List of American Le Mans Series champions

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a North American sports car racing championship administered by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) sanctioning body.[1][2] It was founded by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Don Panoz in 1999 after reaching an agreement with the French-based 24 Hours of Le Mans organiser Automobile Club de l'Ouest to form a new sports car series based on the Le Mans rulebook that would serve as a local hub for North American entrants.[3] The series disbanded following the 2013 season when it and the Grand-Am-sanctioned Rolex Sports Car Series merged to become the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[1][2] It featured several championships awarded by IMSA to the most successful competitors within each of the racing categories used by the series each season. Individual championships were awarded for being the top point scoring drivers and teams as well as chassis, engine, and tire manufacturers. Other unique championships included the IMSA Cup, Founder's Cup, Michelin Green X Challenge, and the ALMS Challenge. The Drivers', Teams', Chassis Manufacturers', and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships were awarded since the series began in 1999, while the Tire and Engine Manufacturers' Championships were introduced in the 2000 season. The champions were not formally crowned until the ALMS awards banquet after the season's final race.[4]

Drivers' Championship

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From the start of the American Le Mans Series until the end of the 2002 season, individual drivers were allowed to earn up to three bonus points if they met certain criteria; any driver which led a lap of the race within their category earned one point, whichever driver led the most laps of the race earned one point, and whichever driver set the fastest lap of the race earned one point. From 2003 onward the bonus system was eradicated and drivers earned the same points as their co-drivers.

Season LMP GTS GT
1999   Elliott Forbes-Robinson   Olivier Beretta   Cort Wagner
2000   Allan McNish   Olivier Beretta   Dirk Müller
Season LMP900 LMP675 GTS GT
2001   Emanuele Pirro   Didier de Radiguès   Terry Borcheller   Jörg Müller
2002   Tom Kristensen   Jon Field   Ron Fellows   Lucas Luhr
  Sascha Maassen
2003   Frank Biela
  Marco Werner
  Chris Dyson   Ron Fellows
  Johnny O'Connell
  Lucas Luhr
  Sascha Maassen
Season LMP1 LMP2 GTS GT
2004   Marco Werner
  JJ Lehto
  Ian James   Ron Fellows
  Johnny O'Connell
  Timo Bernhard
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2
2005   Frank Biela
  Emanuele Pirro
  Clint Field   Oliver Gavin
  Olivier Beretta
  Patrick Long
  Jörg Bergmeister
2006   Allan McNish
  Rinaldo Capello
  Lucas Luhr
  Sascha Maassen
  Oliver Gavin
  Olivier Beretta
  Jörg Bergmeister
2007   Allan McNish
  Rinaldo Capello
  Timo Bernhard
  Romain Dumas
  Oliver Gavin
  Olivier Beretta
  Mika Salo
  Jaime Melo
2008   Marco Werner
  Lucas Luhr
  Timo Bernhard
  Romain Dumas
  Johnny O'Connell
  Jan Magnussen
  Jörg Bergmeister
  Wolf Henzler
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT2 Challenge
2009   David Brabham
  Scott Sharp
  Adrian Fernández
  Luis Díaz
  Patrick Long
  Jörg Bergmeister
  Martin Snow
  Melanie Snow
Season LMP LMPC GT GTC
2010   David Brabham
  Simon Pagenaud
  Scott Tucker   Patrick Long
  Jörg Bergmeister
  Tim Pappas
  Jeroen Bleekemolen
Season LMP1 LMP2 LMPC GT GTC
2011   Chris Dyson
  Guy Smith
  Christophe Bouchut
  Scott Tucker
  Ricardo González
  Gunnar Jeannette
  Eric Lux1
  Joey Hand
  Dirk Müller
  Tim Pappas
Season P1 P2 PC GT GTC
2012   Klaus Graf
  Lucas Luhr
  Christophe Bouchut
  Scott Tucker
  Alex Popow   Oliver Gavin
  Tommy Milner
  Cooper MacNeil
2013   Klaus Graf
  Lucas Luhr
  Scott Tucker   Mike Guasch   Antonio García
  Jan Magnussen
  Jeroen Bleekemolen
  Cooper MacNeil
  1. ^ Eric Lux drove for a different team from teammates Ricardo González and Gunnar Jeannette. The three finished the season on equal points, and a tie breaker was not able to be utilized, therefore the three drivers all shared the championship.[5]

