ALMS - Join The Family
By: John Vatne
8/24/06
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the acronym ALMS? Is it Le Mans, sportscars, or Audi? If you attended the Generac 500 at Road America on August 18-20 2006 you would have discovered the above-mentioned items are only the tip of the iceberg.
Looking at the number of filled paddock spaces with names including Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari and Porsche, you start to understand how many heavy hitters compete in American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Behind the wheel, drivers like Pedro Lamy, Butch Leitzinger, Ron Fellows, Sascha Maassen, and Allen McNish illustrate the depth of driving talent.
Lap records were broken in all four classes (P1, P2, GT1, GT2) and you would expect a bit of arrogance from the teams, but nothing was further from the truth. For some drivers of the series, English may be their second language, but that didn't stop them talking with any well wishing fans.
On Sunday, ALMS had a half hour autograph session, with all teams in attendance. Over that half hour, the Sharpies were working overtime, from Flying Lizard to Peterson White Lightening. I've observed autograph sessions in other series. There some drivers sign and barely give fans the time of day. ALMS gets my personal award for the largest number of drivers that personalized autographs with the recipient's name.
When the autograph session was over the Audi drivers had to attend other previous commitments. With a long line a fans still at the tables, the Audi drivers took the cards they had already autographed and walked down the line giving them out, until they were gone. A nice personal gesture considering the tight timetable the drivers have on Sunday.
Going a step further, some of the Corvette drivers remained at the tables after the "official" time, to the delight of the fans. The same attitude was evident at the Dyson Racing camp.
The reason fans feel so welcome at an ALMS race was made evident when I talked with David Mulder, from Flying Lizard Motorsports. When you come to an ALMS event, you are part of the road racing family. It's not uncommon to see the same spectators at three or four events in one year. Road racing fans have a passion for their sport and are not afraid to put on the miles to make a race.
Not only the fans that bring their kids, but a sharp eye will pick out the younger generation on the other side of the paddock fence. It's not uncommon to find team member’s kids lending a hand on a race weekend and spending some free time between events with crewmembers. For some people, the take your child to work day is one day, in the racing world that day is called summer.
During a weekend many families take their kids to a picnic at the park. Race fans are good parents and do the same. The only difference is our "park" has a premier racetrack built into it and our animals are similar to what you would find on safari.
A swarm of angry bees is represented by the Porsche Spyders. Charging Rinos come in the shape of Corvettes and Panoz. For the fans of big cats, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche GTs purr in the paddock and snarl once they have passed pit out.
For the new parents who don't want to wake the baby, ALMS has the Audi R10 action stroller. It will serenade your little one to sleep and get them home far quicker then the neighbor's SUV, or anything else in our "park."
How would you prefer to watch a race:
A. In hard aluminum bleachers surrounded by concrete
B. in the shade on a grass-covered hill
If you chose B, and didn’t like your seat, you are free to select one of a hundred different locations around a road course. If you chose A, you can move .5 inches to your left or right.
There are three events left on the ALMS calendar. If you were not lucky enough to make an event this year, be sure to mark one down on your calendar in 2007. You will not be disappointed.
Generac 500 at Road America results:
1. (2) Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi R10 TDI Power (1, P1), 76.
2. (1) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi R10 TDI Power (2, P1), 76.
3. (4) James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Lola B06/10 AER (3, P1), 76.
4. (6) Sascha Maassen, Germany; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 76.
5. (3) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 76.
6. (5) Duncan Dayton, North Salem, NY; Andy Wallace, England; Lola EX257 AER (6, P1), 76.
7. (7) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Lola B06/10 AER (7, P1), 75.
8. (8) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Lola B05/40 AER (8, P2), 75.
9. (10) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (9, GT1), 74.
10. (12) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (10, GT1), 73.
11. (11) Darren Turner, England; Tomas Enge, Czech Republic; Aston Martin DB9 (11, GT1), 73.
12. (13) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (12, GT2), 71.
13. (18) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; BMW E46 M3 (13, GT2), 71.
14. (14) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marcel Tiemann, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 70.
15. (20) Toni Vilander, FInland; Marc Gene, Spain; Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (15, GT2), 70.
16. (9) Stephane Sarrazin, France; Pedro Lamy, Portugal; Aston Martin DB9 (16, GT1), 69.
17. (16) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Johannes vanOverbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 69.
18. (21) Justin Marks, Sacramento, CA; Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; BMW E46 M3 (18, GT2), 68.
19. (15) Stephane Ortelli, Monaco; Mario Dominguez, Mexico; Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (19, GT2), 64.
20. (23) Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Lola EX257 AER (20, P1), 62.
21. (19) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Maxwell, Canada; Panoz Esperante GTLM (21, GT2), 62.
22. (22) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Panoz Esperante GTLM (22, GT2), 62.
23. (17) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (23, GT2), 50.
