In addition to the IRL racing on Belle Isle, we also had the fun and hard-charging swagger of ALMS racing. We has the opportunity to tag along with Corvette Racing, who snagged a swank chalet location right on the corner of turn seven this year, a perfect spot to watch the Jake-emblazoned Corvette C6.R's doing their thing. The American LeMans Series runs four different classes simultaneously; GT2, GT1, LMP2 and LMP1, each with escalating levels of financial backing. With a crowded track and hugely varying performance capabilities, it can be a treat to watch.
LeMans Prototype 2 (LMP2) saw great success for Andretti Green Racing and the Acura racing program as the AGR team finished first and Acura took all three podium spots. The one, two, three finish also catapulted Acura past Porsche in the manufacturers championship as well. We're betting there was a fair bit of off-colored language amongst the Porsche teams following that result. This year's race provided a little post-race drama to go along with the action on the track. The first car to cross the line in the LeMans Prototype 1 class (LMP1) was, no surprise, the diesel-powered Audi R10, the beastly dominator of the class since it's debut. However after the post race weigh in, the car was disqualified after it was discovered to be 2 pounds under weight. No surprise in the results in the GT1 races; with the only four entries being two Corvette C6Rs and two Aston Martin DBR9s, the result was almost over before it began. One of the Astons nosed into the wall on the first lap and for the remainder the C6R's dominated. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta bested teammates Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen for the first time since late March, and the DBR9 of Terry Borcheller finished third. GT2 saw a one-two finish this year from Flying Lizard racing, the guys who ended up with a Porsche 911-flambe last year. Their win comes as the third one-two finish of the year and pushed them further ahead into the season points lead. A couple Ford GT40's are in the pack this year and while they sounded great, one nailed the wall and the other finished slow.
Belle Isle Grand Prix Results 1. (5) James Rossiter, England; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 104. 2. (1) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; David Brabham, Australia; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 104. 3. Simon Pagenaud, France; Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (3, P2), 104. 4. (6) Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 104. 5. (7) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 104. 6. (3) Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (6, P2), 103. 7. (11) Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Lola B07 46 Mazda (7, P2), 103. 8. (10) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (8, P2), 102. 9. (17) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 100. 10. (13) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 100. 11. (14) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (1, GT2), 98. 12. (18) Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (2, GT2), 98. 13. (15) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (3, GT2), 98. 14. (22) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 98. 15. (19) Robert Bell, UK; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (5, GT2), 98. 16. (26) Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (6, GT2), 95. 17. (28) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (7, GT2), 94. 18. (20) Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Aston Martin DBR9 (3, GT1), 93. 19. (16) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (8, GT2), 92. 20. (27) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (9, GT2), 89. 21. (21) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (10, GT2), 87, Accident. 22. (12) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (1, P1), 83. 23. (4) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (9, P2), 83. 24. (25) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (11, GT2), 49, Accident. 25. (24) Marc Basseng, Germany; Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (12, GT2), 38, Mechanical. 26. (8) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (2, P1), 21, Accident. 27. (23) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (13, GT2), 1, Accident. 28. (9) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Audi AG R10/TDI (3, P1), 104, DQ.
[ALMS] Partial photo credit to Alex Conley