The 2009 IMSA Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship season was the thirty-sixth Atlantic Championship season. It was the first full season of the Championship under the sanctioning of the International Motor Sports Association. After a three-way title battle into the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, John Edwards became the series' youngest champion, beating Jonathan Summerton on a tie-breaker, after both drivers finished on 182 points. They also finished tied on four victories, but Edwards broke the tie with four second-place finishes compared to Summerton's three.

After that season, the category lost IMSA support, and the series went on hiatus for two years, returning in 2012. However, from that point on, the category's relevance—in terms of serving as a potential breeding ground for future IndyCar drivers—diminished drastically.

Drivers and teams The following teams and drivers competed in the 2009 Atlantic Championship. All teams are using the Swift 016.a chassis powered by a Mazda-Cosworth MZR 2.3-litre inline-4 engine and Cooper tires. C2 Class teams use the Swift 014.a chassis.

TeamNoDriversRounds Newman Wachs Racing 1 Markus Niemelä 1–4 34 Jonathan Summerton 5–12 36 John Edwards All Jensen MotorSport 1 Markus Niemela 6–12 2 Matt Lee 1 James Winslow 2 David Garza 3–4 Barrett Mertins 12 3 Michael Nacol 1–7 Eric Jensen 9–10 13 7 Condor Motorsports 6 Borja García 1–10 Frédéric Vervisch 12 7 Max Lefèvre All Conquest Racing 12 James Winslow 1 Matt Lee 5 21 Harald Schlegelmilch 1 Genoa Racing 17 Frédéric Vervisch All 18 Tõnis Kasemets 2 Robert Wickens 10 Greg Mansell 11 James Winslow 3–4, 9–10 19 5–7, 11 Jonathan Summerton 1–4 Mathiasen Motorsports 26 Jonathan Bomarito 1 Polestar Motor Racing 35 Tõnis Kasemets 1, 3–12 66 Richard Zober 3–5 Paladin Motorsports 45 James Winslow 12 Team Stargate Worlds 77 Frankie Muniz 1-9 Jonathan Bomarito 11–12 78 Simona de Silvestro All C2 Class Swan Racing 29 Ahsen Yelkin 1 68 Chris Lee 1 71 Michael Mällinen 1–4, 8 75 Sadat Yelkin 1 80 Hans Peter 8 88 Mirl Swan 1, 8

Schedule Round Race date Race name Circuit City/Location 1 March 20 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida 2 May 17 Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah 3 June 13 Mazda Formula X New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey 4 June 14 5 July 18 Northeast Grand Prix Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut 6 July 25 Autobahn Grand Prix Autobahn Country Club Joliet, Illinois 7 July 26 8 August 8 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 9 August 16 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières Circuit Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec 10 August 30 Grand Prix of Mosport Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario 11 September 26 Petit Le Mans Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia 12 October 11 Monterey Sports Car Championships Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California

Seven rounds are held jointly with the American Le Mans Series: Sebring, Miller, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Mosport, Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca.

The series planned to open its season on a road course on Hutchinson Island in Savannah, Georgia, on March 15. The race was postponed until 2010, as further work on the track was required before it could be homologated for professional open wheel racing. A second race at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Autobahn Country Club were added instead.

Race results RdRace trackPole PositionFastest LapMost Laps LedRace winner Driver Team 1 Sebring International Raceway Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards 2 Miller Motorsports Park Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro 3 New Jersey Motorsports Park Genoa Racing 4 Simona de Silvestro Markus Niemelä Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds 5 Lime Rock Park Simona de Silvestro John Edwards Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds 6 Autobahn Country Club John Edwards Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing 7 John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing 8 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 9 Circuit Trois-Rivières Simona de Silvestro Jonathan Summerton Simona de Silvestro Simona de Silvestro Team Stargate Worlds 10 Mosport International Raceway Jonathan Summerton John Edwards Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 11 Road Atlanta Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton Newman Wachs Racing 12 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca John Edwards Jonathan Summerton John Edwards John Edwards Newman Wachs Racing

Championship Standings The point system was modified from previous years for the 2009 season. Points are awarded as follows: Pos12345678910111213 Points201614121087654321 Bonus points will also be awarded for the fastest driver in a qualifying session (10 races will have two sessions), and most places gained during the race. This means the maximum a driver can score is 21, as a driver cannot earn the most places gained point, if they've started from pole. Only the driver's best eleven scores will count towards the championship.

Atlantic Class Pos Driver SEB MIL NJ1 NJ2 LRP ACC1 ACC2 MID CTR MOS ATL LAG Points 1 John Edwards 1 2 5 6 2 1 1 9 2 2 3 1 182 2 Jonathan Summerton 3 6 1 2 4 2 11 1 3 1 1 2 182 3 Simona de Silvestro 5 1 2 1 1 3 2 2 1 10 2 10 176 4 Frédéric Vervisch 2 3 7 3 6 4 4 5 9 3 6 3 131 5 Tõnis Kasemets 7 5 6 7 5 5 3 10 4 6 9 4 103 6 Markus Niemelä 12 9 4 4 9 10 6 4 5 5 5 5 98 7 Borja García 6 DSQ 3 5 3 6 5 3 11 7 88 8 James Winslow 8 8 9 9 7 8 9 6 7 7 7 72 9 Frankie Muniz 10 4 8 8 10 7 7 8 6 62 10 Max Lefèvre DNS 7 11 11 8 9 8 7 10 8 8 9 58 11 Jonathan Bomarito 13 4 8 19 12 Eric Jensen 10 8 9 16 13 Harald Schlegelmilch 4 12 14 Robert Wickens 4 12 15 Michael Nacol 11 10 13 13 12 DNS DNS 11 16 Barrett Mertins 6 8 17 David Garza 10 10 8 18 Richard Zober 12 12 11 7 19 Matt Lee 9 13 6 20 Greg Mansell 10 4 Pos Driver SEB MIL NJ1 NJ2 LRP ACC1 ACC2 MID CTR MOS ATL LAG Points Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue 11th place or lower Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Driver replacement (Rpl) Injured (Inj) No race held (NH)

C2 Class Pos Driver SEB MIL NJ1 NJ2 LRP ACC1 ACC2 MID CTR MOS ATL LAG Points 1 Michael Mällinen 5 1 1 1 1 93 2 Mirl Swan 1 DNQ 21 3 Hans Peter 2 17 4 Sadat Yelkin 2 16 5 Ahsen Yelkin 3 14 6 Chris Lee 4 12 Pos Driver SEB MIL NJ1 NJ2 LRP ACC1 ACC2 MID CTR MOS ATL LAG Points

Polesitters are denoted in bold. Polesitters are determined by the fastest overall lap in qualifying, and one point is awarded at each round. Driver in italics has gained the most places in a round. One point is awarded at each round.

Notes At round one, no hard charger point was awarded in the C2 Class as no drivers changed positions over the 19-lap duration. This also occurred at rounds two, three and four, but on these occasions due to only one car taking part.

Television and other video For the 2009 season, a new Atlantic Championship high-definition television package was announced on HDNet, which features live coverage of certain events, and replays of others.

Web video of events has also historically been available on the series website, and the series also has its own official YouTube channel under the username "AtlanticRacingSeries."

References