Gearing up for the ALMS season finale

It's hard to imagine that the American Le Mans Series season is about to come to an end. The 11-race championship which started at Sebring in March has been one of the most memorable in recent history. With the door-to-door battles between the LMP1 Audis and P2 class Porsches and Acuras, 2008 could be considered one of the most competitive yet.
This season also marked the first time that I got to cover the series for the full season. Traveling to places like St. Petersburg, Florida, Monterey, California, Salt Lake City, and Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada have all been new experiences for me. In past seasons, I'd only been able to make it to a half dozen or so events. This year could be considered a real treat, especially I was also able to travel across the Atlantic to cover the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.

While I'm hoping all of this can continue into 2009, nothing is always for sure. With the way the economy is going, publications are limiting their budgets. I was even faced with an obstacle just to get to the season-finale at Laguna Seca next weekend. Money is tight for everyone, and the days of paying my own way to races are over.

Three years ago when I started my own Web site, www.The-Paddock.net, we had no real source of revenue. So all of us ended up having to fork out the money ourselves. A typical trip for me cost in the range of $600-800 by the time you add up hotel, gas and food, etc. I drove to many if not most of those races. But today, with rising fuel prices, it's a killer to drive or fly. I honestly can't see myself financially being able to do this ever again on a regular basis. I'm grateful and hopeful for what the future holds for me.

Mighty Matos

I couldn’t help but stare in amazement Saturday evening as Raphael Matos took the checkered flag to claim his maiden Daytona Prototype race win in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season-ending race at Miller Motorsports Park. The young Brazilian, along with season-long co-drivers Ian James and John Pew, scored Michael Shank Racing’s second consecutive win, and first for the Ford-powered No. 6 machine.

Matos took control of the 1000km race in the closing stages when his crew got him out ahead of the competition after pit stops during a late caution. Once the field got the green, Matos took off and pulled away from everyone. Nobody was able to catch him in the end.

The fact that just two weeks earlier, Matos was standing in victory lane at Chicagoland Speedway, holding the Indy Lights title in his hands. It was his third professional championship, adding to his Star Mazda and Atlantic titles earned in 2005 and 2007, respectively. He also won the Skip Barber National Championship in 2003.

Matos has been a poster child for Mazda, as most of his success has come with the Japanese brand. He claimed his first sports car victory earlier this year in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, piloting a SpeedSource Mazda RX-8.

With a win in the opening and closing Rolex Series events of 2008, and in two different classes, Matos becomes one of the only, if not the first, multi-class winner in the Rolex Series (since the DP’s introduction in 2003).

Now, Matos is onto his next challenge, teaming with Ben Devlin and Gerardo Bonilla in B-K Motorsports’ brand-new Lola B08/86 Mazda in next weekend’s Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The LMP2 Coupe will be a new challenge for all three, as they go up against the mights of Porsche and Acura. But given Matos’ track record this year, don’t count anything out.

Corvette Racing's Future; The Demise of GT1?

This week, I attended a media teleconference hosted by Corvette Racing to announce its Le Mans program for the next few years. Rumors had spread around giving hint to the possibility of the factory team building a prototype for LMP1, but instead, they committed to moving to the GT2 division with an all-new Corvette C6.R starting in 2009.

See Story: "Corvette Racing Plans for the Future"

While this news didn't catch many people by surprise, it did have an implication on the future of the GT1 class, which the two Velocity Yellow C6.Rs currently compete in. With the only competition coming from Bell Motorsports' privately entered Aston Martin DBR9, question marks now hang over the future of this category.

Corvette has committed to running two ALMS races in GT1 next year - the season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The decision to take the cars to Southern California was mainly based on marketing, since the Los Angeles is one of the largest in the country. After a final race in GT1 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the main focus will shift to developing the new GT2 car. Who will that leave in GT1?

Bell Motorsports has yet to confirm its 2009 program, while speculation leads that the American Le Mans Series and IMSA could just do without GT1 for next year. It would be pretty embarrassing to see only one car racing in that category. Instead, the focus could be on 2010, when the new GT regulations come into effect.

These new rules are aimed at providing a world arena for GT cars. Stephane Ratel, promoter of the FIA GT Championship, confirmed his plans to take his series global in 2010, to become the "FIA World GT Championship." Ratel has already inked plans to race at a newly constructed circuit in Russia, and will take his current championship to Argentina this November. Ratel is also in negotiations with a nearly a dozen other countries around the world regarding the possibility of hosting a round of the "World Championship."

While this World Championship will not likely involve a factory team from Corvette Racing, they will be providing cars to customers, much like what they are doing already for Phoenix Carsport Racing and SRT, among others. The FIA regulations will be identical to the ACO's used in the American Le Mans Series, (European) Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Once they come into effect in 2010, the big question is will there be anyone in the (new) GT1?

Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan doesn't think there will be, and this could have huge implications on Ratel's plans, as GT1 is the one and only category for the "World Championship." The new GT2 cars would be used for a European-only Cup, much like how the FIA GT3 European Championship operates right now.

