The 2010 American Le Mans Series season was the 40th overall season for the IMSA GT Championship, and the twelfth as the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. It was also the first season in which the ALMS used a revised structure for its four classes, as well as the first year in a three-year sponsorship deal with Patrón. The season began with the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 20 and ended with the Petit Le Mans on October 2, completing nine total races.
The senior class, LMP, the new combination class of the old LMP1 and LMP2 classes, saw defending LMP1 champions Patrón Highcroft Racing with defending champion driver David Brabham and new teammate Simon Pagenaud took a 23-point victory in their Honda over Porsche driver Klaus Graf. The other carry over category GT (the former GT2 class) Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche duo of Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister successfully defended their class championship over Risi Competizione Ferrari driver Gianmaria Bruni. There was no GT1 category left in the series.
In the two spec-racer classes Scott Tucker of Level 5 Motorsports was the dominant driver in the LMP Challenge class, winning five of the nine races in the class' first full season. After debuting for half of the 2009 season, the new GT Challenge class saw the Black Swan Racing Porsche of Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas claim the class victory.
Schedule The 2010 American Le Mans Series season features nine events, dropping the St. Petersburg round from 2009. Laguna Seca will no longer end the season but is instead moved to May and has been extended from four hours to six hours; this will allow the Petit Le Mans to conclude the season. The Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park has also had its date pushed back to July due to the move by Laguna Seca. The Petit Le Mans will also form part of the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup for LMP1s.
Rnd Race Length Circuit Location Date – American Le Mans Series Winter Test Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida February 22–23 1 58th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring 12 Hours Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 20 2 Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach 1 Hour 40 Minutes Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California April 17 3 American Le Mans Series Monterey 6 Hours Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California May 22 4 Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix 2 Hours 45 Minutes Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah July 10 5 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix 2 Hours 45 Minutes Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 24 6 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge 2 Hours 45 Minutes Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 7 7 American Le Mans Series powered by eStar 2 Hours 45 Minutes Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 22 8 Grand Prix of Mosport 2 Hours 45 Minutes Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario August 29 9 13th Annual Petit Le Mans or 10 Hours Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 2
Regulation changes Introduced on August 16, 2009, IMSA announced a new class structure for the 2010 season in order to address costs. Several previous classes will be retained, while some new classes will be added. Le Mans Prototypes, which previously ran in the LMP1 and LMP2 categories, will be combined into a single LMP category for much of the season. IMSA will modify the LMP1 and LMP2 rules through performance balancing in order to allow the two to compete equally in the new single category. However, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans endurance races will not use this unified class, instead reverting to the 2009 regulations as used by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The championship points payout for these two events have yet to be determined by IMSA.
A new Le Mans Prototype category will be established as a feeder system for young or amateur drivers. This category, known as Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC), will borrow from the Formula Le Mans Cup series in Europe by utilizing a spec racing format. All teams will use Oreca FLM09 chassis, Chevrolet production V8s, and other standardized equipment. Along with the European Le Mans Series' (2010 season) Formula Le Mans, the ALMS LMPC makes up as its own class in the races throughout the season rather than racing as a support series.
With a lack of competitors in the former GT1 category, GT2 has been renamed to just GT and will be the premiere category for grand tourers in ALMS in 2010. The ALMS Challenge category, first established in 2009, will be expanded in 2010 and renamed as GT Challenge (GTC). The category will race for the full season for the first time. Porsche 911 GT3s from racing series other than the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge will also be accepted for the first time.
