Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 6 Hours of Zhuhai

  LeMans Series goes back to China
In this its second year, the ILMC (Intercontinental Le Mans Cup) sports car series has truly become international, not only from an event or manufacturer’s perspective, but also because of the drivers that come to race from all over the world. The start grids of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the ILMC’s main event, have shown a significant rise in globalization over the years.

ALMS REWIND: Black Swan Racing

  Reviewing 2011 with reigning GTC champion
The 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n delivered another GT Challenge (GTC) championship for Black Swan Racing (BSR) and team owner Tim Pappas. The Boston-based team and its owner won five times on the season including ALMS cornerstone events Sebring to open the year and Road Atlanta to close it. Pappas talks us through 2011 and a preview of what might be to come in 2012.

After Audi crash Peugeot turns Petit into snoozefest

  10 Hour Petit LeMans classic
Peugeot Sport Total claimed victory at the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda, the final round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n. The No. 8 Peugeot of Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz had an intense battle with the No. 1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 that ended with three hours to go when the two touched, sending the Audi into the wall at turn eight.

Davidson put Peugeot on pole at Road Atlanta

  Petit LeMans qualifying
Seeking a third straight victory at Road Atlanta, Team Peugeot Total is on pole position again for the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda. Anthony Davidson set a blistering 1:07.428 (135.611 mph) lap in qualifying Friday in the diesel-powered Peugeot 908 coupe that he will drive in Saturday’s 1,000-mile/10-hour race with Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud. The British driver in the French car was 0.128 seconds quicker than Timo Bernhard for rival Audi Sport Team Joest.

Atherton: 2012 will be a year of change

  for American LeMans Series
A dynamic 2012 schedule, a new agreement with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), and upgrades to its pioneering TV and digital package highlighted the annual State of the Series for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n. Scott Atherton, ALMS President and CEO, heralded the Series’ progress and growth in a number of key areas in 2011 and emphasized that even larger gains are coming next season for the world’s leading sports car championship.

Scenes from Petit LeMans - Wednesday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The American LeMans, the SCCA Pirelli World Challenge and the SCCA Trans-Am series have been testing at Road Atlanta in Georgia the past three days ahead of the Petit LeMans finale on Saturday.  Our Adriano Manocchia is now on site and Wednesday he captured all the action in these nearly 100 photos.

USA debut of Audi R18 TDI

  Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta
In June Audi celebrated its tenth victory with the R18 TDI diesel race sports car and ultra-lightweight technology in a dramatic race at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours. Likewise, on October 1st, Audi Sport Team Joest is aiming for the brand’s tenth triumph at the U.S. counterpart, the "Petit Le Mans" at Road Atlanta in the state of Georgia.

Mucke, Fernandez and Primat win 6-hour ALMS race

  Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
Aston Martin Racing won its first overall race in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron, and Dyson Racing and BMW Team RLL each clinched driver and team championships on Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Stefan Mucke, Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat won the six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey presented by Patr¢n in their Aston Martin-powered Lola coupe.

Scenes from ALMS at Laguna Seca - Saturday

  by Bob Heathcote
The American LeMans Series raced Saturday at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California and the #007 Aston Martin Racing AMR/Lola Coupe B09/60: Adrian Fernandez, Harold Primat, Stefan Mucke was victorious. Our Bob Heathcote was there to capture all the action in these nearly 200 photos.

Smith zooms to Mazda Raceway pole

  ALMS
Guy Smith won his second straight overall pole position at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Friday – a banner day for Mazda. Dyson Racing’s British pilot set a time of 1:13.927 (108.983 mph) in the Mazda-powered Lola coupe.  Steven Kane was second in Oryx Dyson Racing’s prototype at 1:14.621 (107.970 mph) at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn track.

Scenes from ALMS at Laguna Seca - Friday

  by Bob Heathcote
The American LeMans Series and the Star Mazda series took to the track Friday at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California for practice and qualifying. Our Bob Heathcote was there to capture all the action in these nearly 200 photos.

Scenes from ALMS at Laguna Seca - Thursday

  by Bob Heathcote
The American LeMans Series took to the track Thursday at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California for the next to last race of the 2011 season. Our Bob Heathcote was there to capture all the action in these nearly 200 photos.

