Never has the American Le Mans Series begun its year with a bigger bang.
It's not just that 56 cars, the most since 1999, are set to start the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring on March 19. It's also the field's quality that makes the 59th running of the endurance classic truly special. But there's a catch: Some of the quantity and quality will disappear after Sebring and won't return until the Petit Le Mans finale at Road Atlanta in October.
The reason: Sebring is not just round one of the ALMS season. It is also the first race of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the new global series that unites the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the world's other most prestigious races that employ Le Mans rules. Sebring's rightful presence on the ILMC schedule has not only guaranteed the participation of new Audi and Peugeot turbodiesels, but it also brings top-line European LMP1 prototype teams such as Rebellion Racing, which fields a Toyota-engined Lola coupe, and the ambitious Oak team and its pair of Judd-powered Pescarolo chassis.
Sebring's entry list boasts 11 LMP1 prototypes. Of those, eight are ILMC competitors, which leaves just three full-time ALMS cars-the Muscle Milk squad, which raced under the CytoSport banner last year, and Dyson Racing, which are all set for the full season. Reigning ALMS champion team Highcroft Racing, now armed with an LMP1 version of the HPD (formerly Acura) ARX-01e chassis, has so far only confirmed its participation at Sebring and Le Mans.
ALMS boss Scott Atherton suggested that an influx, then exodus of European cars before and after Sebring “isn't so very different to the surge we have experienced in previous years.” The difference, he added, “is that these cars now have [another racing series] brand attached to them.
“We have factored that into what we have been doing for 12 years now [since the ALMS began in 1999]. We know that Sebring and Petit Le Mans are going to be exceptional [in terms of certain cars] compared with the bulk of the series.”
The ALMS wanted six full-season LMP1 and six LMP2 entries after opting to follow Le Mans rules more or less to the letter and reinstating a two-class prototype structure. For the moment, it is short in both categories.
“There's no hiding that we have a small car count for the beginning of the season,” said Atherton, “but I am certain it will improve. It is something that we are very focused on, and we are in direct dialogue on a daily basis with car manufacturers, teams and suppliers.”
LMP1
Just two cars are confirmed for the full ALMS season in LMP2, both from the same team. Level 5 Motorsports, which won the LMP Challenge category for the one-make Oreca prototype last year, fields a pair of Lolas, one open- and one closed-top, with HPD turbo power and a roster of drivers that includes former Le Mans and Daytona 24 winner Christophe Bouchut.
Atherton pointed out that the LMP2 category has undergone major changes for the 2011 season, with adoption of a production-based engine formula and a cost cap on the price of chassis and engines.
“With new rules and regulations, there was always a risk that people weren't going to be ready for the start of the season,” he said. “There is not one but three teams right now that have P2 programs coming, and they can't get here soon enough.”
Audi Versus Peugeot: Where Do They Stand?
Prototype heavyweights Audi and Peugeot will resume their ongoing war at Sebring, where the German manufacturer says its French rival is favored to win.
Audi will run a revised version of last year's car in Florida, comically dubbed the R15 “Plus Plus,” as its new R18 TDI is not yet ready to race. Rules designed to equate the new and old breeds of LMP1 prototypes should leave it half a yard behind Peugeot's new 908 HDi on outright pace.
“Make that a whole yard,” said Audi driver and three-time ALMS champion Allan McNish. “The rules dictate that we can't be as fast, but that doesn't mean we'll just be going for points. Once the race starts, the gloves will come off. Traffic and yellows are going to come into it and could keep it close right to the end.”
Because Audi still has its old car out, Sebring will offer little insight into the relative performance of the second-generation 908 and the new R18. Audi, however, will be better informed than the rest of us: It tested at Sebring in January with both its new and old cars.
“We will get more of a view than everyone else,” said McNish, “but I don't believe we'll get a read on it until the first time Audi and Peugeot go head-to-head in a competitive context.”
In other words, that battle will begin during qualifying for the second round of the Inter-continental Le Mans Cup, at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in May.
GT Endurance
The contrast in fortunes between the prototype division and the GTE class is as stark in 2011 as in 2010. Significantly, it is the ALMS regulars who will fight at the front in Sebring. Only one of the visitors from Europe, the AF Corse Ferrari team, should be regarded as a genuine front-runner against the strong full-season teams in the season opener.
Full factory teams from Chevrolet and BMW again go up against works-backed machinery from Ferrari, Porsche and Jaguar. Ford, again represented by Robertson Racing, and Lamborghini, courtesy of the new West Racing team, add variety to the GTE field.
Atherton insisted there will be an “entertaining prototype category” beyond Sebring, but he knows where the real action will be.
“With all respect to our LMP competitors,” he admitted, “the show is going to be in GT, and for that we make no apologies.”
GT Competitors Ready to Rock
“Every element of the program, from top to bottom, came under review. There has been no silver bullet. We have made a series of tiny improvements.” --General Motors racing boss Mark Kent
“Our rivals are taking big strides, but we have a refined package. I'm more confident than this time last year.” --Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 driver Patrick Long
“The Ferrari 458 Italia should be quicker than the [old] F430, and the direct-injection engine makes it better on fuel economy.” --Risi Competizione team manager Dave Sims
“We have been working hard, because we've had to. Ferrari has the new 458, and we know Chevrolet hasn't been idle.” --BMW driver Dirk Müller
“By the end of last season at Zhuhai [in China], we were only a second off the qualifying pace, and we've moved forward since then.” --RSR Jaguar boss Paul Gentilozzi
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