It’s official! Today the ALMS cars have again hit the track for the 2011 season – this time in their Sebring Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

This two-day test session is in preparation for next month’s Twelve Hours of Sebring, that will run the weekend of March 16th – 19th, and is a great preview of what we should expect for the year ahead.

To see the dates for all the events, please visit our page:
2011 Schedule of the American Le Mans Series.

The 2011 race schedule of the American Le Mans Series was released earlier today, with a few changes to shake things up. Though most of the venues look familiar, some of their dates do not.

Notable changes include Mosport International Raceway’s Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport, which will be run a month earlier from July 22nd – 24th, and Mazda Raceway’s American Le Mans Series Monterey presented by Patron, which will return to the fall, racing the weekend of Sep 15th – 17th.

Added to the schedule this season includes the ALMS’ first running of the Baltimore Grand Prix. Running along the city’s Inner Harbor should make a great backdrop for what’s bound to be a great weekend of racing.

2011 ALMS Schedule:

February 9-10: Sebring International Raceway’s Winter Test
March 19: Sebring International Raceway
April 16: Long Beach Street Circuit
July 9: Lime Rock Park
July 31: Mosport International Raceway
August 6: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August 21: Road America
September 3: Baltimore Street Circuit
September 17: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
October 1: Road Atlanta

A more detailed 2011 ALMS Schedule can be found here.

Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, and Tom Kristensen snagged the overall honors at the MOBIL 1 12 Hours of Sebring in their No. 2 Audi R15 TDI earlier today. The team lead the field eight times throughout the event, registering in the first position for 155 of the total 383 laps. The fastest qualifying P1 entry – the No. 66 Acura of Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud, and Scott Dixon, suffered from mechanical problems, forcing them to complete only 246 laps.

Only one P2 class entry remained on the track as the checkered flag waved, bringing the No. 15 Lowe’s Acura of Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez to their first class win of the year. Despite being the only P2 left in the race, the team continued their hard charge right up until the final moments of the race, turning their fastest lap of the event with just one to go.

With only one team entered in GT1, the two sister Corvette C6Rs were racing for little more than team bragging rights. In the end, the No. 3 machine driven by Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, and Antonio Garcia, edged out the No. 4 entry piloted by Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Marcel Fässler. Both teams finished in an impressive 6th and 7th overall.

GT2 saw 13 cars start the race, allowing for some serious competition throughout the day. In the end, the No. 62 Ferrari 430 GT of Mika Salo, Pierre Kaffer, and Jaime Melo, celebrated their victory coming to the line two laps ahead of their closest competitors – the No. 95 Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni, Mathias Russo, and Luis Companc.

The top finishers included:

Pos   No  Class  Car                  Drivers
  1   #2     P1  Audi R15 TDI         Allan McNish
                                      Dindo Capello
                                      Tom Kristensen

  2  #08     P1  Peugeot 908 HDI FAP  Franck Montagny
                                      Stephane Sarrazin
                                      Sebastien Bourdais

  3   #1     P1  Audi R15 TDI         Mike Rockenfeller
                                      Marco Werner
                                      Lucas Luhr

  4  #15     P2  Acura ARX-01B        Luis Diaz
                                      Adrian Fernandez

  5  #07     P1  Peugeot 908 HDI FAP  Pedro Lamy
                                      Nicolas Minassian
                                      Christian Klein

  6   #3    GT1  Corvette C6R         Jan Magnussen
                                      Johnny O'Connell
                                      Antonio Garcia

  7   #4    GT1  Corvette C6R         Oliver Gavin
                                      Olivier Beretta
                                      Marcel Fassler

  8  #62    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Mika Salo
                                      Pierre Kaffer
                                      Jaime Melo

  9  #95    GT2  Ferrari 430 GT       Gianmaria Bruni
                                      Mathias Russo
                                      Luis Companc

 10  #21    GT2  Panoz Esperante      Dominik Farnbacher
                                      Ian James

Related Links:
American Le Mans Series: Schedule, Standings, Latest News, Videos

The first SPEED World Challenge race of the year was won by Tony Rivera earlier today at Sebring International Raceway. He beat out the second place finisher, Eric Curran, who had led for the middle portion of the race, by just 2.049 seconds. Brandon Davis, Tony Gaples, and James Sofronas rounded out the top five.

David Welch, the leading rookie in the field, finished 7th, while the pole-sitter, Dino Crescentini, suffered from mechanical issues and only managed to complete 16 of the total 20 laps, finishing in 17th.

Top Finishers in the 2009 SPEED GT Race at Sebring

Pos  No  Driver               Make
  1  97  Tony Rivera          Porsche 911 GT3
  2  30  Eric Curran          Chevrolet Corvette
  3  10  Brandon Davis        Ford Mustang Cobra
  4  34  Tony Gaples          Chevrolet Corvette
  5  14  James Sofronas       Porsche 911 GT3
  6  35  Andrew Aquilante     Chevrolet Corvette
  7  13  David Welch (R)      Dodge Viper
  8  05  William Ziegler (R)  Porsche 911 GT3
  9  06  Joey Scarallo        Pontiac GTO
 10  44  Lee Saunders (R)     Dodge Viper

Related Links:
SPEED World Challenge GT: Schedule, Standings, Videos

Today’s SPEED TC race at Sebring was won by Seth Thomas, driver of the #38 BMW 328i. Thomas started the race from the outside pole position, in line with the fastest qualifying driver, Pierre Kleinubing, who went on to finish second in today’s race.

Full Results from the 2009 SPEED TC Race in Sebring

Pos  No  Driver               Make
  1  38  Seth Thomas          BMW 328i
  2  42  Pierre Kleinubing    Acura TSX
  3  74  Jason Saini          Mazda6
  4  75  Eric Foss (R)        Mazda6
  5  34  Nick Esayian         BMW 328i
  6  36  James Clay           BMW 328i
  7  95  Michael Galati       Mazda6
  8  35  Andrew Aquilante     Subaru WRX
  9   1  Peter Cunningham     Acura TSX
 10  45  Jeff Courtney        Acura TSX
 11  43  Toby Grahovec        Acura TSX
 12  73  Charles Espenlaub    Mazda6
 13  44  Kuno Wittmer         Acura TSX
 14  97  Chip Herr            Mazda6

Related Links:
SPEED World Challenge TC: Schedule, Standings, Videos