The 2009 American Le Mans Series season was the 39th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with it being the eleventh season with the American Le Mans Series moniker. It began on March 21, 2009, and ended on October 10, 2009 after ten events. The series was composed of Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. A fifth category, known as the Challenge class, was also added for select races and featured Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars from the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge.[1] 2009 was also the final year for GT1, with Corvette Racing abandoning the class after Long Beach and switching over to much more competitive GT2 (renamed GT) class.
This was the first time that the Michelin Green X Challenge championship was used throughout a full ALMS season after its initial introduction at the 2008 Petit Le Mans. Two champions were determined by the entry which is the most efficient over the season within the LMP and GT categories.[2]
Patrón Highcroft Racing duo David Brabham and Scott Sharp won the main LMP1 standings, holding off De Ferran Motorsports pairing Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud at the final round of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Adrián Fernández and Luis Díaz won the LMP2 title, in the final season of Fernández Racing, who closed at the end of the 2009 season. In GT2, Flying Lizard Motorsports' Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister won six races en route to the championship title. Husband-and-wife Martin and Melanie Snow won the inaugural GT Challenge class title, that ran at half of the season's ten races.
The 2009 schedule remained mostly identical to the 2008 schedule, although the season was shortened in length. This was done to allow teams from the American Le Mans Series to participate in events for the new Asian Le Mans Series in November.[8] On December 18, 2008, it was announced that the Detroit race would be canceled.[9]
The Challenge class of cars only participated in five rounds in 2009: Utah, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Laguna Seca.[1][10]
Overall winner in bold.
Note that the GT1 class only competed in two rounds. Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, and Antonio García won the 12 Hours of Sebring for Corvette Racing, while Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta won for Corvette at Long Beach.
Points were awarded to the top ten cars and drivers which either finish the race or complete 70% of the winner's distance, except in the ALMS Challenge category where cars and drivers only have to complete 50% of their class winner's distance. Teams with multiple entries only scored the points of their highest finishing entry in each race. Drivers were required to drive a minimum of 45 minutes to earn points, except for the Long Beach event which required only 30 minutes. The GT1 category was only used for two events and no championships were awarded in that category.
Points System | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race Distance | Position | |||||||||
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | |
Less than three hours | 20 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Between four and eight hours | 25 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
More than eight hours | 30 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
Teams with full entries were awarded points in the team championships. Teams which participated in partial season or on a race by race basis were not counted as part of the championship.
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Patrón Highcroft Racing | Acura ARX-02a | Acura AR7 4.0 L V8 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 179 |
2 | de Ferran Motorsports | Acura ARX-02a | Acura AR7 4.0 L V8 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 162 |
3 | Intersport Racing | Lola B06/10 | AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 116 |
4 | Autocon Motorsports | Lola B06/10 | AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 18 | 59 | |
5 | Corsa Motorsports | Ginetta-Zytek GZ09HS | Zytek ZJ458 4.5 L Hybrid V8 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 58 |
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lowe's Fernández Racing | Acura ARX-01B | Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 217 |
2 | Dyson Racing Team | Lola B09/86 | Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 143 |
Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 181 |
2 | Risi Competizione | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 137 |
3 | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | BMW M3 GT2 | BMW 4.0 L V8 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 26 | 11 | 118 |
4 | Farnbacher-Loles Racing | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 102 |
5 | Panoz Team PTG | Panoz Esperante GT-LM | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 95 |
6 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | Chevrolet LS7.R 6.0 L V8 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 90 | |||||
7 | Robertson Racing | Ford GT-R Mk. VII | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 42 |
8 | Primetime Race Group | Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe | Dodge 8.3 L V10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 | ||
9 | Team Falken Tire | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Gruppe Orange tied on points for the ALMS Challenge Team Championship, but Snow Racing broke the tie by having three wins over the season compared to Gruppe Orange's one.
Drivers who participated in races but failed to score points over the course of the season are not listed.