Entry list
Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. Aston Martin RacingLola-Aston Martin B09/60Aston Martin 6.0 L V12007 Adrian Fernandez1–2 Harold Primat1–2 Stefan Mücke1 Team Peugeot TotalPeugeot 908 HDi FAPPeugeot HDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)07 Alexander Wurz1, 9 Anthony Davidson1, 9 Marc Gené1, 908 Pedro Lamy1 Sébastien Bourdais1 Nicolas Minassian1 Stéphane Sarrazin9 Franck Montagny9 Audi Sport Team JoestAudi R15 TDI plusAudi TDI 5.5L Turbo V10 (Diesel)7 Allan McNish9 Tom Kristensen9 Rinaldo Capello99 André Lotterer9 Marcel Fässler9 Benoît Tréluyer9 Drayson RacingLola B09/60Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V108 Jonny CockerAll Paul DraysonAll Emanuele Pirro1, 3–4, 9 Autocon MotorsportsLola B06/10AER P32T 4.0L Turbo V812 Bryan Willman1, 3–4, 6–7, 9 Tony Burgess1, 3–4, 7–9 Pierre Ehret1, 3 Tomy Drissi2, 6 Ken Davis2 Johnny Mowlem7–8 Chris McMurry9 Intersport RacingLola B06/10AER P32T 4.0L Turbo V837 Jon FieldAll Clint FieldAll Nikolas Konstant3 Ben Devlin9
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. Patrón Highcroft RacingHPD ARX-01CHPD AL7R 3.4 L V81 Simon PagenaudAll David BrabhamAll Marino Franchitti1, 3, 9 Libra RacingRadical SR9Nissan 4.0 L V85 Andrew Prendeville6–7, 9 Chris Buncombe6 José Balbiani7 Peter Dempsey9 Harri Toivonen9 Muscle Milk Team CytosportPorsche RS Spyder EvoPorsche MR6 3.4L V86 Klaus GrafAll Greg Pickett1–2, 4–6 Sascha Maassen1, 3, 9 Memo Gidley3 Timo Bernhard7 Romain Dumas8 Lucas Luhr9 Dyson Racing TeamLola B09/86Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 (Butanol)16 Chris DysonAll Guy SmithAll Andy Meyrick1, 3, 9 OAK RacingPescarolo 01Judd DB 3.4 L V835 Jacques Nicolet9 Frédéric da Rocha9 Patrice Lafargue9
Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC)
Note: All entires utilized the Oreca FLM09 chassis, the Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 engine, and Michelin tyres.
Team Drivers Rnds. Primetime Race Group Performance Tech11 Kyle Marcelli1–2 Joel Feinberg1 Tom Weickardt1 Gerardo Bonilla2 Genoa Racing36 Tom Sutherland1–3 J. R. Hildebrand1–2 Andy Wallace1 Kyle Marcelli3 Tom Weickardt3 Christian Zugel5–8 Tom Sedivy5 Frankie Montecalvo6–9 Alex Figge9 Eric Lux9 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports52 Tom Papadopolous2–3, 5 Johnny Mowlem2–3 Ryan Lewis3, 9 Alex Figge4–5 Max Hyatt4 Ricardo González6–9 Luis Díaz6–9 Level 5 Motorsports55 Scott TuckerAll Christophe BouchutAll Mark Wilkins1, 3, 995 Scott TuckerAll Ryan Hunter-Reay1–2 James Gue1 Andy Wallace3–8 Burt Frisselle3, 9 Marco Werner9 Intersport Racing73 Antonio Downs9 Lucas Downs9 Matt Downs989 Brian Wong1–6 Mitch Pagerey1–3 David Ducote1, 3, 9 Kyle Marcelli4–9 Chapman Ducote7–9 Green Earth Team Gunnar99 Gunnar JeannetteAll Elton Julian1–3, 5–9 Christian Zugel1, 3–4, 9
