The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a North American sports car racing championship administered by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) sanctioning body.[1][2] It was founded by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Don Panoz in 1999 after reaching an agreement with the French-based 24 Hours of Le Mans organiser Automobile Club de l'Ouest to form a new sports car series based on the Le Mans rulebook that would serve as a local hub for North American entrants.[3] The series disbanded following the 2013 season when it and the Grand-Am-sanctioned Rolex Sports Car Series merged to become the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[1][2] It featured several championships awarded by IMSA to the most successful competitors within each of the racing categories used by the series each season. Individual championships were awarded for being the top point scoring drivers and teams as well as chassis, engine, and tire manufacturers. Other unique championships included the IMSA Cup, Founder's Cup, Michelin Green X Challenge, and the ALMS Challenge. The Drivers', Teams', Chassis Manufacturers', and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships were awarded since the series began in 1999, while the Tire and Engine Manufacturers' Championships were introduced in the 2000 season. The champions were not formally crowned until the ALMS awards banquet after the season's final race.[4]
Drivers' Championship
editFrom the start of the American Le Mans Series until the end of the 2002 season, individual drivers were allowed to earn up to three bonus points if they met certain criteria; any driver which led a lap of the race within their category earned one point, whichever driver led the most laps of the race earned one point, and whichever driver set the fastest lap of the race earned one point. From 2003 onward the bonus system was eradicated and drivers earned the same points as their co-drivers.
Teams' Championship
editManufacturer championships
editThe Chassis Manufacturers' and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships are combined into a single listing. The grand tourer categories did not have a separate Engine Manufacturers' Championship.
Chassis and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships
edit| Season | LMP | GTS | GT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Panoz
|
 Porsche
|
Porsche
| |
| 2000 | Audi
|
DaimlerChrysler
|
Porsche
| |
| Season | LMP900 | LMP675 | GTS | GT |
| 2001 | Audi
|
 Lola
|
Chevrolet
|
BMW
|
| 2002 | Audi
|
Lola
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| 2003 | Audi
|
Lola
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GTS | GT |
| 2004 | Audi
|
Lola
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GT1 | GT2 |
| 2005 | Audi
|
 Courage
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| 2006 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| 2007 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
Chevrolet
|
 Ferrari
|
| 2008 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
Chevrolet
|
Porsche
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | — | GT2 |
| 2009 |  Acura
|
Acura
|
Porsche
| |
| Season | LMP | GT | ||
| 2010 | HPD
|
BMW
| ||
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GT | |
| 2011 | Lola
|
Lola
|
BMW
| |
| Season | P1 | P2 | GT | |
| 2012 | HPD
|
HPD
|
Chevrolet
| |
| 2013 | HPD
|
HPD
|
Chevrolet
| |
Engine Manufacturers' Championship
edit| Season | LMP | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Audi
| |
| Season | LMP900 | LMP675 |
| 2001 | Audi
|
Nissan
|
| 2002 | Audi
|
AER-MG
|
| 2003 | Audi
|
AER
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 |
| 2004 | Audi
|
Judd
|
| 2005 | Audi
|
AER
|
| 2006 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
| 2007 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
| 2008 | Audi
|
Porsche
|
| 2009 | Acura
|
Acura
|
| Season | LMP | |
| 2010 | HPD
| |
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 |
| 2011 | Mazda
|
HPD
|
| Season | P1 | P2 |
| 2012 | HPD
|
HPD
|
| 2013 | HPD
|
HPD
|
Tire Manufacturers' Championship
edit| Season | LMP | GTS | GT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
| |
| Season | LMP900 | LMP675 | GTS | GT |
| 2001 | Michelin
|
Avon
|
Goodyear
|
Michelin
|
| 2002 | Michelin
|
Avon
|
Goodyear
|
Michelin
|
| 2003 | Michelin
|
Goodyear
|
Goodyear
|
Michelin
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GTS | GT |
| 2004 | Michelin
|
Pirelli
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GT1 | GT2 |
| 2005 | Michelin
|
Goodyear
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
| 2006 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
| 2007 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
| 2008 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
|
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | — | GT2 |
| 2009 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
| |
| Season | LMP | GT | ||
| 2010 | Michelin
|
Michelin
| ||
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GT | |
| 2011 | Dunlop
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
| |
| Season | P1 | P2 | GT | |
| 2012 | Michelin
|
Dunlop
|
Michelin
| |
| 2013 | Michelin
|
Michelin
|
Michelin
| |
Other championships
editIMSA Cup
editThe IMSA Cup was a championship for teams which were not designated as being run by an automobile manufacturer. The 2002 championship was awarded to a full team, while from 2003 onward the championship points were awarded to each individual entry. For the 2011 season, due to a lack of manufacturer supported teams in the ALMS, the IMSA Cup was not awarded.
