The 2011 American Le Mans Series season was a multi-event motor racing series for sports racing cars which conform to the technical regulations laid out by the International Motor Sports Association for the American Le Mans Series. It was the thirteenth season of the American Le Mans Series, a sports car racing series that drew original inspiration from the types of racing cars that compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 41st season for the IMSA GT Championship, as this series traces its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. The full title of the 2011 series is "the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón" to include the principal sponsor. The season began March 19, 2011 with the 12 Hours of Sebring and ended after nine rounds on October 1 with the Petit Le Mans.
While Lola-built sports cars dominated the upper racing positions in the faster LMP classes for sports prototype vehicles, their numbers continued to drop to the point where at the third round of the series at 2011 Northeast Grand Prix no LMP2 class cars were entered. The only growth in prototype numbers has been in spec racing class LMPC in which all class competitors use identical Oreca chassis powered by a Chevrolet engine.
The Lola-Mazda of the Dyson Racing Team and its drivers Chris Dyson and Guy Smith won the LMP1 class championship at the penultimate race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, holding a 32-point gap over the Muscle Milk Motorsports team and driver Klaus Graf. Level 5 Motorsports ran unopposed for the majority of the season in LMP2 with their Lola-HPDs. Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker also wrapped up the championship early.
LMPC title remained live until the final race of the season where Genoa Racing's Eric Lux and the Core Autosport pair of Gunnar Jeannette and Ricardo González ended tied on points, and had the same number of second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes.
In the Grand Touring classes, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's BMW M3 GT2 driven by Dirk Müller and Joey Hand won the championship, taking three wins and three podiums. They wrapped up the class title a round early, having held a 33-point lead over the Chevrolet pair of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen. Black Swan Racing driver Tim Pappas clinched the GTC spec racing class for Porsche 997s at the final round by winning the class.
Schedule On August 22, 2010, IMSA announced an initial 2011 calendar with ten events, expanding from nine in 2010. Two unnamed events were added to the calendar, while the series race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah was not retained. A race in the Bricktown section of Oklahoma City had been proposed, but was rejected by the city's council. It was announced in February 2010 that the Baltimore Grand Prix street race was being taken into consideration for one of the series' new rounds. The race was confirmed on September 1, 2010. All races this season were seen live on ESPN3.com, and on delay on ESPN2 and ABC.
Two rounds on the 2011 schedule, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, also served as part of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
Rnd Race Length Circuit Location Date American Le Mans Series Winter Test Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida February 9–10 1 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring 12 Hours Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 19 2 Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach 2 Hours Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California April 16 3 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix 2 Hours 45 Minutes Lime Rock Park Lakeville, Connecticut July 9 4 Grand Prix of Mosport 2 Hours 45 Minutes Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario July 24 5 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge 2 Hours 45 Minutes Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 6 6 Road Race Showcase 4 Hours Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 20 7 Baltimore Grand Prix 2 Hours Baltimore Street Circuit Baltimore, Maryland September 3 8 American Le Mans Monterey 6 Hours Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California September 17 9 14th Annual Petit Le Mans or 10 Hours Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 1
