A few words from the ALMS President and CEO

It’s a mid-term election year, and while most candidates are not strutting around singing “Happy days are here again,” I have to tell you that following the unquestioned success of our season finale at Petit Le Mans, those of us here at the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón were humming exactly that… at least for a day or two.

 

Now it’s back to work for the rapidly approaching 2011 season and to build upon what many are calling the most successful season in ALMS history. But before I tell you what were are looking toward, let’s take look back at what we achieved in 2010:

•    We named our first presenting sponsor (Tequila Patrón)

•    We added four new corporate partners (Freescale Semiconductor, Yancey’s Fancy Cheese, Battery Tender, Tequila Patrón)

•    We had our largest full-season grid in history (33)

•    All four class championships (driver, team and mfr) came down to the final race – an ALMS first.

•    We witnessed a new full-season factory GT program – Jaguar

•    We further developed our position as the Global Leader in Green Racing

•    We introduced our fourth alternative fuel (IsoButanol – thanks to our friends at BP, Mazda and Dyson Racing)

•    We introduced the first factory production-based hybrid to North America (Porsche 911 GT3 R) – amid great worldwide as well as North American mainstream media attention in markets such as New York City, Washington, DC and Atlanta.

•    The U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environment Protection Agency collaborated with ALMS  to present on-campus programs with leading automotive research universities

•    We were invited to Washington, DC by our government partners to showcase our position as the most relevant, technically advanced and green motorsports platform in North America

•    Corporate hospitality sales / involvement set records at several race venues

•    Road Atlanta set a record race-week attendance of more than 124,000 for Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA 2

•    More than 12,000 fans kicked off Petit Le Mans a week early at the inaugural Motorsports on Main in Greenville, SC. Many thanks to Michelin for its efforts as the driving force

•    We announced a new race market for 2011 – Baltimore, which ranks as one of the 20 largest media and consumer markets in America.

•    We announced the addition of yet another top level professional GT team for 2011 with West Racing partnering with Lamborghini and Yokohama

•    We played host to the first Intercontinental Le Mans Cup on North American soil – Petit Le Mans

•    We received some of the best mainstream media coverage ever – a testament to the Series’ rise in popularity (e.g. – 7-minute feature on CNN; cover stories in Road & Track, RACER, Race Tech Engineering; and major headlines and feature articles in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times and USA Today)

•    We experimented with a bold, new approach to out television broadcast with a “docudrama” style production featured with our CBS network shows

•    We streamed two races in-full online to rave reviews from fans and competitors alike. Consider this a plug, but both the Mazda Raceway and Mid-Ohio rounds are available on-demand at americanlemans.com.

Quite a year! But to borrow a phrase from our friends at Porsche used in the marketing of its hybrid – we are not about to rest on our laurels. 

As we move forward, we are working hard to confirm a new, vibrant and integrated television / communications package that will elevate the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón to new levels of excitement and awareness. That will coincide with an expansion of our online platforms. We plan on taking advantage not only of valuable broadcast time, but live program streaming and social media components as well.

In compliance with the ACO’s 2011 rules, we will once again operate both an LMP1 and LMP2 class along with the overwhelming successes of LMPC, GTC and our 2010 stalwart GT class. The ACO has agreed to grandfather current prototypes for 2011 competition in LMP1, while the new LMP2 rules open opportunities for constructors such as Honda, Riley and Ford.  We anticipate an increased demand for both of the Series’ Challenge. The GT class will again be classic ‘mano-a-mano’ battle with the likes of BMW, Corvette, Porsche, Jaguar, Ferrari, Ford, Panoz and now Lamborghini battling head-to-head.

There has been much interest from new marketing partners to align with our Series as the word begins to resonate on the valuable ROI affiliated with the ALMS. In addition, we have received overtures from several viable race markets about bringing the world’s top sports car series to their cities along with, perhaps, a new manufacturer or two.

The “off-season” (there is no such thing) is often just as hectic as the in-season but in a different sort of way. The planning, the meetings with constituents and new prospects, the self-evaluating and analysis become heightened each year. All good problems to have. It is the price one pays for success … because there is no resting upon our laurels.

I would be remiss if I closed before thanking everyone who played significant roles into making 2010 our best season ever – our promoters, our teams, our drivers, our corporate partners, and our IMSA and ALMS staff, all of which worked tirelessly and sometimes thanklessly way past hours deemed normal to most. But that dedication is the hallmark of success.

Thank you to all.

© RIF | ALMS