Delta Wing project on-schedule

  Revolutionary DeltaWing sportscar
Over the past 46 year’s Dan Gurney’s All American Racers organization in Santa Ana, California has produced 157 individual racing cars which have won in Formula 1, the Indy 500 plus major international sportscar events.  But for Gurney, the latest machine to come out of his facility has the 80-year-old American racing legend feeling like a kid at Christmas again. The revolutionary DeltaWing sportscar is being designed and built at Gurney’s facility and will hit the track for the first time later this year with 2-time American Le Mans Series champions, Highcroft Racin.

Insight into Lola Drayson all-electric prototype

  Lola and Drayson Racing partnered to make an all-electric LMP car
Lola’s Executive Chairman, Martin Birrane, and Lord Paul Drayson first discussed the opportunity to work together on a technology project at the Autosport show in January 2010. The Lola-Drayson B12/69 EV is the product of that discussion. For 2011 and beyond, the all-electric LMP car will be primary focus for the partnership. The objective of this project is to construct an electric ultra high-performance vehicle based upon the current Lola LMP1 chassis.

Scenes from IndyCar and ALMS at Baltimore - Saturday

  by Adriano Manocchia
IndyCar and ALMS were burning rubber on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland Saturday.  IndyCar action saw Will Power win the pole for Sunday's feature event, and the American LeMans Series held their feature race late Saturday afternoon. Our Adriano Manocchia was there to capture all the action in these 100+ photos.

Scenes from IndyCar and ALMS at Baltimore - Friday

  by Adriano Manocchia
After a 4 hour delay because the track was not ready, the American LeMans Series and the IZOD IndyCar Series finally took to the track on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland for the first time for practice Friday afternoon. Our Adriano Manocchia was there to capture all the action in these 100+ photos.

Kane and Masaood win Baltimore ALMS race

  ALMS
It was a weekend of firsts in front of a massive crowd for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n as Oryx Dyson Racing, and drivers Steven Kane and Humaid Al Masaood scored their first wins in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. In GT, Team Falken Tire earned its second victory of the season with Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers at the helm. .

Dyson Racing One-Two in Baltimore Qualifying

  ALMS
Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith captured pole position Friday for the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix with a lap of 1:27.750 around the new 12-turn, 2.1-mile street circuit. Smith was quickest in each of Friday’s three sessions for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n in his Mazda-powered Lola coupe. The British pilot was 0.146 seconds ahead of Steven Kane in the sister Oryx Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda.

Q and A with Don Panoz

  on the Delta Wing LeMans car
When it comes to international sports car racing, Dr Don Panoz doesn't accept the status quo. He resurrected sportscar racing in the US with the creation of the American Le Mans Series, his Panoz marque was the only brand to challenge the might of Audi in the early 2000s and now Panoz has joined forces with the Project 56 consortium that will take the new and unique DeltaWing car to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in 2012.

ALMS race at Road America ends in photo finish

  ALMS
It took four hours of racing at Road America to produce the closest overall finish in American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron history. Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing’s Klaus Graf crossed the finish line 0.112 seconds ahead of Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith. A back-and-forth Risi Competizione and BMW Team RLL battle in GT ended with the first win of 2011 for Risi.

Graf puts Muscle Milk car on pole at Road America

  ALMS
After a near-miss in last year’s race at Road America, Klaus Graf took pole position Friday for the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase. The German driver set a lap of 1:51.828 (130.314 mph) in qualifying for Saturday’s sixth round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n. Graf, in Muscle Milk’s Lola-Aston Martin, outpaced Oryx Dyson Racing’s Steven Kane by 0.364 seconds.

Guy Smith tops Thursday ALMS test session

  At Road America
The first fast lap at Road America belongs to Guy Smith, who turned a 1:55.132 (126.575 mph) lap in Thursday’s test session. Smith will share his Mazda-powered Lola prototype with Chris Dyson in Saturday’s four-hour Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase, round six of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron. Smith’s quick lap was 2.437 seconds clear of Chris McMurry in Autocon’s AER-Lola.

Scenes from Mid-Ohio ALMS and IndyCar weekend

  by Adriano Manocchia
Adriano Manocchia snapped off these photos from the ALMS and IndyCar weekend at Mid-Ohio where hot weather and some heavy rain made the going difficult for all involved.

Scenes from Mid-Ohio Saturday

  by Mark Scheuern
IndyCar and ALMS again were in action Saturday at Mid-Ohio where the ALMS raced and IndyCar qualified.  The Muscle Milk Car won the ALMS race that was cut short due to heavy rain 15 minutes before the end and Scott Dixon won the pole for Sunday's IndyCar race.  Our Mark Scheuern was there to capture all the action.

