{"id":2645,"date":"2010-02-23T19:52:45","date_gmt":"2010-02-24T00:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/?p=2645"},"modified":"2010-02-23T19:52:45","modified_gmt":"2010-02-24T00:52:45","slug":"atherton-2010-season-will-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/alms\/atherton-2010-season-will-deliver\/","title":{"rendered":"ATHERTON: 2010 SEASON WILL DELIVER!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Scott Atherton: Never more confident in the outlook for the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n. <\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/h5>\n

American Le Mans Series President and CEO Scott Atherton wishes he had more fingers. As he begins to count all the positive and progressive things that have happened during the offseason, he runs out of digits quickly.\u00a0 The toes may be next.\u00a0 As the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n rolls into its 12th season March 20 with the 58th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida in a few weeks, Atherton\u2019s enthusiasm is evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that according to the pundits, this season is not supposed to give much indication that things are turning around yet,\u201d Atherton said during Media Day at the Series\u2019 annual Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway, \u201cbut sometimes the pundits are wrong \u2013 at least when it comes to the American Le Mans Series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atherton began his address to the media at the annual Sebring Winter Test with an emphasis on the record number cars, 28, attending the test. Later in the evening, he helped introduce Tequila Patr\u00f3n as the presenting sponsor of the world\u2019s leading sports car racing championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bodes well for the 12 Hours,\u201d said Atherton, who predicted a field of 35-plus cars for the season opener.\u00a0 Last year\u2019s field was 26.<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nThe addition of the Le Mans Prototype Challenge class is one of many new features in the 2010 championship.
\n\u00a0
\nNEW CLASS STRUCTURE
\n<\/em><\/strong>One factor in the Series\u2019 rising popularity and car counts was its ability to incorporate the desires of fans and competitors in combining the prototype and GT classes while at the same time creating two \u201cChallenge\u201d classes in each group to develop the talented pool of new, up-and-coming drivers and teams.\u00a0 The GT Challenge class was actually instituted mid-season last year at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.\u00a0 Cars competing in that class, which is currently comprised of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars but will eventually involve other marquees and manufacturers, will run the full race schedule in 2010.\u00a0 The LMP Challenge class will be comprised of at least a half dozen ORECA-Courage FLM09 prototypes.\u00a0 These cars debuted last year as support events for the Le Mans Series in Europe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n

CONTENT IS KING
\n<\/em><\/strong>Among the new full-season entries for 2010 is the two-car Ferrari F430 GT team of Scott Sharp\u2019s Extreme Speed Motorsports.\u00a0 Sharp has persuaded long-time Flying Lizard Motorsports driver Johannes van Overbeek to be his seatmate, while Ed Brown and Guy Cosmo fill car number two.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Veteran Paul Gentilozzi launches Jaugar\u2019s first full-time sports car effort in more than 15 years with a Jaguar XKRS for his JaguarRSR team. He and Marc Goossens will drive the full season with appearances by the likes of Scott Pruett, Tomy Drissi and Ryan Dalziel throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nTeam Falken Tire with its Porsche 911 GT3 RSR is one of several new full-seasons additions to the 2010 grid.
\n\u00a0
\nBlack Swan Racing returns under the direction of environmental developer Tim Pappas, who will campaign a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with former Porsche Supercup champion and past Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner Jeroen Bleekemolen of Monaco. The Black Swan entry is one of four Porsches expected to grace the Sebring GT2 grid. Also among them is Team Falken Tire\u2019s entry, which will compete for the full season with Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers driving.<\/p>\n

In LMP, Lord Drayson returns for a full-season effort with teammate Jonny Cocker in a new Lola-Judd coupe. The Drayson-Cocker partnership competed in the full 2008 season and entered its new closed-cockpit prototype in the final two rounds of 2009.\u00a0 Five-time Le Mans champion and former Audi factory pilot Emanuele Pirro will join them for the endurance races at Sebring, Monterey and Petit Le Mans as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans to which the team has been invited.\u00a0 Drayson is Great Britain\u2019s Minister of Science and Innovation and a worldwide voice on environmental and sustainable energy issues.<\/p>\n

Atherton also pointed out that several international heavyweights will appear periodically on the American Le Mans Series grid this year, beginning with Sebring.<\/p>\n

Peugeot, winner last year at both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le Mans, announced Monday a two-car factory effort for the season opener.\u00a0 Meanwhile Aston Martin Racing, with last year\u2019s LMP2 champion Adrian Fernandez, will race early in the season at both Sebring and Long Beach as it prepares to tackle the formidable Peugeots and Audis at Le Mans in June.\u00a0 Both, as well as other international teams, could return for Road Atlanta\u2019s Petit Le Mans, one of the three events in the ACO\u2019s inaugural Intercontinental Cup comprised of one marquee endurance race in Europe, North America and Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The enthusiasm for 2010 does not rest only in new teams, classes and drivers, however.<\/p>\n