| Season | LMP900 | LMP675 | — | GTS | GT | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Champion Racing
|
KnightHawk Racing
|
Konrad Motorsport
|
Alex Job Racing
| ||
| 2003 | ADT Champion Racing
|
Intersport Racing
|
ACEMCO Motorsports
|
Petersen/White Lightning
| ||
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GTS | GT | ||
| 2004 | ADT Champion Racing
|
Intersport Racing
|
ACEMCO Motorsports
|
Flying Lizard Motorsports
| ||
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | GT1 | GT2 | ||
| 2005 | ADT Champion Racing
|
Intersport Racing
|
ACEMCO Motorsports
|
Petersen/White Lightning
| ||
| 2006 | Dyson Racing Team
|
Intersport Racing
|
Aston Martin Racing
|
Petersen/White Lightning
| ||
| 2007 | Intersport Racing
|
Dyson Racing Team
|
Doran Racing
|
Risi Competizione
| ||
| 2008 | Intersport Racing
|
Patrón Highcroft Racing
|
Bell Motorsports
|
Flying Lizard Motorsports
| ||
| Season | LMP1 | LMP2 | — | GT2 | ||
| 2009 | Patrón Highcroft Racing
|
 Lowe's Fernandez Racing
|
Flying Lizard Motorsports
| |||
| Season | LMP | LMPC | GT | GTC | ||
| 2010 | Patrón Highcroft Racing
|
Green Earth Team Gunnar
|
Flying Lizard Motorsports
|
Black Swan Racing
| ||
Founders Cup
editThe Founders Cup was an annual award to recognize the accomplishments of a gentleman driver. A single championship is awarded covering all categories.
| Season | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Jon Field
|
| 2009 | Joel Feinberg
|
| 2010 | Bill Sweedler
|
| 2011 | Bill Sweedler
|
| 2012 | Cooper MacNeil
|
| 2013 | Mike Guasch
|
Michelin Green X Challenge
editThe Michelin Green X Challenge was a championship based on energy efficiency over the course of a season. The Green X Challenge debuted at the end of 2008, but the first championship was not awarded until the 2009 season. Two championships were awarded, one for both LMP classes and one for both GT classes.[6]
Manufacturers Championship
edit| Season | LMPs | GTs |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Acura
|
Porsche
|
| 2010 | HPD
|
Porsche
|
| 2011 | Mazda
|
BMW
|
| 2012 | HPD
|
Chevrolet
|
Teams Championship
editReferences
edit- All championship results are taken from IMSARacing.net
- ^ a b Smith, Steven Cole (September 4, 2012). "Grand-Am, American Le Mans Series To Merge". Autoweek. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Olson, Jeff (March 14, 2013). "ALMS, Grand-Am merger will be United SportsCar Racing". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Phillip (August 7, 2020). "5 chapters from the life of Don Panoz, automotive titan". Hagerty. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Kjos, Tom (October 2006). "ALMS – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – American Le Mans Wraps up its 2006 Amid Some Controversy". DailySportsCar. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ 2011 Rules American Le Mans Series (PDF), International Motor Sports Association, 2011-02-25, p. 40, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-06, retrieved 2011-10-04
- ^ "Michelin embraces green racing with Michelin Green X Challenge". American Le Mans Series. Retrieved 2009-08-24.