Graf and Luhr win race shortened Mid-Ohio ALMS race

  Rain hands win to Porsche in hard fought GT class
Round Five of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron started with a bang and ended with a splash at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Classic battles for the lead across all four classes turned into a game of strategy and bravery when the skies opened up on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. When the red flag turned into a checkered, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing collected its third win of the season, while Team Falken Tire recorded its very first Series GT victory.

Scenes from Mid-Ohio Friday

  by Mark Scheuern
IndyCar and ALMS rolled into Lexington, Ohio Friday where the teams are preparing for the Saturday ALMS race and the Sunday IndyCar race.  Guy Smith won pole on Friday for the ALMS race on Saturday and Graham Rahal was fastest for the IndyCars in their first practice session.  Our Mark Scheuern was there to capture all the action.

Guy Smith wins ALMS pole for Dyson

  At Mid-Ohio
Guy Smith was fast Thursday. He was fast Friday morning. More importantly he was fast Friday afternoon for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge and earned his first career pole position at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The British pilot turned a lap of 1:12.727 (111.771 mph) for Dyson Racing in qualifying for the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron.

AutoRacing1.com (AR1) now available on the iPad

  Announcement
Get the latest racing hot news, rumors, feature articles, race schedules, videos and photos of the week delivered right to your Apple iPad anywhere in the world. Get up-to-the-minute news on NASCAR, F1, IndyCar, ALMS, Grand-Am, NHRA, Automotive News and more. This iPad application comes with a free 1 week subscription.

What it takes to be an ALMS Team Manager

  ALMS
Battery Tender recently announced a "Mechanic of the Year" prize that will award five crew members with $5,000 each at the end of the season. But the awards don’t apply simply to "mechanics"; the award is available to any member of a race team in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron.  This includes everyone from the tire changers to the truck driver to the engineers.

Corvette wins GT barnstormer in Mosport

  Muscle Milk wins overall from pole while GT and GTC battles dazzle
Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing collected its second victory in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n on Sunday at Mosport International Raceway with drivers Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf. Behind them, an intense series of events ended BMW Team RLL’s GT win streak, as Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin scored Corvette Racing’s first win since the 2010 season finale.

Scenes from ALMS at Mosport - Saturday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The ALMS sports car series is at Mosport in Ontario Canada this weekend and Saturday was qualifying day .  Our Adriano Manocchia was there to capture all the action in these 50 photos.

Graf on pole again at Mosport

  ALMS
Klaus Graf took his second straight overall pole position for Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport on Saturday, redeeming himself following a crash at the end of the first practice session. Graf turned a lap of 1:08.679 (128.895 mph) in the Lola-Aston Martin he will share with Lucas Luhr in Sunday’s fourth round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n.

Scenes from ALMS at Mosport - Friday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The ALMS sports car series is at Mosport in Ontario Canada this weekend and Friday was an official test day .  Our Adriano Manocchia was there to capture all the action in these 51 photos.

Dyson Mazda-Lola wins on home turf

  BMW Team RLL earns GT hat track
The hunt for the LMP1 championship in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n lost none of its intensity over the Series’ two-month break. Dyson Racing maintained its title lead with a victory in the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. The duo of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith exchanged the lead six times with Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing on Saturday and took the overall victory. BMW Team RLL also picked up where it left off, scoring its third consecutive GT victory.

Dyson takes ALMS pole at Lime Rock

  ALMS
Lime Rock Park saw rain for about 2 hours during American Le Mans Series practice, then the skies cleared up for the Friday qualifying sessions for Saturday’s Northeast Grand Prix. The drivers really like using the classic West Bend layout and as a result it means you have to “man up” for the Downhill corner. LMP1 polesitter Chris Dyson said, in essence, “the Mona Lisa is back!”

Dan Gurney DeltaWing Q and A

  Gurney's All American Racers will build radical car
American racing legend Dan Gurney played a key role in changing the face of the Indianapolis 500 in the 60s when he convinced Colin Chapman to bring the rear-engined Lotus to the Speedway. Now nearly 50 years later, Gurney is part of the consortium aiming to encourage major change in the automotive world with the scheduled debut of the DeltaWing car at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gurney’s All American Racers will build the DeltaWing prototype.

Scenes from the 24 Hours of LeMans

  by Gary Parravani
This year's 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race was another barnburner between the factory Audi and Peugeot teams in LMP1 for the overall win, and the GTE-Pro class saw the American Corvette team defeat the Ferrari, Porsche and Ford teams. Our Gary Parravani was there to capture all the action in these photographs.