Defending LMP1 champion Patr\u00f3n Highcroft Racing will be among the favorites in the newly combined LMP class.\u00a0 David Brabham returns for Highcroft with new teammates Simon Pagenaud, who drove with Gil de Ferran last year, and Marino Franchitti.\u00a0 Dyson Racing, equipped with its Mazda-powered Lola coupe along with the Porsche RS Spyder of Team Cytosport \u2013 making its first full-season run \u2013 will also battle among the prototypes.\u00a0 Stellar independents Intersport Racing with Jon and Clint Field and Autocon Motorsports \u2013 bound for Le Mans in June \u2013 will also give chase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the GT class is expected to see a season-long battle for the ages with three Porsche teams headed by defending champion Flying Lizard Motorsports, a two-car effort from BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, the formidable Risi Ferrari team, Robertson Racing and Corvette Racing \u2013the most successful team in American Le Mans Series history \u2013 vying for podiums all season long in addition to the aforementioned Extreme Speed Ferraris and JaguarRSR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the strongest GT class we have ever had,\u201d said Atherton.<\/p>\n

GROWTH IN CORPORATE PARTNERS<\/em><\/strong>
\nAmong the most rewarding developments for Atherton and the Series has been the influx of new corporate partners.\u00a0 The Series announced Tequila Patr\u00f3n of the Patr\u00f3n Spirits Company as its presenting sponsor at a lavish reception Monday night, while earlier in the day declaring Yancey\u2019s Fancy Cheese as its official cheese.\u00a0 Both partners plan aggressive in-market activation around all events in 2010.\u00a0 Atherton said several others would likely be announced within the next several weeks.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThere is nothing that sustains and builds a motorsports series better than great content and great corporate partners,\u201d said Atherton.\u00a0 \u201cWe have taken a significant step forward in both those areas and I am confident that 2010 is going to be a very good year for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patro?n.\u201d<\/p>\n

GLOBAL LEADER GREEN RACING<\/em><\/strong>
\nAnother area that has made the American Le Mans Series distinct is its position as the Global Leader in Green Racing.\u00a0 The Series introduced its first alternative fuel in 2006 \u2013 coincidentally at Sebring \u2013 with the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI and has added a new alternative energy or powertrains every year since.\u00a0 In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with SAE International declared the American Le Mans Series the only motorsports series to meet its green racing protocols.\u00a0 The government agencies then created an end-of-season Green Challenge\u2122 award to go to manufacturers whose efforts exhibited the most fuel efficiency, least environment impact and best overall performance for the year among prototypes and GT cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, Michelin created an ancillary award, the MICHELIN\u00ae GREEN X\u00ae Challenge given to teams each race with a season-ending award to the top prototype and GT team.\u00a0 Acura and Porsche won the DOE-EPA Green Challenge\u2122 manufacturer award while Lowe\u2019s Fernandez Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports took home the respective MICHELIN\u00ae GREEN X\u00ae Challenge awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuto manufacturers and our government leaders confirm that racing series which provide opportunities to showcase and develop new consumer technologies \u2013 with an emphasis on the environment \u2013 are the future,\u201d said Atherton.\u00a0 \u201cWe have never been more confident in our position and look forward to expanding our green racing initiatives to better serve the teams and manufacturers competing with us. We are ideally positioned to take advantage of and benefit from the current and future focus of manufacturers\u2019 innovations in sustainable energies.\u201d<\/p>\n

GROWING TELEVSION PRODUCT AND FAN BASE
\n<\/em><\/strong>The 2010 season is not only about increased car counts, new partners and solidifying its role as the Global Leader in Green Racing.\u00a0 The Series averaged nearly 80,000 fans per race event last year while taking its television product to more than 600 million homes worldwide.\u00a0 This season, it plans to include live streaming of all SPEED qualifying and introduced an innovative programming concept for its two CBS telecasts of races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Intersport, a seven-time Emmy award-winning production company best known recently for the film \u201cTruth in 24\u201d that it co-produced with NFL Films, will produce two 90-minute shows for each of the CBS races, focusing on the stories behind and within the race as well as the battles that eventually produce the race champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will see the American Le Mans Series as you have not seen it before,\u201d predicted Atherton. \u201cAnd it will be good \u2026 very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n will open its 12th season with America\u2019s greatest sports car race, the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida from March 17-20. The green flag will fall at 10:35 a.m. on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED. Visit the American Le Mans Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information.<\/p>\n

Source ALMS \u00a9 RIF<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scott Atherton: Never more confident in the outlook for the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr\u00f3n. \u00a0 American Le Mans Series President and CEO Scott Atherton wishes he had more fingers. As he begins to count all the positive and progressive things that have happened during the offseason, he runs out of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[9],"tags":[5264,5334,800,71,755,751,785],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2645"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2656,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2645\/revisions\/2656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racinginfocus.com\/rif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}