ALMS 2010 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Part 2
Photography by Aaron Kupferman – Motorsportlens.com and Sevan Pulurian
As we reported in Part 1 of our Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca ALMS race coverage, the six-hour endurance race was filled with close battles and tight finishes. Patrick Long, driving the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, overtook the factory BMW M3 on the re-start after a late yellow flag to score a 3/10-second GT class win.
Photo by Aaron Kupferman - Motorsportlens.com
Our friends at Team Falken finished seventh in their 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR after struggling with setup issues. At the front of the pack, the LMP field was having many problems. At the 3-hour mark, halfway through the race, only two cars remained.
And by the checkered flag, the winning Patron Highcroft Racing HPD ARX-01c was the only prototype to have a trouble-free race.
Most of the other competitors, including Dyson Racing/Mazda, Drayson Racing and Intersport Racing, made mechanical failures or on-track incidents, gifting the win to Highcroft.
2010 ALMS Pointers
For 2010, the ALMS series has been reworked and reorganized. There are now four different classes within the ALMS, all run on track at the same time. Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the top class in the ALMS and features purpose built chassis that weigh a minimum of 1,985 lbs and make about 600-700hp. Competitors in the class include the HPD ARX-01c, Porsche RS Spyder, Audi R15 and Peugeot 908 HDi.
Photo by Sevan Pulurian
New for this year is the LMP Challenge (LMPC) spec racing class. Designed for relatively low-cost prototype competition, the class uses a standard Oreca Courage chassis, 430hp, carbon brakes, spec sequential transmission and spec Michelin racing slicks.
The fastest of the semi-production racecars can be found in the Grand Touring (GT) class. These racecars start out using production tubs but are heavily modified from that point on. Competitors like the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, BMW M3 GT, Corvette C6R, Ferrari F430 GT and Jaguar XKR GT all feature built racing engines, new suspensions, slicks, big brakes and new aerodynamics.
The cheapest series to run in the ALMS is the GT Challenge (GTC) class, which uses unmodified factory spec Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. Three different models of the 911 GT3 Cup are allowed in the class, although all have been equalized for similar speed. The spec tire for this class is a Yokohama racing slick.
Continue to ALMS 2010 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Part 1
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