Pos | Driver | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | David Brabham | Patrón Highcroft Racing | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 179 |
1= | Scott Sharp | Patrón Highcroft Racing | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 179 |
3= | Gil de Ferran | de Ferran Motorsports | 0 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 162 |
3= | Simon Pagenaud | de Ferran Motorsports | 0 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 162 |
5= | Jon Field | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 116 |
5= | Clint Field | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 116 |
7= | Johnny Mowlem | Corsa Motorsports | 10 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 58 | |||||
7= | Stefan Johansson | Corsa Motorsports | 10 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 58 | |||||
9= | Franck Montagny | Team Peugeot Total | 26 | 30 | 56 | ||||||||
9= | Stéphane Sarrazin | Team Peugeot Total | 26 | 30 | 56 | ||||||||
11= | Allan McNish | Audi Sport Team Joest | 30 | 23 | 53 | ||||||||
11= | Rinaldo Capello | Audi Sport Team Joest | 30 | 23 | 53 | ||||||||
13= | Bryan Willman | Autocon Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 49 | |||
13= | Chris McMurry | Autocon Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 18 | 49 | ||||
15= | Nicolas Minassian | Team Peugeot Total | 20 | 26 | 46 | ||||||||
15= | Pedro Lamy | Team Peugeot Total | 20 | 26 | 46 | ||||||||
17= | Lucas Luhr | Audi Sport North America | 23 | 20 | 43 | ||||||||
17= | Marco Werner | Audi Sport North America | 23 | 20 | 43 | ||||||||
19 | Chapman Ducote | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 42 | ||||||
20 | Tony Burgess | Autocon Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 18 | 41 | |||||
21 | Dario Franchitti | Patrón Highcroft Racing | 18 | 16 | 34 | ||||||||
22 | Tom Kristensen | Audi Sport Team Joest | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
23 | Sébastien Bourdais | Team Peugeot Total | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
24 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi Sport North America | 23 | 23 | |||||||||
25 | Christian Klien | Team Peugeot Total | 20 | 20 | |||||||||
26= | Nicolas Lapierre | Team Oreca Matmut AIM | 18 | 18 | |||||||||
26= | Romain Dumas | Team Oreca Matmut AIM | 18 | 18 | |||||||||
28 | Scott Dixon | de Ferran Motorsports | 0 | 12 | 12 | ||||||||
29 | Michael Lewis | Autocon Motorsports | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Pos | Driver | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Adrián Fernández | Lowe's Fernández Racing | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 217 |
1= | Luis Díaz | Lowe's Fernández Racing | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 217 |
3= | Butch Leitzinger | Dyson Racing Team | 0 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 137 |
3= | Marino Franchitti | Dyson Racing Team | 0 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 137 |
5 | Klaus Graf | Team Cytosport | 16 | 13 | 23 | 21 | 73 | ||||||
6= | Chris Dyson | Dyson Racing Team | 0 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 55 | ||
6= | Guy Smith | Dyson Racing Team | 0 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 55 | ||
8 | Greg Pickett | Team Cytosport | 16 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 50 | ||||||
9 | Ben Devlin | Dyson Racing Team | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 | |||||||
10 | Sascha Maassen | Team Cytosport | 23 | 23 | |||||||||
11= | Gunnar van der Steur | van der Steur Racing | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||||||
11= | Adam Pecorari | van der Steur Racing | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Pos | Driver | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Patrick Long | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 181 |
1= | Jörg Bergmeister | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 181 |
3= | Jaime Melo | Risi Competizione | 30 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 137 |
3= | Pierre Kaffer | Risi Competizione | 30 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 137 |
5 | Wolf Henzler | Farnbacher-Loles Racing | 13 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 18 | 102 |
6= | Tommy Milner | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 26 | 11 | 100 |
6= | Dirk Müller | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 26 | 11 | 100 |
8= | Dominik Farnbacher | Panoz Team PTG | 23 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 95 |
8= | Ian James | Panoz Team PTG | 23 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 95 |
10= | Johnny O'Connell | Corvette Racing | 16 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 86 | |||||
10= | Jan Magnussen | Corvette Racing | 16 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 86 | |||||
12 | Seth Neiman | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 18 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 76 | |
13 | Mika Salo | Risi Competizione | 30 | 30 | 60 | ||||||||
14 | Johannes van Overbeek | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 18 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 59 | ||||
15 | Darren Law | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 57 | |||
16= | Oliver Gavin | Corvette Racing | 10 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 6 | 55 | |||||
16= | Olivier Beretta | Corvette Racing | 10 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 6 | 55 | |||||
18 | Marc Lieb | Flying Lizard Motorsports | 20 | 18 | 54 | ||||||||
Farnbacher-Loles Racing | 16 | ||||||||||||
19 | Dirk Werner | Farnbacher-Loles Racing | 13 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 51 | |||||
20= | Joey Hand | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
20= | Bill Auberlen | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
22 | David Murry | Robertson Racing | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 42 |
23 | Andrea Robertson | Robertson Racing | 14 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 40 | |
24 | David Robertson | Robertson Racing | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 36 | |
25 | Johannes Stuck | T-Mobile VICI Racing | 0 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 35 | |||||
26 | Richard Westbrook | T-Mobile VICI Racing | 10 | 8 | 9 | 27 | |||||||
27= | Gianmaria Bruni | Advanced Engineering PeCom | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
27= | Matías Russo | Advanced Engineering PeCom | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
27= | Luís Pérez Companc | Advanced Engineering PeCom | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
27= | Jörg Müller | BMW Rahal Letterman Racing | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
31= | Marcel Fässler | Corvette Racing | 20 | 20 | |||||||||
31= | Tom Sutherland | LG Motorsports | 13 | 7 | 20 | ||||||||
31= | Tomy Drissi | LG Motorsports | 13 | 7 | 20 | ||||||||
34 | Pierre Ehret | Farnbacher-Loles Motorsport | 18 | 18 | |||||||||
35 | Lou Giglotti | LG Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 | ||||||
36= | Tracy Krohn | Risi Competizione | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
36= | Eric van de Poele | Risi Competizione | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
36= | Niclas Jönsson | Risi Competizione | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
36= | Antonio García | Corvette Racing | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
40= | Joel Feinberg | Primetime Race Group | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 | ||
40= | Chris Hall | Primetime Race Group | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 14 | ||
42= | Richard Lietz | Farnbacher-Loles Racing | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
42= | Matt Bell | LG Motorsports | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
44 | Bryce Miller | Farnbacher-Loles Racing | 10 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||
45 | Eric Curran | LG Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||
46= | Nicky Pastorelli | T-Mobile VICI Racing | 8 | 8 | |||||||||
46= | Bryan Sellers | Team Falken Tire | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | |||||||
46= | Dominic Cicero | Team Falken Tire | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | |||||||
49 | Martin Ragginger | Farnbacher-Loles Motorsport | 6 | 6 |
Driver points were awarded collectively, with all the drivers who have driven for a team being awarded the same number of points.