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Ingram's Flat Spot On: Post time and Sebring
by Jonathan Ingram
To the casual observer, the American Le Mans Series may appear to have hit a slippery spot due to the absence of any commitment from a major manufacturer to run the entire season in the premier LMP1 category. One might surmise the ALMS is turning into a GT series once the big guns at this weekend's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring return to Europe to prepare for the Le Mans 24-hour.
Naturally, in a pre-season discussion with Scott Atherton, the president of the ALMS, that was the first question. Is the ALMS going to turn into a GT series?
The GT class said Atherton "has never been better. But the prototypes will continue to play a critical role. Nothing will diminish that."
At Sebring, the mighty Peugeot armada will square off against one Lola-Aston Martin and one Lola-Judd, the only real contenders in a slender prototype field now absent the crashed Lola-AER of Intersport. In the absence of Audi's new Evo version of the R15, the brace of Peugeot 908 HDi FAP's may well steamroll the other LMP1's and the LMP2 entries from Highcroft Racing, Dyson Racing and Muscle Milk (the Porsche Spyder of Greg Pickett).
At Sebring, the LMP2's must run according to the Automobile Club de l'Ouest rules established for the Le Mans 24-hour. That means severe restrictions versus the LMP1 category. It's only after Sebring that the ALMS will alter the air restrictors to equate both LMP1 and LMP2 for the sake of putting an emphasis on one over-all prototype class, one that is expected to feature Acura, which is supplying engines on a lease basis to Highcroft, versus Mazda, i.e. Dyson Racing's factory-assisted Lola.
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