The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP turbo-diesel coupe of Pedro Lamy, Franck Montagny, and Stephane Sarrazin led a Michelin sweep of the top four positions overall, as Michelin technical partner teams scored the wins in all three ALMS open classes and captured 15 of the top 18 spots in the 1,000 mile event on the hilly and challenging 2.54 mile permanent road circuit. The race, the first American stop for the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, captivated a record crowd as lead changes, championship dreams and late race dramas delivered great competition.
“Road Atlanta is one of the most difficult and demanding tracks in North American and the elevation changes, high speed corners, and endless traffic place tremendous loads on tires,” said Silvia Mammone, motorsports manager, Michelin North America. “It is very satisfying to our engineers, tire developers, chemists and support staff to see all of our technical partners able to perform at a very high level over the entire 1,000 mile race,” said Mammone.
Highcroft HPD Goes “Back-to Back”
Taking the victory in the LMP2 class to celebrate “back-to- back” ALMS championships was the Connecticut-based Highcroft HPD team led by Duncan Dayton and drivers David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti. The victory was the fourth of the year for the Highcroft team which faced stiff competition all season from another Michelin technical partner team, the Muscle Milk Team CytoSport Racing Porsche RS Spyder, for the championship.
Corvette Gets On the Board:A frustrating season of close calls, misfortune and lost opportunities provided a surprising happy ending for Corvette Racing, which ended a year-long victory drought in dramatic fashion. After a race-long battle with rival Risi Competizione Ferrari, Corvette’s luck suddenly turned around on the final lap as it surged past the fuel-starved Ferrari to claim the victory. Extreme Speed Ferrari secured its first podium as a 2010 newcomer, with the Risi Ferrari in third place. Michelin technical partner teams scored GT class wins in eight of the nine 2010 ALMS events as Flying Lizard Porsche (4); Risi Ferrari (3) and Corvette Racing (1) claimed victories in the fierce GT category.
Meet the New Champs, Same as the Old Champs:Flying Lizard Porsche’s Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long successfully defended their GT Driver championship, giving Bergmeister his fifth championship and a third for Long.
Level Five Claims First LMPC :
Scott Tucker’s Level 5 team delivered the first LMP-Challenge class championship with a victory at Petit Le Mans. A single specification series with identical Oreca chassis, Chevrolet engines and Michelin tires, the class provided excellent competition in its inaugural season as Tucker scored five wins to four for Green Earth Team Gunnar and Gunnar Jeannette.