Teams' Championship

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Season LMP GTS GT
1999   Panoz Motorsports   Dodge Viper Team Oreca   Prototype Technology Group
2000   Audi Sport North America   Viper Team Oreca   Dick Barbour Racing
Season LMP900 LMP675 GTS GT
2001   Audi Sport North America   Dick Barbour Racing   Corvette Racing   BMW Motorsport
2002   Audi Sport North America   KnightHawk Racing   Corvette Racing   Alex Job Racing
2003   Infineon Team Joest   Dyson Racing Team   Corvette Racing   Alex Job Racing
Season LMP1 LMP2 GTS GT
2004   ADT Champion Racing   Miracle Motorsports   Corvette Racing   Alex Job Racing
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2
2005   ADT Champion Racing   Intersport Racing   Corvette Racing   Petersen/White Lightning
2006   Audi Sport North America   Penske Motorsports   Corvette Racing   Risi Competizione
2007   Audi Sport North America   Penske Racing   Corvette Racing   Risi Competizione
2008   Audi Sport North America   Penske Racing   Corvette Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT2 Challenge
2009   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Lowe's Fernández Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports   Snow Racing
Season LMP LMPC GT GTC
2010   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Level 5 Motorsports   BMW Rahal Letterman Racing   Black Swan Racing
Season LMP1 LMP2 LMPC GT GTC
2011   Dyson Racing Team   Level 5 Motorsports   CORE Autosport   BMW Team RLL   Black Swan Racing
Season P1 P2 PC GT GTC
2012   Muscle Milk Pickett Racing   Level 5 Motorsports   CORE Autosport   Corvette Racing   Alex Job Racing
2013   Muscle Milk Pickett Racing   Level 5 Motorsports   CORE Autosport   Corvette Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports

Manufacturer championships

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The Chassis Manufacturers' and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships are combined into a single listing. The grand tourer categories did not have a separate Engine Manufacturers' Championship.

Chassis and Automobile Manufacturers' Championships

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Season LMP GTS GT
1999   Panoz   Porsche   Porsche
2000   Audi   DaimlerChrysler   Porsche
Season LMP900 LMP675 GTS GT
2001   Audi   Lola   Chevrolet   BMW
2002   Audi   Lola   Chevrolet   Porsche
2003   Audi   Lola   Chevrolet   Porsche
Season LMP1 LMP2 GTS GT
2004   Audi   Lola   Chevrolet   Porsche
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2
2005   Audi   Courage   Chevrolet   Porsche
2006   Audi   Porsche   Chevrolet   Porsche
2007   Audi   Porsche   Chevrolet   Ferrari
2008   Audi   Porsche   Chevrolet   Porsche
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT2
2009   Acura   Acura   Porsche
Season LMP GT
2010   HPD   BMW
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT
2011   Lola   Lola   BMW
Season P1 P2 GT
2012   HPD   HPD   Chevrolet
2013   HPD   HPD   Chevrolet

Engine Manufacturers' Championship

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Season LMP
2000   Audi
Season LMP900 LMP675
2001   Audi   Nissan
2002   Audi   AER-MG
2003   Audi   AER
Season LMP1 LMP2
2004   Audi   Judd
2005   Audi   AER
2006   Audi   Porsche
2007   Audi   Porsche
2008   Audi   Porsche
2009   Acura   Acura
Season LMP
2010   HPD
Season LMP1 LMP2
2011   Mazda   HPD
Season P1 P2
2012   HPD   HPD
2013   HPD   HPD

