The 2008 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut on July 12, 2008. It was the first event to take place at Lime Rock since portions of the track were redesigned and the entire surface repaved. [1]
Acura scored their first overall win in the American Le Mans Series since they debuted their ARX-01 program in 2007. The #9 Highcroft Racing Acura of Scott Sharp and David Brabham managed to accomplish the feat with Brabham making a late charge and taking the overall lead in the final 90 seconds of the race, passing the #7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder of Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. [2]
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC). [3]
Scott Sharp is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing League.
The RS Spyder is a racing car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s. The car marked Porsche's first return to the top level of sports prototype racing since the firm abandoned its Porsche LMP in 1999.
Fernández Racing was a Mexican motor racing team that competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car, the IRL IndyCar Series, and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The team was co-founded by Adrian Fernández and Tom Anderson in 2001.
Simon Pierre Michel Pagenaud is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class championship title in the 2010 American Le Mans Series, he moved to the Indycar Series where he became the 2016 IndyCar champion and the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner, becoming the first French driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920 and the first polesitter to have won the race since Helio Castroneves in 2009.
The Acura ARX-01, later known as the HPD ARX-01 is a series of Le Mans Prototype built for sports car racing, specifically in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is the first purpose-built race car by the Acura division of Honda Motor Company, part of their multi-year program to eventually compete in endurance race. The car debuted in 2007 in the American Le mans Series before expanding to customers in Europe. Over the years various specifications of the ARX-01 chassis have been developed, each signified by a letter suffix. In 2010 Acura withdrew their name from the program and Honda Performance Development which developed the car for Acura continued the program into 2011.
Marino Alessandro Cesare Franchitti is a British racing driver, and the younger brother of Dario Franchitti. He has spent the majority of his career racing in sports cars and grand tourers, with a career highlight of winning the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring.
Highcroft Racing was an American auto racing team based out of Danbury, Connecticut and founded by driver Duncan Dayton in 1989. Initially founded for Dayton's involvement in historic motorsport, specifically the restoration and preparation of classic automobiles, the team was expanded for Dayton's entry into the USAC Formula Ford 2000 series in 1994. The team entered a partnership with Intersport Racing in 2003 and entered the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
The Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch was the ninth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Belle Isle temporary street circuit, Michigan on August 30, 2008.
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 2008 Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón was the eleventh and final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, California on 18 October 2008. It was the first time the event had a sponsor in its name since the 2004 season.
The Acura ARX-02a was a Le Mans Prototype constructed by Acura for competition in the LMP1 category of the American Le Mans Series. It was Acura's second Le Mans Prototype, following their ARX-01 which competed in the LMP2 category.
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 2009 Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach was the third round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Long Beach street circuit, California on April 18, 2009.
The 2009 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut on July 18, 2009.
The 2009 Acura Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio was the sixth round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio on August 8, 2009. Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud won their fourth consecutive race, beating the Highcroft Racing Acura by 8.3 seconds. After losing out at the previous round at Lime Rock Park, Fernández Racing Acura won the LMP2 category for the fifth time this season, ahead of class newcomer Team Cytosport's Porsche RS Spyder. Flying Lizard Motorsports also continued their winning streak by claiming the GT2 class victory, beating the debuting revamped Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R. Martin and Melanie Snow won the ALMS Challenge class by a gap of two laps over the second place Orbit Racing Porsche.
The 2009 Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase was the seventh round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 16, 2009. David Brabham and Scott Sharp won for Patrón Highcroft Racing, while fellow Acura team Lowe's Fernández Racing won the LMP2 category. BMW Rahal Letterman Racing won their first race of the season in the GT2 category, while Snow Racing led the ALMS Challenge class.
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 2009 Grand Prix of Mosport presented by Mobil 1 is the eighth round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on August 30, 2009. David Brabham and Scott Sharp won their second straight ALMS race for Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura, while drivers Adrian Fernández and Luis Díaz and the Lowe's Fernández Racing Acura team secured their respective LMP2 championships with victory at Mosport, their seventh of the season. Corvette Racing earned their first victory since the team moved to the GT2 category two rounds prior. The ALMS Challenge category did not participate in this event due to the high speed differences between various classes.
The 2009 Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda6 was the twelfth running of the Petit Le Mans and the ninth round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia, on September 26, 2009. Originally scheduled to run for a distance of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or a time of ten hours, the race was stopped after four hours due to heavy rains. The race was not restarted and the results were determined from the final lap prior to the stoppage.
The 2010 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was held at Lime Rock Park on July 24, 2010. It was the fifth round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season.
