Michelin and its technical partner teams expect to lead the way as the strongest field of the year will be on hand for one of the signature events of the American Le Mans Series, the 2009 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, September 26.
Three of the four current 24 Hour of Le Mans champions, (Peugeot, Corvette Racing, and Risi Competizione Ferrari) are entered in the annual 10-Hour/1,000-Mile fall classic held on the 2.54-mile circuit in the red clay foothills of northern Georgia.
Michelin is the technical partner of choice for 18 of the 31 race entries, including the Audi, Peugeot, Acura, Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mazda factory teams, and the independent teams from Oreca, Drayson and Farnbacher Loles. Michelin and its technical partner teams have taken the overall honors at the last 54 consecutive ALMS events and 25 of the 26 ALMS class wins in 2009.
The American Le Mans Series features open competition and Michelin GT2 teams will face strong challenges from Dunlop (BMW) and Yokohama (Panoz) factory teams plus a single independent entry from Falken and a Prototype entry from Kumho.
“The track at Road Atlanta is incredibly fast (lap record average speed is over 138 mph) and at 10-hours/1,000-miles the endurance factors really kick into play,” said Karl Koenigstein, Michelin ALMS technical team leader. “Like Le Mans, teams will want to double-stint their tires here at Petit Le Mans, so the key is to provide Michelin tires that provide both exceptional levels of grip and extended wear.”
Victories at Petit Le Mans provide guaranteed invitations to the 2010 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for each of the three ALMS class winners.