Tire Manufacturers' Championship

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Season LMP GTS GT
2000   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin
Season LMP900 LMP675 GTS GT
2001   Michelin   Avon   Goodyear   Michelin
2002   Michelin   Avon   Goodyear   Michelin
2003   Michelin   Goodyear   Goodyear   Michelin
Season LMP1 LMP2 GTS GT
2004   Michelin   Pirelli   Michelin   Michelin
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2
2005   Michelin   Goodyear   Michelin   Michelin
2006   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin
2007   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin
2008   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT2
2009   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin
Season LMP GT
2010   Michelin   Michelin
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT
2011   Dunlop   Michelin   Michelin
Season P1 P2 GT
2012   Michelin   Dunlop   Michelin
2013   Michelin   Michelin   Michelin

Other championships

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IMSA Cup

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The IMSA Cup was a championship for teams which were not designated as being run by an automobile manufacturer. The 2002 championship was awarded to a full team, while from 2003 onward the championship points were awarded to each individual entry. For the 2011 season, due to a lack of manufacturer supported teams in the ALMS, the IMSA Cup was not awarded.

Season LMP900 LMP675 GTS GT
2002   Champion Racing   KnightHawk Racing   Konrad Motorsport   Alex Job Racing
2003   ADT Champion Racing   Intersport Racing   ACEMCO Motorsports   Petersen/White Lightning
Season LMP1 LMP2 GTS GT
2004   ADT Champion Racing   Intersport Racing   ACEMCO Motorsports   Flying Lizard Motorsports
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT1 GT2
2005   ADT Champion Racing   Intersport Racing   ACEMCO Motorsports   Petersen/White Lightning
2006   Dyson Racing Team   Intersport Racing   Aston Martin Racing   Petersen/White Lightning
2007   Intersport Racing   Dyson Racing Team   Doran Racing   Risi Competizione
2008   Intersport Racing   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Bell Motorsports   Flying Lizard Motorsports
Season LMP1 LMP2 GT2
2009   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Lowe's Fernandez Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports
Season LMP LMPC GT GTC
2010   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Green Earth Team Gunnar   Flying Lizard Motorsports   Black Swan Racing

Founders Cup

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The Founders Cup was an annual award to recognize the accomplishments of a gentleman driver. A single championship is awarded covering all categories.

Season Champion
2008   Jon Field
2009   Joel Feinberg
2010   Bill Sweedler
2011   Bill Sweedler
2012   Cooper MacNeil
2013   Mike Guasch

Michelin Green X Challenge

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The Michelin Green X Challenge was a championship based on energy efficiency over the course of a season. The Green X Challenge debuted at the end of 2008, but the first championship was not awarded until the 2009 season. Two championships were awarded, one for both LMP classes and one for both GT classes.[6]

Manufacturers Championship

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Season LMPs GTs
2009   Acura   Porsche
2010   HPD   Porsche
2011   Mazda   BMW
2012   HPD   Chevrolet

Teams Championship

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Season LMPs GTs
2009   Lowe's Fernández Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports
2010   Patrón Highcroft Racing   Flying Lizard Motorsports
2011   Dyson Racing Team   BMW Team RLL
2012   Muscle Milk Pickett Racing   Corvette Racing

References

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  1. ^ a b Smith, Steven Cole (September 4, 2012). "Grand-Am, American Le Mans Series To Merge". Autoweek. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Olson, Jeff (March 14, 2013). "ALMS, Grand-Am merger will be United SportsCar Racing". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Thomas, Phillip (August 7, 2020). "5 chapters from the life of Don Panoz, automotive titan". Hagerty. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Kjos, Tom (October 2006). "ALMS – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – American Le Mans Wraps up its 2006 Amid Some Controversy". DailySportsCar. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  5. ^ 2011 Rules American Le Mans Series (PDF), International Motor Sports Association, 2011-02-25, p. 40, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-06, retrieved 2011-10-04
  6. ^ "Michelin embraces green racing with Michelin Green X Challenge". American Le Mans Series. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
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