Entry list
Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1)
Team Chassis Engine Tire Drivers Round(s) Aston Martin RacingLola-Aston Martin B09/60Aston Martin AM04 6.0 L V12007 Adrián Fernández 8-9 Stefan Mücke 8-9 Harold Primat 8-9 Highcroft RacingHPD ARX-01eHPD AL7R 3.4 L V801 David Brabham 1 Marino Franchitti 1 Simon Pagenaud 1 Muscle Milk Aston Martin RacingLola-Aston Martin B08/62Aston Martin AM04 6.0 L V12066 Klaus Graf All Lucas Luhr All Greg Pickett 1, 9 Dyson Racing TeamLola B09/86Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 (Isobutanol)016 16 Chris Dyson All Guy Smith All Jay Cochran 1, 8-9 Oryx Dyson Racing20 Humaid Al Masaood 3-9 Steven Kane 3-9 Butch Leitzinger 8-9 Audi Sport Joest RacingAudi R15 TDI plusAudi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V10 (Diesel)1 Timo Bernhard 1, 9 Romain Dumas 1, 9 Mike Rockenfeller 1 Marcel Fässler 92 Tom Kristensen 1, 9 Allan McNish 1, 9 Rinaldo Capello 1, 9 Peugeot Sport TotalPeugeot 908Peugeot HDi 3.7 L Turbo V8 (Diesel)7 Anthony Davidson 1, 9 Marc Gené 1 Alexander Wurz 1 Sébastien Bourdais 9 Simon Pagenaud 98 Pedro Lamy 1, 9 Franck Montagny 1, 9 Stéphane Sarrazin 1, 9 Team Oreca-MatmutPeugeot 908 HDi FAPPeugeot HDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)10 Nicolas Lapierre 1, 9 Loïc Duval 1 Olivier Panis 1 Marc Gené 9 Nicolas Minassian 9 Rebellion RacingLola B10/60Toyota RV8KLM 3.4 L V812 Neel Jani 1, 9 Nicolas Prost 1, 9 Jeroen Bleekemolen 1 Andrea Belicchi 9 AutoconLola B06/10AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 (Isobutanol)12012 Tony Burgess 4-9 Chris McMurry 4-9 Bryan Willman 8-9 OAK RacingOAK Pescarolo 01Judd DB 3.4 L V815 Matthieu Lahaye 1, 9 Guillaume Moreau 1, 9 Pierre Ragues 1, 924 Jean-François Yvon 1, 9 Richard Hein 1 Jacques Nicolet 1 Olivier Pla 9 Alexandre Prémat 9
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)
Team Chassis Engine Tire Drivers Round(s) United AutosportsOAK Pescarolo 01Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V822 Zak Brown 9 Stefan Johansson 9 Mark Patterson 9 Signatech NissanOreca 03Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 26 Franck Mailleux 1, 9 Lucas Ordoñez 1, 9 Soheil Ayari 1 Jean-Karl Vernay 9 Level 5 MotorsportsLola B08/80 Lola B11/40 HPD ARX-01g HPD HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V633 Christophe Bouchut 1-2, 9 Scott Tucker 1-2, 9 João Barbosa 1, 9Lola B11/40 HPD ARX-01g 055 55 Luis Díaz 1, 6, 8-9 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1, 9 Christophe Bouchut 6, 8 Scott Tucker 6, 8 Marino Franchitti 9 OAK RacingOAK Pescarolo 01Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V835 Patrice Lafargue 1, 9 Frédéric Da Rocha 1, 9 Andrea Barlesi 1 Jacques Nicolet 9
Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC)
Note: All entires utilized the Oreca FLM09 chassis, the Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8 engine, and Michelin tires. All entries also had an additional "0" added to their car number for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Team Drivers Round(s) CORE Autosport05 Jon Bennett All Frankie Montecalvo All Ryan Dalziel 1, 9 Andy Wallace 806 Gunnar Jeannette All Ricardo González All Rudy Junco Jr. 1, 8-9 Performance Tech Motorsports18 Jarrett Boon 1, 3-9 Anthony Nicolosi 1, 3-9 Jan-Dirk Lueders 1, 8-9 Genoa Racing36 Dane Cameron 1 Michael Guasch 1 Jens Petersen 163 063 Elton Julian All Eric Lux 1-3, 7-9 Christian Zugel 1, 4-6, 9 Intersport Racing37 Jon Field 3-6 Ricardo Vera 4, 8 Tomy Drissi 7-8 James Kovacic 3 Clint Field 5 James French 6 Michael Marsal 6 Kyle Marcelli 789 Kyle Marcelli 1-6, 8-9 Tomy Drissi 1-3, 5-6, 9 Chapman Ducote 4, 7-9 David Ducote 7-8 Luca Moro 8 Iconik Energy Drinks WRO38 Olivier Lombard 1 Luca Moro 1 Johnny Mowlem 1 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports52 Ken Dobson 1, 7-9 Ryan Lewis 1, 7, 9 Henri Richard 1, 8-9 David Cheng 5-6 Javier Echeverría 5-6 Miles Maroney 2 Rene Villeneuve 8
Grand Touring (GT)
