The 2012 Road America Road Race Showcase was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held at Road America in Wisconsin, United States on August 18, 2012. It was the seventh round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season and the 45th race in the combined history of sportscar races associated with the Road America 500. The race was held over a four-hour period, during which 101 laps of the 6.5-kilometer circuit were completed for a race distance of 658 kilometers.
A year after Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team had beaten the Dyson Racing Team by less than 0.2 seconds, Dyson Racing Team beat the Muscle Milk team by less than 0.1 seconds, giving Dyson Racing Team its first victory at Road America. Lucas Luhr in the Muscle Milke HPD ARX-03a overtook Guy Smith's Lola B12/60 at the final corner of the race only for Smith to win the drag race to the finish line. [1] It was Chris Dyson and Guy Smith's first victory at Road America. Dyson and Smith had overcome a rear of grid start after missing qualifying due to gearbox failure. Dyson Racing Team's second Lola-Mazda of Michael Marsal, Eric Lux and Tony Burgess finished in third place behind Luhr and Klaus Graf.
The season's first championship was decided in Prototype Challenge. When Alex Popow, Tom Kimber-Smith and Jon Bennett won the class in fifth position outright, CORE Autosport secured the teams championship in Prototype Challenge. Just ahead of them in fourth place were the P2 class winners, Conquest Endurance's Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson in their Morgan LMP2. It was their second class win, and the team's biggest victory to date. [1]
Thirteenth outright was the best of the GTs. BMW Team RLL took their second win of the year with Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller joining their BMW M3-equipped teammates as winners in 2012. Second was Porsche team Flying Lizard Motorsports of Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long with Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek.
GT Challenge was claimed when the Alex Job Racing Porsche of Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen crossed the line in 25th position.
31 of the 35 entries were running at the race's conclusion.
Class winners are in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of their class winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC). [2]
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.
Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver and IB English teacher and coordinator in Brazil, who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.
Steven Colin Kane is a British racing driver who currently competes in the Blancpain Endurance Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship for M-Sport Bentley driving a Bentley Continental GT3.
Sascha Maassen is a veteran sports car driver.
Dyson Racing is a professional sports car racing team based in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. Founded by Rob Dyson in 1974, the team competed successfully in North American sports car racing series, including the IMSA GT Championship and American Le Mans Series.
Alex Job Racing is a former professional sports car racing team based in the United States. The team, which is noted for its long-time association with Porsche, has competed in the American Le Mans Series, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge series, and the Rolex Sports Car Series, and fields a two-car effort in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship. On November 22, 2017, it was announced that Alex Job Racing will cease its professional racing operations to focus on its historic restoration and competition business.
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 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.
The HPD ARX-03a, ARX-03b, and ARX-03c are Le Mans Prototypes race cars developed by Honda Performance Development in 2012. The 03a model utilizes a Honda V8 engine for use in the LMP1 category, while the 03b uses a turbocharged V6 engine for the LMP2 category. Three teams have already announced their use of the ARX-03 in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series, as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing have purchased an 03a for use in the American Le Mans Series, joined by two 03bs for Level 5 Motorsports. In the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, Strakka Racing and JRM Racing campaigned a single 03a each, joined by a single-car 03b entry by Starworks Motorsport in LMP2.
The 60th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was a 12-hour automobile endurance race for teams of three drivers each fielding sports prototype and grand touring cars held on March 17, 2012 at the Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida before more than 90,000 spectators. It was the 60th 12 Hours of Sebring and the first round of both the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 2012 American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC), Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE), and Grand Touring Challenge (GTC) cars competed in the race.
The 2013 American Le Mans Series was the fifteenth and final season of the International Motor Sports Association GT Championship being labeled as the American Le Mans Series, before merging up with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014.
The 2012 Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada on July 22, 2012. It was the fifth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season and the 30th Grand Prix of Mosport. The race was held a two hour and 45 minute time period, during which 117 laps of the 3.9 kilometre circuit were completed for a race distance of 463 kilometres.
The 2012 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Ohio, United States on August 4, 2012. It was the sixth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season and the 41st race in the combined history of sportscar races associated with the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. The race was held over a two-hour-and-45-minute time period, during which 123 laps of the 3.6 kilometre circuit were completed for a race distance of 447 kilometres.
The 2012 Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held on the streets of Baltimore in Maryland, United States on September 1, 2012. It was the eighth round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season and the second race Baltimore Sports Car Challenge, and event co-located with the Grand Prix of Baltimore IndyCar race. The race was held over a two-hour time period, during which 67 laps of the 3.3 kilometre circuit were completed for a race distance of 218 kilometres.
The 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón VIR 240 was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, United States on September 15, 2012. It was the ninth and penultimate round of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season. It was a new event for the American Le Mans Series but had been held the previous ten years for the Rolex Sports Car Series. The race was held over a four-hour time period, during which 135 laps of the 3.3 kilometre "Full Course" circuit were completed for a race distance of 710 kilometres.
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.
Timo Bernhard is a former driver from Germany. He was a sports car driver from Porsche, but was seconded to Audi for selected events in 2009 and 2010. He is the ninth and most recent driver to complete the informal triple crown of endurance racing. On 29 June 2018, he became the first person in 35 years to break the all-time Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record, set by Stefan Bellof in 1983 with a Porsche 956, in a derestricted Porsche 919 Evo with a time of 5:19.546.
The 2013 American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was an auto racing event held at Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut, on July 5–6, 2013, and was the fourth round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series season. Muscle Milk Pickett Racing and their drivers Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf earned their third consecutive victory of the season after Dyson Racing fell back. Level 5 Motorsports' Scott Tucker and Ryan Briscoe overcame an incident with Extreme Speed Motorsports in the P2 category to take the victory, but were later penalized championship points for the maneuver. RSR Racing earned their first victory in the PC class in 2013. BMW's John Edwards and Dirk Müller won the GT category, while Flying Lizard Motorsports scored their first win in the GTC category.