2008 American Le Mans Series season

Sportscar season
Sportscar_series = American Le Mans Series
Current = 2008
Next = 2009
Previous = 2007The 2008 American Le Mans Series season is the tenth season for the IMSA American Le Mans Series. It is a series comprised of Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 15, 2008, and will end October 18, 2008 after eleven races.

The Audi Sport North America team wrapped up its title defence of LMP1 class Teams Championship with three races in hand after the Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio in August. Drivers Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr also secured the Drivers Championship after the Detroit Sports Car Challenge. It was a record fifth ALMS drivers title for Luhr and a fourth for Werner.The Petit Le Mans saw the drivers title for GT1 decided with Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell taking the title while Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler likewise secured the GT2 drivers championship. It was O'Connell's fourth GT1 title and Bergmeisters third GT2 title.The P2 class remains in doubt because of a protest against the Porsche teams. If the portest is dismissed Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard will become champions.

chedule

LMP2 standings

Drivers championship

For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:
* 20-16-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1For races between four hours and eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
* 25-21-18-15-13-11-9-8-7-6For races longer than eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
* 30-26-23-20-18-16-14-13-12-11

Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Drivers failing to drive for at least 45 minutes in the race are not awarded points, with the exception of the Long Beach round where drivers need only 30 minutes minimum.

LMP1 standings

GT2 standings

Partial season entries

* Team Cytosport, following a partnership with Charouz Racing System and Team Jota to run in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans, plans to return to the ALMS at Mid-Ohio [citeweb | url = http://www.planetlemans.com/2008/01/24/team-cytosport-announces-2008-plans/ | title = Team Cytosport announces 2008 plans | publisher = Planet Le Mans | date = 24 January 2008 | accessdate = 2008-03-16]
* Although Team ECO attempted to run their diesel-powered Radical SR10 LMP1 at Sebring, homologation problems have forced the team to delay their debut until Mid-Ohio. [citeweb | url = http://www.planetlemans.com/2008/03/13/team-eco-racing-withdraws-from-sebring/ | title = Team ECO Racing withdraws from Sebring | publisher = Planet Le Mans | date = 13 March 2008 | accessdate = 2008-03-16]
* Autocon Motorsports will run a partial schedule, skipping most street circuit rounds, to concentrate on their bid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their car will be upgraded to full CA07 specification by Le Mans. [citeweb | url =http://www.dailysportscar.com/viewArticle.cfm?articleUID=A9470DB9-1143-FDC9-352D68B04A3BF663&custUID=41893114-1143-FDC9-35B980BED2222B6C&_sessionID=J3FWUVIMNA&_subSessionID=7JEBAMCACS | title = Sebring 12 Hours – Thursday Morning | publisher = dailysportscar | date = 13 March 2008 | accessdate = 2008-03-16]

Green Challenge

On June 24, 2008, the ALMS has announced for a new challenge called the "Green Challenge". The challenge, integrated with the series races, and which will debut at this year's Petit Le Mans, and continuing with the entire full season in 2009, emphasizes on targeting the series for "green racing." The ALMS was the first motorsport racing series in North America to be recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), the United States Department of Energy and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) to be recognized as a "Green Racing Series", and these three will take part organizing the challenge. All the teams will be eligible for the "Green Challenge". The point system will be the same as the regular ALMS scoring system, but teams start out with the most possible points a team in the ALMS have during the season, and the points are deducted based on the performance of the vehicle. The lowest points at the end of the season would be the "Green Challenge" season champion. [citeweb | url = http://www.americanlemans.com/News/Article.aspx?ID=4383 | title = ALMS Official Website: "Green Challenge™" Rules and Regulations Set | publisher = ALMS | date = 24 June 2008 | accessdate = 2008-06-25]

References

External links

* [http://www.americanlemans.com American Le Mans Series]