The 2013 Orion Energy Systems 245 was a sports car race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 11, 2013. The race was the sixth round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series.
The 2013 Orion Energy Systems 245 was a sports car race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 11, 2013. The race was the sixth round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series.
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2013 American Le Mans Series schedule in October 2012. [1] It was the twelfth consecutive year the event was held as part of the American Le Mans Series. The 2013 Orion Energy Systems 245 was the sixth of ten scheduled sports car races of 2013 American Le Mans Series. [2] It was held at the fourteen-turn 4.048 mi (6.515 km) Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on August 11, 2013. [1] The event was run alongside the Rolex Sports Car Series event as a double-header. [2]
Before the race, Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr led the P1 Drivers' Championship with 102 points, 44 ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Neel Jani. [3] With 92 points, Marino Franchitti led the P2 Drivers' Championship over Scott Tucker by 3 points. [3] In PC, Colin Braun led the Drivers' Championship with 86 points, ahead of Mike Guasch. [3] Dirk Müller led the GT Drivers' Championship with 70 points, 5 points ahead of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner. [3] With 77 points, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil led the GTC Drivers' Championship, ahead of Nelson Canache Jr. and Spencer Pumpelly. [3]
A 65-minute qualifying session divided into four 15-minute sessions was held in the morning of August 10. [5] The rules required each team to nominate one qualifying driver, with the quickest laps determining each class' starting order. [6]
Luhr's 1:51.460 lap secured Muscle Milk's third pole position. [7] The lap time was more than two-seconds faster than McMurry's No. 16 Dyson Lola and Legge in the DeltaWing rounded out the P1 field. [7] [8] Level 5 earned the P2 pole position with a time of 1:54.806 set by Franchitti. Cosmo's No. 01 ESM car and Simon Pagenaud's Level 5 entry were second and third in class. [9] [7]
Colin Braun took his fifth pole position of the season in PC with a lap of 1 minute, 57.630 seconds. He was joined by Bruno Junqueira's RSR Racing car on the grid's front row with his best lap being 0.082 second slower. [7] Bomarito's 2:03.410 lap secured him his second consecutive pole position of the season in GT. García qualified the No. 3. Corvette second. Keen in the No. 23 AJR Ferrari set the third fastest time, but would start at the back of the field after his car failed the post-qualifying technical inspection. As a result, Oliver Gavin would start in third position. [7] Pumpelly reset the GTC lap record with a time of 2:11.931, putting the No. 45 Flying Lizard on pole. [10] Edwards qualified the NGT car second and Heylen's No. 11 JDX Porsche was third in class. [7]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Entry | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P1 | 6 |  Muscle Milk Pickett Racing |  Lucas Luhr | 1:51.460 | — | 1‡ |
| 2 | P1 | 16 | Dyson Racing Team | Chris McMurry | 1:53.580 | +2.120 | 2 |
| 3 | P2 | 552 | Level 5 Motorsports |  Marino Franchitti | 1:54.806 | +3.346 | 3‡ |
| 4 | P1 | 0 | DeltaWing Racing Cars | Katherine Legge | 1:55.362 | +3.902 | 4 |
| 5 | P2 | 01 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | Guy Cosmo | 1:55.622 | +4.162 | 5 |
| 6 | P2 | 551 | Level 5 Motorsports |  Simon Pagenaud | 1:55.793 | +4.333 | 6 |
| 7 | P2 | 02 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | Johannes van Overbeek | 1:56.085 | +4.625 | 7 |
| 8 | PC | 05 | CORE Autosport | Colin Braun | 1:57.630 | +6.170 | 8‡ |
| 9 | PC | 9 | RSR Racing |  Bruno Junqueira | 1:57.712 | +6.252 | 9 |
| 10 | PC | 18 | Performance Tech Motorsports | Tristan Nunez | 1:57.885 | +6.425 | 10 |
| 11 | PC | 81 | DragonSpeed |  Renger van der Zande | 1:57.912 | +6.452 | 11 |
| 12 | PC | 8 | BAR1 Motorsports |  Kyle Marcelli | 1:58.399 | +6.939 | 12 |
| 13 | PC | 7 | BAR1 Motorsports | Rusty Mitchell | 2:00.352 | +8.892 | 13 |
| 14 | PC | 52 | PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports | Mike Guasch | 2:00.478 | +9.018 | 14 |
| 15 | GT | 93 | SRT Motorsports | Jonathan Bomarito | 2:03.410 | +11.950 | 15‡ |
| 16 | GT | 3 | Corvette Racing |  Antonio García | 2:04.212 | +12.752 | 16 |
| 17 | GT | 23 | Team West/AJR/Boardwalk Ferrari | Leh Keen | 2:04.269 | +12.809 | 33 1 |
| 18 | GT | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin | 2:04.277 | +12.817 | 17 |
| 19 | GT | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Marco Holzer | 2:04.347 | +12.887 | 18 |
| 20 | GT | 91 | SRT Motorsports | Dominik Farnbacher | 2:04.427 | +12.967 | 19 |
| 21 | GT | 55 | BMW Team RLL | Bill Auberlen | 2:04.609 | +13.149 | 20 |
| 22 | GT | 06 | CORE Autosport | Patrick Long | 2:04.619 | +13.159 | 21 |
| 23 | GT | 56 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards | 2:04.630 | +13.170 | 22 |
| 24 | GT | 62 | Risi Competizione |  Matteo Malucelli | 2:04.911 | +13.451 | 23 |
| 25 | GT | 17 | Team Falken Tire | Bryan Sellers | 2:06.088 | +14.628 | 24 |
| 26 | GTC | 45 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Spencer Pumpelly | 2:11.931 | +20.471 | 25‡ |
| 27 | GTC | 30 | NGT Motorsport | Sean Edwards | 2:12.386 | +20.926 | 26 |
| 28 | GTC | 11 | JDX Racing |  Jan Heylen | 2:12.403 | +20.943 | 27 |
| 29 | GTC | 66 | TRG |  Damien Faulkner | 2:12.489 | +21.029 | 28 |
| 30 | GTC | 44 | Flying Lizard Motorsports |  Dion von Moltke | 2:12.844 | +21.384 | 29 |
| 31 | GTC | 22 | Alex Job Racing | Jeroen Bleekemolen | 2:12.989 | +21.529 | 30 |
| 32 | GTC | 27 | Dempsey Racing/Del Piero | Andy Lally | 2:13.047 | +21.587 | 31 |
| 33 | GTC | 68 | TRG | Jeff Courtney | 2:15.073 | +23.613 | 32 |
| Sources: [11] [12] | |||||||
Class winners in bold and ‡. Cars failing to complete 70% of their class winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).
