The 2006 American Le Mans Series season was the 36th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the eighth as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 18, 2006, and ended October 21, 2006 after 10 races.
Among the biggest announcements prior to the start of the 2006 season was that Audi would continue their involvement in the ALMS with their new R10 TDI diesel engined LMP1 with the car making its international racing debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in preparation for Le Mans. Audi followed up this announcement with plans for a single Audi R8 to go on a farewell tour for the first few races after Sebring, and then be replaced by two new R10 TDI after Le Mans for the rest of the ALMS season.
Fellow LMP1 competitors Dyson Racing also announced an upgrade from their troublesome Lola EX257s to brand new B06/10s with the new AER Turbo V8 engine unit. As part of their purchase, Dyson in turn sold off their EX257s. Occasional ALMS entrant Autocon Motorsports bought one chassis, while former Intersport partner Highcroft Racing bought the other, leading to an enlarged LMP1 field for 2006.
In LMP2 the teams of Miracle Motorsports, B-K Motorsports, Intersport Racing, and Penske Racing all planned to make a return to the series. Penske's initial one-car effort towards the end of 2005 was expanded to two cars for 2006, while the four other teams kept their efforts the same.
In GT1, the field appeared to be shrinking. Corvette Racing's commitment was certain, but Aston Martin Racing, now running Pirelli tyres instead of Michelin, was only able to promise Sebring in the beginning, later stating they'd also run Houston and Mid-Ohio in preparation for Le Mans. Their involvement for the rest of the season was left as merely a rumor. ACEMCO Motorsports's future in ALMS was also uncertain, with the team scrounging for cash to be able to continue racing. Former GT1 team Carsport America finally folded following the 2005 season, with their Dodge Viper GTS-R greatly outdated. The involvement of Maserati in the series was also pulled due to the cancelling of the project by the corporate heads since it never reached its initial plans, and the continued restrictions put in place by IMSA.
The GT2 class was also more of the same, with returning favorites Flying Lizard Motorsports, J3 Racing, Petersen/White Lightning, Panoz Motorsports, and Alex Job, although Alex Job's effort was now brought down to a single entry due to his expanded involvement in Grand-Am. Risi Competizione, who had run the Maserati in 2005, promised to return to GT2 with Ferrari's upcoming replacement to the Ferrari 360, the new F430.
The ALMS also created a new class of competitors, known as GT2S, designed to allow racing cars based on production vehicles which had seats for four in a coupe or sedan body style. Cars of this type were now allowed by ACO rules, but IMSA agreed that these cars would not be eligible for Le Mans entry even if they won Petit Le Mans or the season championship. These cars however would be competitively equal to the GT2 class and would compete accordingly with them. The long time BMW factory supported effort of Team PTG announced their return of the BMW M3 to the series, while Lexus announced their intentions to bring a new purpose built racing car built off of the IS. Rumors also speculated that Cadillac could bring their CTS-V SpeedGT program to the series. However, come the beginning of the season, neither Lexus nor Cadillac showed, leaving the BMW M3 as the only true GT2S competitor. The GT2S notion was shelved midseason.
From the standpoint of the 2006 schedule, two major changes were made. First, to replace the earlier round at Road Atlanta held soon after Sebring, a new temporary street circuit near Houston's Reliant Park was announced in cooperation with Champ Car. The round at Infineon Raceway was replaced with Miller Motorsports Park, a new racing facility near Salt Lake City.
Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring | Sebring International Raceway | March 18 |
2 | Lone Star Grand Prix | Reliant Park | May 12 |
3 | American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio | Mid-Ohio | May 21 |
4 | New England Grand Prix | Lime Rock Park | July 1 |
5 | Utah Grand Prix | Miller Motorsports Park | July 15 |
6 | Portland Grand Prix | Portland International Raceway | July 22 |
7 | Generac 500 at Road America | Road America | August 20 |
8 | Grand Prix of Mosport | Mosport | September 3 |
9 | Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda CX-7 | Road Atlanta | September 30 |
10 | Monterey Sports Car Championships | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | October 21 |
Sources: [1] [2] |
All races are 2 Hours and 45 Minutes except for Sebring (12 Hours), Petit Le Mans (10 Hours or 1000 Miles), and Laguna Seca (4 Hours). [1]
Overall winner in bold.
Points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order: [4]
Exceptions were for the 4 Hour Monterey Sports Car Championships was scored in the following order:
And for the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans which award the top 10 finishers in the following order:
Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Teams only score the points of their highest finishing entry in each race.