Grand Touring (GT) TeamChassisEngineTyreNo.DriversRnds. Extreme Speed MotorsportsFerrari F430 GTEFerrari 4.0 L V801 Scott SharpAll Johannes Van OverbeekAll Dominik Farnbacher1, 902 Guy CosmoAll Ed BrownAll João Barbosa1, 9 Robertson RacingFord GT-R Mk. VIIFord Cammer 5.0 L V804 David Murry9 Rob Bell9 Anthony Lazzaro940 David Murry1–8 David Robertson1–4, 6–9 Andrea Robertson1, 3–9 Craig Stanton9 Corvette RacingChevrolet Corvette C6.RChevrolet 5.5 L V83 Johnny O'ConnellAll Jan Magnussen1–7 Antonio García1, 9 Olivier Beretta8–94 Oliver GavinAll Olivier Beretta1–7 Emmanuel Collard1, 9 Jan Magnussen8–9 ACS Express RacingFord GT-R Mk. VIIFord Cammer 5.0 L V810 Brandon Davis9 Boris Said9 Townsend Bell9 Team Falken TirePorsche 997 GT3-RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-617 Wolf HenzlerAll Bryan SellersAll Patrick Pilet1 Martin Ragginger9 Jaguar RSRJaguar XKRSJaguar 5.0 L V833 Butch Leitzinger9 Tomy Drissi9 Andy Wallace975 Ryan Dalziel1–5, 7, 9 Paul Gentilozzi1–4, 6, 8–9 Marc Goossens1, 3–9 Flying Lizard MotorsportsPorsche 997 GT3-RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-644 Seth NeimanAll Darren Law1–5, 7–9 Richard Lietz1 Timo Bernhard3 Patrick Pilet6 Marco Holzer945 Jörg BergmeisterAll Patrick LongAll Marc Lieb1, 9 Panoz TeamPanoz AbruzziChevrolet 6.5 L V850 Ian James9* Benjamin Leuenberger9* Risi CompetizioneFerrari F430 GTEFerrari F136 GT 4.0L V861 Niclas Jönsson1, 3 Tracy Krohn1, 3 Eric van de Poele1 Toni Vilander4, 6, 8 Giancarlo Fisichella4, 6, 9 Pierre Kaffer5, 7–8 Mika Salo5, 7, 9 Jaime Melo962 Gianmaria BruniAll Jaime Melo1–8 Pierre Kaffer1 Toni Vilander8–9 BMW Rahal Letterman RacingBMW M3 GT2BMW 4.0 L V890 Joey HandAll Dirk MüllerAll Andy Priaulx1, 992 Bill AuberlenAll Tommy MilnerAll Dirk Werner1, 9
Grand Touring Challenge (GTC) Note: All entires utilized the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup chassis, the Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 engine, and Yokohama tyres.
Team Drivers Rnd(s) Alex Job Racing23 Bill SweedlerAll Romeo Kapudija1–7, 9 Jan-Dirk Lueders1, 3, 9 Mitch Pagerey880 Ricardo González1–4 Luis Díaz1–4 Patrick Kelly181 Butch Leitzinger1–4 Juan González1–4 Leh Keen1 Rudy Junco, Jr.3 911 Design28 Loren Beggs2–4, 6–7, 9 Doug Baron2–4, 6–7, 9 René Villeneuve9 GMG Racing32 James Sofronas1–7 Bret Curtis1–7 Andy Pilgrim1 Terry Borcheller3 Orbit Racing Paul Miller Racing48 Bryce Miller2–9 John McMullen2–3 Luke Hines3–9 Pierre Ehret9 Black Swan Racing48 Tim PappasAll Jeroen BleekemolenAll Anthony Lazzaro1* Sebastiaan Bleekemolen3, 9 The Racer's Group63 Andy LallyAll Henri Richard1–7, 8–9 Duncan Ende1, 7, 9 René Villeneuve3 Magnus Racing77 Andrew Davis9 John Potter9 Ryan Eversley9 Velox Motorsports88 Shane LewisAll Jerry Vento1–6, 9 Lawson Aschenbach1, 3, 8–9 Vic Rice7 Porsche Motorsports North America911 Romain Dumas9 Timo Bernhard9 Mike Rockenfeller9 * Was on the entry list but did not participate in the event.
Season results Note that the Sebring and Petit Le Mans events will be held under ACO regulations requiring the LMP class to be split amongst LMP1 and LMP2. The overall race winner, regardless of their LMP category, is listed here.
Class winners in the Petit Le Mans (LMP1, LMP2 and GT) receive an automatic entry to the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Overall winners in bold.