One of the more difficult feats in racing is overcoming an opponent driver. In endurance sports car racing this can become even more difficult because of the interactions of different classes of cars racing on the course at the same time. The American Le Mans Series consists of four classes of cars racing all together.
In the racing world there’s something called the “racing line”. It’s basically the route that will minimize the time around the track. With multiple classes of cars set up, engineered and geared to promote their strengths, the racing line may become vague and unassuming at best. Drivers are often faced with the moral dilemma of yielding to the faster car or blocking to maintain their line – sounds funny but traffic can and does become an issue. Slower cars are striving to keep up with faster cars and faster cars are striving to keep up with even faster cars.
Let’s take a look at the four different classes of cars competing in the American Le Mans Series. There’s two main categories comprised of Le Mans Prototype (LMP) cars and Grand Touring (GT) cars. These two groups are divided into two more classes; LMP1, LMP2, GT1 and GT2 for a total of four classes. The least powerful of the four classes are the GT2 cars which produce, based on production figures and ALMS regulation, between 450 and 500 horsepower and must carry a minimum weight of 2,480lbs. This is my personal favorite class to watch because we actually see these production-based cars in the streets, even here in Baltimore, on a regular basis; BMW M3, Porsche 911 GT-3 RSR, Ferrari F430, Aston Martin Vantage GT-2, Corvette C6.R, Competition Dodge Viper, Ford GT-R, Panoz Esperante GTLM.
The GT1 cars produce between 600 and 650hp and are required to carry a minimum weight of 2,535lbs. So they may be slightly heavier than GT2 cars but they produce significantly more power. In this class you’ll see super cars like the Saleen S7R, Aston Martin DBR9 and Maseratti MC12 to name a few. They’re pretty cool too.
The Le Mans Prototype 2 cars are pure-bred race cars bearing little resemblance to any production-based car. They produce between 500 and 550hp but carry a minimum weight of only 1,820lbs.! Their power to weight ratio is incredible and certainly displayed when they win overall victories. Porsche, Acura and Lola are three manufacturers represented in this class.
At the top are the Le Mans Prototype 1 cars. These cars incorporate the highest levels of engineering and innovation with the fewest restrictions. Much of the technology found in the cars we drive on a daily basis was and is developed under racing conditions and from some of the manufacturers racing in this class. Audi, Acura, Peugeot and Zytek P1 cars all produce between 600 and 700hp and have a minimum weight, slightly greater than P2 cars, of 1,985lbs. LMP1 cars sustain speeds in excess of 200mph….These guys are fast!
…counting down the days to season opener 12 hours of Sebring, March 20th, 2010!
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Jay, a Maryland corporate attorney, is a long-time resident of the Baltimore area. Prior to undertaking his present role with BRD, Jay was the Associate General Counsel for Field Operations for U.S. Foodservice, Inc., the nation's second largest foodservice company, with approximately $20 Billion in annual sales revenues. In that role, Jay managed lawyers and other staff and focused on meeting the business legal needs of approximately 20,000 employees at 70 divisions across the United States. Prior to that, Jay worked for national law firms and spent a year working for Sponsor Direct, a sports marketing firm based in New York. Jay received his JD with Honors from George Washington University and is undergraduate degree in History from Princeton University where he played varsity football.
I enjoyed your article, but the information there is about a year old.
For 2010, the Prototype and GT classes have changed dramatically — P2 is being homologated into P1, and a new “LMP Challenge” spec-racer class is being put in place of the former P2. LMP-C class will feature one chassis and one engine spec, designed to expand availability to teams with smaller budgets to allow them to get involved.
GT1 is no more. All gone. After seeing two Corvettes racing each other for the last few years, GT1 has ended, and GT2 class is now one homologated spec. The Corvette team is now competing with a smaller V8 and lighter chassis, against the Ferraris and Porsches and BMWs (etc) in GT class.
To round out the field, several Porsche Challenge series cars have been brought in to a GT-Challenge class. This was tested out at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last year, and will continue in 2010.
All of these changes have been made in the interest of addressing ALMS’ biggest hurdle: Increasing the car count. With the economy still in the dumper and many teams folding (Fernandez, Tafel) or exiting (Penske, Andretti), Atherton and Co needed to bring in more sheet metal to start the race.
See you at Sebring!