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Audi Sport North America | Audi R8 Audi R10 TDI | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 Audi TDI 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | 26 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 215 |
2 | Dyson Racing Team | Lola B06/10 | AER P32T 3.6L Turbo V8 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 125 | ||
3 | Autocon Motorsports | MG-Lola EX257 | AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 56 | ||||
4 | Highcroft Racing | MG-Lola EX257 | AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 19 | 45 | ||||||
5 | Zytek Engineering | Zytek 06S | Zytek 2ZG408 4.0L V8 | 22 | 11 | 33 | ||||||||
6 | Creation Autosportif | Creation CA06/H | Judd GV5 5.0L V10 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Penske Racing | Porsche RS Spyder | Porsche MR6 3.4L V8 | 22 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 200 |
2 | Intersport Racing | Lola B05/40 | AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 26 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 166 |
3 | B-K Motorsport | Courage C65 | Mazda R20B 2.0L 3-Rotor | 14 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 67 | |||||
4 | Horag Lista Racing | Lola B05/40 | Judd XV675 3.4L V8 | 19 | 19 | |||||||||
5= | Binnie Motorsports | Lola B05/42 | Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8 | 18 | 18 | |||||||||
5= | Van der Steur Racing | Lola B2K/40 Radical SR9 | AER P14 3.0L V6 AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 10 | 8 | 18 | ||||||||
7 | Barazi-Epsilon | Courage C65 | AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
8 | Team Bruichladdich Radical | Radical SR9 | AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 | 11 | 11 |
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | Chevrolet 7.0L V8 | 26 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 189 |
2 | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin DBR9 | Aston Martin 6.0L V12 | 22 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 186 |
3 | Konrad Motorsport | Saleen S7-R | Ford 7.0L V8 | 14 | 14 |
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Risi Competizione | Ferrari F430 GT2 | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 161 |
2 | Petersen/White Lightning | Porsche 911 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8L Flat-6 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 6 | 26 | 19 | 147 |
3 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Porsche 911 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8L Flat-6 | 22 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 145 |
4 | Multimatic Motorsports | Panoz Esperante GT-LM | Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8 | 26 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 11 | 111 |
5 | Alex Job Racing | Porsche 911 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 12 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 89 | |
4 | BMW Team PTG | BMW M3 | BMW 3.4L I6 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 84 | ||
7 | Team LNT | Panoz Esperante GT-LM | Ford (Élan) 5.0L V8 | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
8 | Spyker Squadron | Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R | Audi 3.8L V8 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
9 | J-3 Racing | Porsche 911 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 8 | 8 |
Points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order: [4]
Exceptions were for the 4 Hour Monterey Sports Car Championships was scored in the following order:
And for the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans, which award the top 10 finishers in the following order:
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.
Pos | Driver | Team | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 | Rnd 7 | Rnd 8 | Rnd 9 | Rnd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Oliver Gavin | Corvette Racing | 26 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 176 |
1= | Olivier Beretta | Corvette Racing | 26 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 176 |
3 | Stéphane Sarrazin | Aston Martin Racing | 22 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 163 |
4 | Tomáš Enge | Aston Martin Racing | 19 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 13 | 159 |
5= | Ron Fellows | Corvette Racing | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 152 |
5= | Johnny O'Connell | Corvette Racing | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 152 |
7 | Pedro Lamy | Aston Martin Racing | 22 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 147 | |
8 | Darren Turner | Aston Martin Racing | 19 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 26 | 13 | 146 | |
9 | Jan Magnussen | Corvette Racing | 26 | 16 | 42 | ||||||||
10 | Max Papis | Corvette Racing | 16 | 19 | 35 | ||||||||
11 | Jason Bright | Aston Martin Racing | 22 | 22 | |||||||||
12 | Nicolas Kiesa | Aston Martin Racing | 19 | 19 | |||||||||
13 | Andrea Piccini | Aston Martin Racing | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
14= | Terry Borcheller | Konrad Motorsport | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
14= | Tom Weickardt | Konrad Motorsport | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
14= | Jean-Philippe Belloc | Konrad Motorsport | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
17 | Peter Kox | Aston Martin Racing | 13 | 13 |
William Anthony Auberlen is an American factory race car driver known for his affiliation with BMW, driving cars made and run by the famous German marque for a number of years. Auberlen currently competes for Turner Motorsport in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge. He is the winningest driver in IMSA history.
The 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 74th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place over 17–18 June 2006. The winners of the race were Frank Biela, Marco Werner, and Emanuele Pirro, driving the Audi R10 TDI. For the first time in the history of the race, the winner was a diesel-powered car.
The 2005 American Le Mans Series season was the 35th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with it being the seventh under the American Le Mans Series moniker. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 19, 2005 and ended October 16, 2005 after 10 races.