Ryan John Briscoe is an Australian–American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
George Dario Marino Franchitti is a British motorsport commentator and retired motor racing driver from Scotland. Franchitti won the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the Indianapolis 500 in 2007, 2010 and 2012; and the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Andretti Green Racing (AGR) and later Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).
Mathias Lauda is an Austrian racing driver notable for winning the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship for Aston Martin Racing in the LMGTE Am category. He is the son of the late three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda and his first wife, Marlene Knaus. He has a brother, Lukas, who was his manager during his racing career.
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.
Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver, 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.
Robert Franklin "Butch" Leitzinger is an American professional racing driver. He is best known as an ALMS driver with Dyson Racing, but he has also driven for a variety of other teams and race series. He won the IMSA Pro WSC Ckampionship driver's titles in both 1997 and 1998 while driving for Dyson Racing. Also a three time winner of the Daytona 24 hours race in 1994, 1997 and 1999.
Michael Robert Conway is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Simon Pierre Michel Pagenaud is a French professional racing driver, who last drove the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the NTT 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 driver born in France to win the Indianapolis 500 since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920 and the first polesitter to have won the race since Helio Castroneves in 2009.
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.
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.
Joseph Alan Hand is an American professional racing driver who competes in sports car racing as a Ford factory driver. A former champion of the Star Mazda Series, Hand is the co-winner of the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring GT class for BMW Team Rahal, and the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro class for Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA driving the Ford GT. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing.
The DeltaWing is a racing car designed by British race car designer and engineer Ben Bowlby and debuted at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The entry was run under the Project 56 name, composed of Ben Bowlby (design), Dan Gurney's All American Racers (constructor), Duncan Dayton's Highcroft Racing and International Motor Sports Association owner Don Panoz. Nissan's NISMO division provided the engine in return for naming rights for part of 2012.
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.
Mike Rockenfeller, nicknamed "Rocky", is a German professional racing driver and was an Audi factory driver competing in the DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won his first DTM title in 2013, driving for Audi Sport Team Phoenix. He also won the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 2013 American Le Mans Series Monterey was an auto racing event held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, near Monterey, California on May 9–11, 2013. The four-hour race was the third round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series season. Germans Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr defended their 2012 Monterey win with overall victory for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, while Luhr became the winningest driver in American Le Mans Series history. Scott Tucker and Marino Franchitti took P2 honors for Level 5 Motorsports, while Mike Gausch and Luis Díaz won the PC category. Corvette Racing's Jan Magnussen and Antonio García led GT and Henrique Cisneros, Jr. and Nick Tandy won in GTC.
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.
The 16th Annual Petit Le Mans presented by Mazda was the 2013 edition of the Petit Le Mans automotive endurance race, held on October 16–19, 2013, at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia, United States. The 1,000 miles (1,600 km) race was the final Round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series season, as well as the final event of the American Le Mans Series as a whole before the series is reborn as the United SportsCar Championship in 2014. Rebellion Racing's Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost, and Neel Jani won the team's second consecutive Petit Le Mans, a full six laps ahead of the P2 class winning Level 5 Motorsports Honda, who secured a championship for Scott Tucker with the victory. The BAR1 Motorsports won the Prototype Challenge category, their third straight victory of the season. Team Falken Tire Porsche held the GT class lead by less than a second at the finish, while Flying Lizard Motorsports won the GT Challenge category by a margin of six seconds.
Paul-Loup Chatin is a French professional racing driver. He has had notable successes within the LMP2 class, winning the European Le Mans Series in 2014 and 2019, as well as pole positions at the 2018 and 2023 iterations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Other achievements include a class victory at the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona and the LMP2 title in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Manuel Espírito Santo is a Portuguese racing driver who currently drives for Cool Racing in the LMP3 category of the European Le Mans Series.
The 2013 International Sports Car Weekend was a sports car race held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on September 21, 2013. The race was the eighth round of the 2013 American Le Mans Series.
