruderMosler IntruderChevrolet ???33 Vic Rice7* Spencer Trenery7* Freisinger MotorsportPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-648 Wolfgang Kaufmann1, 4–7 Michel Ligonnet1, 4–6 Lance Stewart1 Bob Wollek749 Michael Irmgratz1 Mandfred Jurasz1 Brad Creger1 Lance Stewart6 Yukihiro Hane6 Johnson AutosportPorsche 911 TurboPorsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-6?50 Tim McGlynn1–2 Robert Johnson1–2 Mike Hoke1 Jack Lewis2 Maxwell RacingPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-652 Harry Rady7 Cary Eisenlohr7 Saleen/Allen SpeedlabSaleen Mustang SRFord 5.8 L V855 Terry BorchellerAll Ron JohnsonAll Steve Saleen1 Darren Law1 Shane Lewis6 Martin Snow RacingPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-656 Martin SnowAll Melanie Snow1 Patrick Huisman1 Kelly Collins2–5, 7–8 Larry Schumacher6 John O'Steen6 Konrad MotorsportPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-661 Peter Kitchak1–3 Charles Slater1, 6, 8 Mike Hezemans1 Franz Konrad2, 4–5, 7–8 Bob Wollek4–5 Michel Neugarten6 Tom McGlynn6 Simon Sobrero7–8 DM MotorsportsPorsche 911 GT2 EvoPorsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6?71 Arthur Pilla1 Bob Mazzuoccola1 David Kicak1 Mark Montgomery1 ARBJH Development Chiefie MotorsportsPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-683 Zak BrownAll Claudia Hürtgen1 Hubert Haupt1 Andy Pilgrim2–3 Stefano Buttiero4–5, 7–8 Joe Foster6 Michael Schrom6 Dodge Viper Team OrecaDodge Viper GTS-RDodge 8.0 L V1091 Olivier Beretta3–8 David Donohue3–6, 8 Marc Duez3 Karl Wendlinger792 Tommy Archer3–8 Karl Wendlinger3–6, 8 Jean-Philippe Belloc3 David Donohue793 Ni Amorim6 Justin Bell6 Emmanuel Clérico6 Schumacher RacingPorsche 911 GT2Porsche 3.6 L Turbo Flat-699 Larry Schumacher1–2 John O'Steen1–2 Robert Nearn1

Grand Touring (GT) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. Reiser Callas RennsportPorsche 911 Carrera RSRPorsche 3.8 L Flat-602 David Murry1–2, 4–8 Johnny Mowlem1, 3, 6–8 John Ruther1* Craig Stanton2–3 Doc Bundy4–5 Hurley Haywood603 Grady Willingham1–3, 5–8 Craig Stanton1, 4–8 Joel Reiser1, 3–8 Michel Ligonnet2 G & W MotorsportsPorsche 911 GT2 Evo (Rd. 1–2) Porsche 911 Carrera RSR (Rd. 6)Porsche 3.8 L Turbo Flat-6 (Rd. 1–2) Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 (Rd. 6)07 Steve Marshall1–2, 6 Danny Marshall1–2, 6 Darren Law1–2 Sylvain Tremblay1 Chris Hall6 Prototype Technology GroupBMW M3 (E36)BMW 3.2 L I66 Mark Simo2–5 Peter Cunningham2–5 Brian Cunningham4 Hans-Joachim Stuck6–8 Boris Said6–7 Johannes van Overbeek87 Brian CunninghamAll Johannes van Overbeek1–3 Mark Simo1, 6–7 Christian Menzel4–5 Peter Cunningham89 Hans-Joachim Stuck4–5 Boris Said4–510 Hans-Joachim Stuck1–3 Boris Said1–2, 8 Peter Cunningham1, 7 Christian Menzel3 Johannes van Overbeek4–7 Darren Law4–6 Mark Simo8 Aasco Performance Contemporary MotorsportsPorsche 911 Carrera RSRPorsche 3.8 L Flat-617 Mike Conte1, 3–4, 6–8 Bruno Lambert1, 4–7 Nick Holt1, 3 Joe Varde5 Randy Pobst8 Alex Job RacingPorsche 911 Carrera RSRPorsche 3.8 L Flat-622 Mike FitzgeraldAll Randy Pobst1, 6 David MacNeil1 Darryl Havens2–8 Alex Job Racing Manthey RacingPorsche 911 Carrera RSR (1–3) Porsche 996 GT3-R (4–8)Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 (1–3) Porsche 3.6 L Flat-6 (4–8)(1–3) (4–8)23 Cort WagnerAll Kelly Collins1 Darryl Havens1 Dirk Müller2–8 Sascha Maassen6 Alex Job RacingPorsche 911 Carrera RSRPorsche 3.8 L Flat-624 Randy Pobst4–5 Jim Kelly4–5 Don Kitch4–5 RWS MotorsportPorsche 911 Carrera RSR (1) Porsche 996 GT3-R (4–8)Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 (1)