Lone Audi outduels four Peugeots at LeMans

  Two major accidents cannot stop Audi
The Audi team came to LeMans with three of the new lightweight R18s in an attempt to win the 24 Hour classic two years in a row.  But two scary accidents, one with Allan McNish at the wheel and one with Mike Rockenfeller driving saw two of the three R18s totally destroyed and the German team down to a lone R19, the No. 2 that sat on the pole.  The #2 (LM P1) Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 TDI driven by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer fought its way to a magnificent win of the 79'th running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011.

Audi leads LeMans at halfway mark

  Lone Audi R18 leads Peugeot trio
Benoit Treluyer kept the lone remaining Audi R18 in the lead at the halfway stage of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The #2 Audi, Treluyer held a lead of more than two minutes over Sebastien Bourdais in the #9 Peugeot. Alex Wurz was third at the halfway stage in the #7 Peugeot, eight seconds behind Pagenaud's Peugeot, while the third #8 Peugeot of Stephane Sarrazin remained on the lead lap.

Rolex looks back and forward at LeMans

  24 Hour classic this weekend
Since Rolex became the Official Timekeeper at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ten years ago, a lot of changes have taken place not only on the track, but also in regards to automotive technologies and driver preparation for this famous race. Record-winning Dane Tom Kristensen, who has won this long endurance race no less than eight times, took a look back over these past ten years but is also keeping his eyes on the future: with the introduction of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which will kick off next spring, the importance of this kind of racing will only intensify.

All Audi front row for 24 Hours of LeMans

  New R18 prevails in qualifying
The front row of the grid at the 79th edition of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans belongs to Audi. In one of the most thrilling qualifying events in recent years the new Audi R18 TDI and the company’s ultra-lightweight technology prevailed. Benoît Treluyer set a time of 3m 25.738s and clinched the top grid position for Audi. His French team-mate Romain Dumas was merely 0.061 seconds slower.

Audi and the future of Motorsports

  Lightweight and electrification gain importance
On the occasion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans the FIA World Endurance Championship was presented. This new championship will see automobile manufacturers join the grid wishing to test ground-breaking technology in motorsport - just as Audi has already done for over 30 years and also intends to continue doing in the future. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Wolfgang Egger, Head of Design of Audi and Michael Splett, Strategic Corporate Planning, discussed just how the future of motorsport could look.

Delta Wing car to race in 24 Hours of LeMans

  ACO grants special permission
Some of the biggest names in American motorsport will join forces for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans to showcase a unique concept demonstrating extreme performance with half the weight and horsepower of a traditional racing car. The Project 56 group brings together the design talents of DeltaWing Racing Cars LLC; the manufacturing capabilities of All American Racers - the company owned by 1967 Le Mans winner and American racing legend Dan Gurney; and back-to-back American Le Mans Series championship winning racing team, Highcroft Racing.

The Road to LeMans

  ALMS
Participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is more than filling out an entry form or accepting an invitation. To perform well at this famous event, teams and drivers often need up to a year to fully prepare for the challenge. For this year’s 79th edition of the celebrated endurance race, set for this Saturday 10 June, the battle looks to be between the teams of Audi and Peugeot, both of which began their preparations as early as last fall.

48-hour party people

  by Keith Ori - an inside look at what really goes on at Sebring
In the pantheon of sports car races there is Le Mans, Sebring and everything else. Sebring, though, only comes second in the way that Frazier did to Ali. The party, on the other hand, is second to none. It is one of those somebody-spiked-my-beer-with-a-horse-tranquilizer, "Alice in Wonderland" overload trips. It is absolute, raging, for-the-love-of-God anarchy. It is people with three stories of scaffolding welded on the back of a denuded '75 Ford pickup chassis, with drunk people on each floor, driving at 35 mph. It is 10 guys wandering around for three days in head-to-toe cow costumes with working udders.

Scenes from Long Beach - Saturday PM

  by Bob Heathcote and Aaron Rommel
Saturday afternoon in Long Beach saw IndyCar and Indy Lights qualifying and the Toyota Pro Celebrity and ALMS races. Our Bob Heathcote and Aaron Rommel were there to capture these 160  photos for your viewing pleasure.