With more questions than answers regarding the future of GT racing worldwide, we can be rest assured that Corvette Racing is in it for the long haul, and will be on the grid in the 2010 American Le Mans Series with two Corvette C6.Rs. Now all we need is the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin to commit to racing in the same category. Then, we will be up for one hell of a fight.

A fitting end to the IndyCar season

Last Sunday's IndyCar season-ending race at Chicagoland Speedway was too close to call. In fact, officials declared Scott Dixon as the race winner, where it had in fact been Helio Castroneves. Timing and Scoring had said Dixon won, but official video showed the Castroneves' Team Penske Dallara-Honda ahead.

It took close to 10 minutes for officials to decide on a victor. Moments after Dixon had climbed from his car in victory lane and already started post-race interviews, officials declared Castroneves the winner - by 0.0033 seconds - the second closest finish in IndyCar history. A mere 12 and 1/8 inches separated Dixon from the win, the he still celebrated as the 2008 champion.

This dramatic finish was my introduction to covering IndyCar racing, as I'd was on assignment in Joliet, IL covering the race for Motorsport.com. I'd been a fan of open-wheel racing my entire life, but writing about it was all relatively new. The atmosphere was definitely different to what I'm used to in sports car racing. I narrowed the differences down primarily to the fact that it was an oval race.

On typical American Le Mans Series race weekends, I usually observe one or two of the practice sessions from a grandstand, as you can analyze a driver's method of attack for certain corners. This obviously is not possible at an oval race, leaving me stuck in the media center watching everything from the tv feeds. This was just one of the new things I'd realized. Overall, though, it was a fresh experience, and I'm sure I'll do it again in the future.

In terms of the race, there were some entertaining moments. One had to be when Milka Duno was out front for five laps because of fuel strategy. Nearly everyone in the media center shared some laughs when ESPN/ABC broadcaster Marty Reid announced that she was leading. But make no jokes about it, because if the race had stayed green, Duno would have most likely been put back in the lead. While it would have been very unlikely for her to pull off a win, a top-10 could have been a possibility. Anyway, I still find it funny that Duno led more laps this season than Danica Patrick. Duno had five laps led to her credit, compared to Patrick's four, despite winning the Motegi round in April.

Twenty-eight cars started the season-finale, making it one of the highest car counts of the season. There could be even more teams joining for 2009, which could fill the field to 33 starters. If more than 33 show up to a race weekend, it would mean bumping for the slowest cars. Wouldn't that be something to see again at a place other than Indy?

Acura's Impressive Sophomore Season

It's not often that a new manufacturer to the American Le Mans Series could have as much instant success as Acura has enjoyed. In only its second season of competition, the brand now leads the LMP2 manufactuers' championship over rival Porsche. The change-up happened last weekend in Detroit, when Acura scored its first-ever 1-2-3 sweep of the overall podium. It also marked the first overall victory for Andretti Green Racing, and first for drivers Franck Montagny and James Rossiter as well. But what makes 2008 so much better than last season?

(photo copyright: John Thawley, Creative Communications Group)

It all comes down to perseverance. Despite claiming its debut victory at Sebring in 2007, Acura's three-supported prototypes didn't win another race that season. Porsche had reigned supreme with driving talents Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, who not only scored class victories, but also overall triumphs. This season, the Penske duo only have four victories to their credit, and are only four points within losing the drivers' championship lead from Patron Highcroft Racing's David Brabham and Scott Sharp.

Out of all four Acura teams, the Duncan Dayton-led Highcroft effort has been the most impressive. Four wins, including Acura's maiden overall victory, plus a number of other podium results. The team's will to never give up has put them in this championship hunt this year. Highcroft was rewarded for its efforts last weekend, when Acura named them as one of the two teams that would step up to LMP1 next year with the brand.

De Ferran Motorsports is the other team that will make the move to P1 in 2009. While many question this decision, given how new the team is, Gil de Ferran and co-driver Simon Pagenaud have been equally as strong as the Highcroft duo in practice and qualifying. In the races, though, the team's youth has been shown.

The logical favorite to get a P1 seat was Lowe's Fernandez Racing, but a recent string of bad luck may have been the determining factor for the Tom Anderson-led effort to stay in P2 for next year. Acura's fourth team, and recent race winners, Andretti Green Racing, have not yet been included in Acura's plans for 2009. The team has been rumored to be leaving the series at seasons end, but recent reports indicate they still want to stay, pending sponsorship.

With the Sirius and XM Satellite Radio merger nearly complete, it's still too early to tell if the company will be able to renew its deal with AGR in the ALMS. This will most likely be the determining factor if AGR will be back in 2009 or not. What we do know is that AGR will enter the A1GP series in 2009-2010, becoming the American team flying the stars and stripes. Could that have an affect on its ALMS program as well?

Despite some question marks still up in the air, the future for Acura's American Le Mans Series program looks very bright. With its downright impressive performances this season, and its mega plans for 2009, the sky seems to be the limit for the Series' latest "greatest hit."