ALMS To Long Beach, Detroit In ‘07
Written by Jonathan Ingram · September 28, 2006
If you plan to be at Long Beach next April and at Belle Isle in Detroit on Labor Day, you’ll be able to see the American Le Mans Series run double-headers with the open wheelers.
‘Twas the night before the annual “State of the Series” press conference by the ALMS and according to teams in the Petit Le Mans paddock planning next year’s schedule, Long Beach and Detroit will help move the sports car series to a 12-race schedule for the first time in its history.
The “State of the Series” announcement will coincide with an announcement in Detroit regarding the revival of the Belle Isle course and the return of major league racing to Motor City.
St. Petersburg, long bandied about as the site of a joint venture with the IRL, evidently is a fallback if the negotiations over logistics at Long Beach (Champ Car) don’t work out. Anybody playing second fiddle in LA’s port city during the LBGP weekend gets treated like flotsam in terms of paddock location, track time, sponsor signage, etc. Hence, the long negotiations there between the ALMS and host Champ Car, which also owns the event. The negotiations actually started in 2005 but ran afoul of the France family’s Grand American, which shoe-horned itself onto the schedule at Long Beach in ‘06 through patron Toyota, soon to be a Nextel Cup patron of the Frances in the Nextel Cup.
Look for Edmonton in Canada to likely replace Portland in 2007 on the schedule, which would give the ALMS/Champ Car alignment four races including a return to Houston plus a new joint venture at Road America. The outdated Lime Rock track also gets left out — if the paddock talk is to be believed.
Roger Penske arrived by helicopter for a luncheon for all involved in Porsche’s prototype program on the day the new LMP2 Spyder design was officially announced at the Paris Auto Show. Suffice it to say Tim Cendric at Penske Racing had much to do with revisions on the car making it easier to service. One major problem is the transverse gearbox and gear ratio switches. One can almost count on seeing the crew in the process of installing different gears at any hour at every race. The Captain took his leave via whirlybird back to his jet at the Gainesville, Ga. airport to complete a business day that included two other stops on the East Coast. …Porsche will add at least one GT2 team to its line-up for next year when Jim Tafel brings his Grand American outfit to the ALMS. The official announcement will be Friday. Drivers Wolf Henzler and Andrew Davis are expected to continue with the team. Former Jaguar, Panoz and Barbour team manager Tony Dowe thus may make his return to Le Mans.
Kevin Doran is building a GT2 entry for next year, an as yet to be announced make currently not represented in the series. A private investor is funding the project and it is not officially connected to a factory. Doran says this not the revived, now moot, Nissan project.
Peugeot also introduced its Le Mans-bound diesal at the Paris Auto Show, but according to Michelin it has yet to see an actual race track. That does not bode will for an appearance at Sebring next year. Fans will have to settle for the new Acuras. The driving line-ups: officially unknown. The Franchittis (Dario and Marino) will partner Bryan Herta for Andretti Green evidently. Dario will have some conflicts with his IRL schedule after re-signing with Andretti Green to run Indy Cars as well. So say the sources. Highcroft team owner Duncan Dayton is pressing to get Acura to accept him as a driver alongside current co-driver Andy Wallace. The latter is with Dyson Racing this weekend by prior commitment. …Adrian Fernandez will announce his Acua co-driver along with Lowe’s sponsorship on Friday.
Colin Braun tested recently with Richard Childress Racing in a Busch Series car at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. The half-mile not far from Greensboro hosted a GM-sponsored test. Teenager Braun, driver for the Krohn Racing prototype team in the Grand American, is looking for a different avenue than sports car racing, where the number of drivers earning six figures a year can be counted, well, quickly. In NASCAR, the counting often begins at seven figures.
Some are expecting to see privateer Porsche Spyders racing the Le Mans series in Europe next year. But how many are expecting to see factory Corvettes? That is one of the options for GM’s factory team, which wants to build on its record at the Le Mans 24-hour but is sideways with the ALMS officials over rules adjustments given to the Aston Martin team to keep the British green cars not only in the line-up but in victory lane. …No word on any private Spyder teams in the U.S. during the year Penske Racing must beat the Honda-powered Acuras in modified Lola and Courage chassis. …Lola, by the way, is said to be interested in buying the Chase chassis company to gain backdoor access to building prototypes for the Grand American’s Rolex series. A constructor’s meeting in Daytona is set for Oct. 12.
…That’s the way it may well be. See ya.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.