Muscle Milk Lola wins Long Beach ALMS race

  BMW defeats Corvette and Ferrar in GT class
Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr won the battle of the Lolas to win the American LeMans series race at Long Beach on Saturday.  Guy Smith and Chris Dyson were second on their Lola with Mazda power.  In the hard fought GT class Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand drove their BMW M3 to a 1.9 sec. victory over the Corvette of Jan Magnussen and 8.6 sec over the Ferrari of Jamie Melo.

Scenes from Long Beach - Saturday Morning

  by Bob Heathcote
Saturday morning in Long Beach saw more ALMS practice as well as IndyCar, Indy Lights qualifying and the Toyota Pro Celebrity race. Our Bob Heathcote and Aaron Rommel was there on Saturday morning and captured these photos for your viewing pleasure.

Scenes from Long Beach - Friday Afternoon

  by Bob Heathcote
Friday afternoon in Long Beach saw more ALMS practice as well as IndyCar, Indy Lights and Toyota Pro Celebrity practice. It ended with three sessions of ALMS qualifying as they race on Saturday afternoon. Our Bob Heathcote was there on Friday afternoon and captured these photos for your viewing pleasure.

Guy Smith wins back and forth pole battle

  ALMS at Long Beach
Dyson Racing’s Guy Smith captured an emotional pole position Friday for the Tequila Patr¢n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach with a lap of 1:14.001 (95.739 mph) in the team’s Mazda-powered Lola coupe. The Englishman went 0.452 seconds quicker than Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing’s Klaus Graf around the historic downtown Long Beach street circuit for his second career pole position in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron.

Scenes from Long Beach - Friday Morning

  by Bob Heathcote
Friday morning in Long Beach saw the day start with ALMS practice as well as IndyCar, Indy Lights and Toyota Pro Celebrity practice.  Our Bob Heathcote was there on Friday morning and captured these photos for your viewing pleasure.

Chris Dyson: In his own words

  ALMS
After finishing the 12 Hours of Sebring second among the American Le Mans Series LMP1 entries (and first in points), Chris Dyson gave his thoughts on Dyson Racing`s performance at Sebring, this weekend`s upcoming Tequila Patr¢n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach, and the start of a new season...

ALMS Long Beach Preview

  Second race of year to run on Saturday
Going from the longest race of the season to the briefest, and the second-longest track on the schedule to the second-shortest, the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n undergoes an interesting transformation from Round One to Round Two. Though the characteristics of the race and the track are pointedly different, many of the podium contenders remain the same for Saturday’s Tequila Patr¢n American Le Mans Series at Long Beach.

What a weekend for Tequila Patron

  ALMS at Long Beach
For the Patron Spirits Company, there are few sports weekends bigger than the annual Tequila Patron American Le Mans at Long Beach.  This Saturday’s second round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron will feature the top sports car racing series in the world and a venue that plays perfectly into Patron’s marketing strategy as well as its heritage. 

Bill Adam: A different challenge at Long Beach

  The landscape has changed drastically from Sebring
The script for the 59th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida might have come straight from the creative minds of Hollywood. It featured a non-stop display of intense fighting in every class, and ended up with a storybook overall win where David beat Goliath.

Scenes from Sebring - Saturday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The historic 12 Hours of Sebring ran on Saturday before a crowd of 100,000.  The race was expected to be a battle between the factory Peugeot and Audi teams.  Instead it was the privateer Matmut ORECA team taking the overall win in a year old Peugeot  Our Adriano Manocchia was there to capture these 155 photos.

ORECA team wins 12 Hours of Sebring

  Historic victory for de Chaunac-led team in 2011 opener
Peugeot won again at Sebring on Saturday, this time the Team ORECA Matmut taking victory in America’s greatest sports car race and the opening round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron. Loic Duval took the checkered flag by 31.868 seconds over Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud in a classic fight that saw the top three cars finish on the lead lap. Duval, who won with Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis, took a late splash of fuel to ensure he could make it to the end of the race and the first race of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

Scenes from Sebring - Friday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The ALMS teams qualified on Friday at Sebring ahead of the historic 12 Hours of Sebring race to be run on Saturday.  Pole position was a battle between Peugeot and Audi with Peugeot getting the upper hand, but not by much.  Our Adriano Manocchia was there Friday to capture these 90 photos.