Team Chassis Engine Tire Drivers Round(s) Extreme Speed MotorsportsFerrari 458 Italia GT2Ferrari 4.5 L V801 Johannes van Overbeek All Scott Sharp All Dominik Farnbacher 1, 902 Ed Brown All Guy Cosmo All Rob Bell 1, 9 Robertson RacingFord GT-R Mk. VIIFord Cammer 5.0 L V804 Anthony Lazzaro 1, 3-6 David Murry 1, 3-6 Colin Braun 140 Andrea Robertson 1, 3-6, 9 David Robertson 1, 3-6 Boris Said 1 David Murry 9 Melanie Snow 9 West Yokohama TeamLamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT2Lamborghini 5.2 L V1008 Nicky Pastorelli 1-2 Dominik Schwager 1-2 Corvette RacingChevrolet Corvette C6.RChevrolet 5.5 L V83 Olivier Beretta All Tommy Milner All Antonio García 1, 94 Oliver Gavin All Jan Magnussen All Richard Westbrook 1, 9 Team Falken TirePorsche 997 GT3-RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-617 Wolf Henzler All Bryan Sellers All Martin Ragginger 1, 9 Flying Lizard MotorsportsPorsche 997 GT3-RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-644 Seth Neiman All Marco Holzer 1, 3-9 Darren Law 1-2, 945 Patrick Long All Jörg Bergmeister 1, 4-9 Marc Lieb 1 Patrick Pilet 9 Paul Miller RacingPorsche 997 GT3-RSRPorsche 4.0 L Flat-648 Bryce Miller All Sascha Maassen All René Rast 1 Emmanuel Collard 9 Panoz RacingPanoz AbruzziChevrolet 6.5 L V850 Ian James 1, 4 Benjamin Leuenberger 1 Edward Sandström 4 AF CorseFerrari F430 GT2Ferrari 4.0 L V851 Gianmaria Bruni 1, 9 Giancarlo Fisichella 1, 9 Pierre Kaffer 1, 9 BMW MotorsportBMW M3 GT2BMW 4.0 L V855 Bill Auberlen All Dirk Werner All Augusto Farfus 1, 956 Joey Hand All Dirk Müller All Andy Priaulx 1, 9 Luxury RacingFerrari 458 Italia GT2Ferrari 4.5 L V858 Ralph Firman 9 David Hallyday 9 François Jakubowski 959 Frédéric Makowiecki 1, 9 Stéphane Ortelli 1, 9 Jean-Denis Délétraz 1 Anthony Beltoise 9 Risi CompetizioneFerrari 458 Italia GT2Ferrari 4.5 L V862 Toni Vilander All Mika Salo 1-8 Jaime Melo 1, 9 Raphael Matos 9 Lotus JetallianceLotus Evora GTEToyota (Cosworth) 4.0 L V664 Kasper Jensen 9 Martin Rich 9 Oskar Slingerland 965 David Heinemeier Hansson 9 Johnny Mowlem 9 James Rossiter 9 Jaguar RSRJaguar XKR GT2Jaguar 5.0 L V898 P.J. Jones 1, 3-9 Rocky Moran 1, 3-6, 9 Kenny Wilden 1 Paul Gentilozzi 2 Shane Lewis 999 Bruno Junqueira 1-6, 8-9 Kenny Wilden 4-6, 8-9 Cristiano da Matta 1-3 Oriol Servià 1 Ian James 9
#: Car number had an additional "0" for the 12 Hours of Sebring. $: Car number had an additional "0" for Sebring and Petit Le Mans.
Grand Touring Challenge (GTC) Note: All entires utilized the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup chassis, the Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 engine, and Yokohama tires. All entries also had an additional "0" added to their car number for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Team Drivers Round(s) JDX Racing11 Nick Ham 1-6, 8 Chris Thompson 3-6 Scott Blackett 1-2, 8 Chris Cumming 1, 8 Alex Job Racing23 Bill Sweedler All Brian Wong 1, 4-5, 8-9 Leh Keen 1-2, 7, 9 Butch Leitzinger 3 Shane Lewis 8 NGT Motorsports30 Henrique Cisneros 1, 6, 8 Carlos Kauffmann 1, 6, 8 Sean Edwards 1, 6 Martin Ragginger 8 Competition Motorsports31 Michael Avenatti 8 Bob Faieta 8 Cort Wagner 8 GMG Racing32 James Sofronas 1, 3, 6, 8 Alex Welch 3, 6, 8 Bret Curtis 1 Jan Seyffarth 1 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Green Hornet34 Peter LeSaffre 1, 3, 5-8 Andrew Davis 1, 5-8 Bob Faieta 1 Jaap van Lagen 3 Black Swan Racing54 Tim Pappas All Jeroen Bleekemolen 5-9 Sebastiaan Bleekemolen 1-2, 8-9 Damien Faulkner 1, 3-4 TRG66 Duncan Ende All Spencer Pumpelly All Peter Ludwig 8-9 Alain Li 168 Dion von Moltke All Marc Bunting 4-5, 7 Jim Norman 1, 9 Emilio Di Guida 6, 8 Peter Ludwig 1 Brendan Gaughan 2 Mike Piera 3 Kevin Buckler 8 Ben Keating 9 Magnus Racing77 John Potter 1-2, 5, 7 Craig Stanton 1-2, 5, 7 Matthew Marsh 1 Porsche Napleton Racing97 Dominik Farnbacher 6 David Heinemeier Hansson 6
Season results The 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, as part of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, featured cars competing in the GTE-Am category alongside normal ALMS competitors in the GT2 category. Krohn Racing's Ferrari F430 won both of the races.
The winner represented here is the highest finisher of both classes combined.
Overall winners in bold.