The 2003 American Le Mans Series season was the fifth season for the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and the 33rd overall season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP900, LMP675, GTS, and GT. It began March 15, 2003, and ended October 18, 2003, after nine races.
The 2001 American Le Mans Series season was the third season for the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and the 31st overall season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP900, LMP675, GTS, and GT. It began March 4, 2001 and ended October 6, 2001 after 10 races.
The 2000 American Le Mans Series was the second running of the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and overall the 30th season of an IMSA GT Championship, dating back to the 1971 edition. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 3 classes: LMP, GTS, and GT. It began March 18, 2000 and ended December 31, 2000 after 12 races.
The 2007 American Le Mans Series season was the 37th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the ninth labeled as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into 4 classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 17, 2007, and ended October 20, 2007 after 12 races. It was the league's longest season since 2000.
The 1998 Petit Le Mans was the seventh race for the 1998 IMSA GT Championship season, then known as the Professional SportsCar Racing series. It also served as a prelude to the first American Le Mans Series race held at Sebring in 1999. Don Panoz's American Le Mans Series was developed with the backing of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the ruling body of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It took place on October 11, 1998.
The 1998 Professional SportsCar Racing Championship season was the 28th season of the IMSA GT Championship, the final one of the original IMSA. It consisted of an open-cockpit World Sports Car (WSC) class of prototypes and Grand Tourer-style racing cars divided into GT1, GT2, and GT3 classes. It began March 22, 1998, and ended October 25, 1998, after eight rounds.
Johnny Mowlem is a professional British racing driver. During his career Mowlem was ranked amongst the best sports car/GT drivers in the world. Mowlem famously fell off his chair whilst commentating at the 2023 Le Mans 24hr race, having competed in every class of world championship sports car racing.
The 2008 American Le Mans Series season was the 38th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the tenth season known as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 15 and ended October 18 after eleven races.
Risi Competizione is an Italo-American auto racing Ferrari factory-backed team formed by Giuseppe Risi in 1997. Initially, the team had a partnership with Doyle Racing using the name Doyle-Risi Racing, but soon Giuseppe Risi took full control of the project and it was rebranded with its current name in 2000. Risi Competizione has won races and championships in the IMSA GT championship, American Le Mans Series, and Rolex Sports Car Series, as well as earning three class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998, 2008 and 2009. Much of Risi Competizione's success has come through the use of Ferrari machines.
The 2009 American Le Mans Series season was the 39th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with it being the eleventh season with the American Le Mans Series moniker. It began on March 21, 2009, and ended on October 10, 2009 after ten events. The series was composed of Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. A fifth category, known as the Challenge class, was also added for select races and featured Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars from the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. 2009 was also the final year for GT1, with Corvette Racing abandoning the class after Long Beach and switching over to much more competitive GT2 class.
The 2009 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 57th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the opening round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida on March 21, 2009. Three new cars made their debut at Sebring: Audi's diesel R15 TDI, Acura's first LMP1 entry the ARX-02a, and the return of the BMW M3 to the GT2 category. It was also the last time GT1 category raced at the event.
The 2010 American Le Mans Series season was the 40th overall season for the IMSA GT Championship, and the twelfth as the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. It was also the first season in which the ALMS used a revised structure for its four classes, as well as the first year in a three-year sponsorship deal with Patrón. The season began with the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 20 and ended with the Petit Le Mans on October 2, completing nine total races.
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.
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing was a motorsports group from Indianapolis, Indiana. The team was founded in 2007 by CytoSport co-founder and former IMSA GT Championship driver Greg Pickett. Since 2007, Pickett's team has competed in the United SportsCar Championship, the American Le Mans Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge. The team officially closed in 2014.
Champion Racing was a sports car racing team based in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj, a former rally driver from Trinidad, as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors car dealership, the team has campaigned various Porsches and Audis in North American road racing series. Champion Racing's extensive record includes a win at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005, and 5 straight American Le Mans Series LMP1 championships, 2 as a private team and 3 as a factory team under the name Audi Sport North America.
Intersport Racing is a former American auto racing team founded by Jon Field. The team was based in Dublin, Ohio. They previously operated two Oreca FLM09 sports cars in the American Le Mans Series. At current, the company has transitioned into diet supplements.
Lucas Luhr is a German racing driver. He is a staple of the American Le Mans Series during the 2000s and early 2010s, winning the GT class with Porsche in 2002, the LMP2 category in 2006, and taking the overall LMP1 championship as part of the Audi Sport North America works outfit in 2008. He also won the P1 title in 2012 and 2013, driving for Honda-fielding Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.