Sarrazin puts Peugeot on pole for 12 Hours of Sebring

  ALMS
Peugeot driver Stephane Sarrazin claimed pole position for tomorrow's Sebring 12 Hours.  Sarrazin set a best time of 1m46.571s at the wheel of the a new 908 HDi turbodiesel LMP1 coupe. Second place on the grid was the Audi R15 Plus driven by Romain Dumas with a time of 1m47.680s, over 1 second back. Sarrazin is co-driving with Franck Montagny and Pedro Lamy this weekend.

Scenes from Sebring - Thursday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The ALMS teams were back on track Thursday at Sebring for the first day of official practice in preparation for qualifying and the race to be run on Saturday.  Our Adriano Manocchia was there Thursday to capture these 120 photos.

Davidson put Peugeot back on top in Sebring

  Fastest lap for defending race-winner in night practice
Peugeot Sport reasserted itself at Sebring late Thursday with the quickest time in night practice for Saturday’s 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Anthony Davidson set the fastest lap with a 1:48.901 (122.313 mph) on the 32nd of 36 laps for the Peugeot 908 that he will share with Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene.

Scenes from Sebring - Wednesday

  by Adriano Manocchia
The ALMS teams were not on track Wednesday at Sebring as they had a day off the track to prepare for qualifying and the race over the next three days, but other race series were on track, including vintage sports cars from the 70s and 80s.  Our Adriano Manocchia was there Wednesday to capture these photos.

Jeremy Shaw: The sights and sounds of Sebring

  A soundtrack of sports cars stirs the mind like no other
The sights, the sounds and even the smells that abound at a major auto race provide much of the allure for seasoned aficionados and inquisitive newcomers alike. With the passage of time I have forgotten the intimate details of the earliest race meetings I attended as a teenager in the late 1960s, but I can readily recall some of the sensations – the spectacle, the atmosphere and the thrill of watching the competition unfold before my eyes. I was hooked immediately, mesmerized by the colorful cars, the huge, throbbing crowds and the piercing – and varied – sounds of engines straining at the limit.

Scenes from Sebring - Tuesday

  by Adriano Manocchia
Things got a bit more serious on Tuesday at Sebring, especially between Audi and Peugeot who again topped the timesheets, but this time it was Audi getting the better of Peugeot.  Our Adriano Manocchia was there on the 2nd day of practice Tuesday to capture these photos.

Audi tops Peugeot in Day 2 of Sebring practice

  ALMS
Audi answered back Tuesday with the two quickest times in testing for the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Audi Sport Team Joest’s R15 prototype driven by Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller posted a 1:48.450 (122.822 mph) lap in the morning session, more than a second better than the closest challenge from Peugeot. The two diesel powers are set to renew their rivalry Saturday in the opening round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron and the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

Scenes from Sebring - Monday

  by Adriano Manocchia
Audi and Peugeot are at it once again, topping the early time sheets in testing with the revised R15 and brand-new 908 prototypes.  Our Adriano Manocchia was there on the opening day of practice Monday to capture these 105 photos.

Peugeot tops Day 1 Sebring testing

  ALMS on track ahead of 12 Hours of Sebring
Peugeot picked up Monday where it left off last year with the fastest time in Monday’s test session for the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. One of the two new factory Peugeot 908s – driven by Franck Montagny, Stephane Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy – turned a best lap of 1:47.678 (123.702 mph) during the first of two four-hour sessions in the lead-up to the opening round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n.

ALMS Winter test - Wednesday

  ALMS
Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing opened the Sebring Winter Test in strong style Wednesday with the fastest times in both sessions with its Aston Martin-powered Lola. The exotic closed-top prototype turned in a best lap of 1:50.530 (120.510 mph) with team owner Greg Pickett, Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr sharing driving duties. Dyson Racing's Mazda-powered Lola B09/86, another prototype coupe, was second quickest at 1:51.042 (119.955 mph). Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Jay Cochran each drove Wednesday.

ALMS, ABC and ESPN: What does it mean for 2011

  New ALMS TV deal a big improvement
What follows is a transcript of Wednesday’s conference call featuring executives from the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n and Intersport, along with representative partners, team owners and drivers. The group discussed with media members the 2011 ALMS broadcast and digital package with ESPN and ABC.

ALMS signs ABC/ESPN deal

  Multi-year deal shot in arm for series
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n announced today a ground-breaking, multi-year broadcast and digital agreement with ESPN that ALMS President/CEO Scott Atherton is calling “a game changer.” The innovative deal involves televising the world’s premier sports car series over several ESPN programming and media platforms, including ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Intersport, an award-winning media and marketing agency, represented the Series in the new television and digital agreement with ESPN.