The 2011 American Le Mans Series season was a multi-event motor racing series for sports racing cars which conform to the technical regulations laid out by the International Motor Sports Association for the American Le Mans Series. It was the thirteenth season of the American Le Mans Series, a sports car racing series that drew original inspiration from the types of racing cars that compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 41st season for the IMSA GT Championship, as this series traces its lineage to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. The full title of the 2011 series is "the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón" to include the principal sponsor. The season began March 19, 2011 with the 12 Hours of Sebring and ended after nine rounds on October 1 with the Petit Le Mans.
While Lola-built sports cars dominated the upper racing positions in the faster LMP classes for sports prototype vehicles, their numbers continued to drop to the point where at the third round of the series at 2011 Northeast Grand Prix no LMP2 class cars were entered. The only growth in prototype numbers has been in spec racing class LMPC in which all class competitors use identical Oreca chassis powered by a Chevrolet engine.
The Lola-Mazda of the Dyson Racing Team and its drivers Chris Dyson and Guy Smith won the LMP1 class championship at the penultimate race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, holding a 32-point gap over the Muscle Milk Motorsports team and driver Klaus Graf. Level 5 Motorsports ran unopposed for the majority of the season in LMP2 with their Lola-HPDs. Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker also wrapped up the championship early.
LMPC title remained live until the final race of the season where Genoa Racing's Eric Lux and the Core Autosport pair of Gunnar Jeannette and Ricardo González ended tied on points, and had the same number of second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes.
In the Grand Touring classes, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's BMW M3 GT2 driven by Dirk Müller and Joey Hand won the championship, taking three wins and three podiums. They wrapped up the class title a round early, having held a 33-point lead over the Chevrolet pair of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen. Black Swan Racing driver Tim Pappas clinched the GTC spec racing class for Porsche 997s at the final round by winning the class.
On August 22, 2010, IMSA announced an initial 2011 calendar with ten events, expanding from nine in 2010. Two unnamed events were added to the calendar, while the series race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah was not retained.[1] A race in the Bricktown section of Oklahoma City had been proposed, but was rejected by the city's council.[2] It was announced in February 2010 that the Baltimore Grand Prix street race was being taken into consideration for one of the series' new rounds.[3] The race was confirmed on September 1, 2010.[4] All races this season were seen live on ESPN3.com, and on delay on ESPN2 and ABC.
Two rounds on the 2011 schedule, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, also served as part of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.[5]
| Rnd | Race | Length | Circuit | Location | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Le Mans Series Winter Test | Sebring International Raceway | Sebring, Florida | February 9–10 | |||
| 1 | 59th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring | 12 Hours | Sebring International Raceway | Sebring, Florida | March 19 | |
| 2 | American Le Mans Series at Long Beach | 2 Hours | Long Beach Street Circuit | Long Beach, California | April 16 | |
| 3 | American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Lime Rock Park | Lakeville, Connecticut | July 9 | |
| 4 | Grand Prix of Mosport | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Mosport International Raceway | Bowmanville, Ontario | July 24 | |
| 5 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | August 6 | |
| 6 | Road Race Showcase | 4 Hours | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 20 | |
| 7 | Baltimore Grand Prix | 2 Hours | Baltimore street circuit | Baltimore, Maryland | September 3 | |
| 8 | American Le Mans Monterey | 6 Hours | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | September 17 | |
| 9 | 14th Annual Petit Le Mans | 1000miles or 10 Hours | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | October 1 | |
The 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans, as part of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, featured cars competing in the GTE-Am category alongside normal ALMS competitors in the GT2 category. Krohn Racing's Ferrari F430 won both of the races.
The winner represented here is the highest finisher of both classes combined.
Overall winners in bold.
Points were awarded to the top ten cars and drivers which complete at least 70% of their class winner's distance. Teams with multiple entries only score 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. Drivers are required to complete a particular amount of the minimum number of laps in order to earn points. The number of laps vary depending on the course size.
| Points System[6] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Distance | Position | ||||||||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | ||
| Less than four 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 season entries are awarded points in the team championships. Teams which participated in a partial season or on a race-by-race basis are not included in these championships.
As long as they compete full season and comply with ACO regulations, the top LMP1, LMP2 and GT team at the end of the season receive an automatic entry to the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans.
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dyson Racing Team | Lola B09/86 | Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 30 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 30 | 186 | |
| 2 | Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing | Lola-Aston Martin B08/62 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | 0 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 124 | |
| 3 | Autocon | Lola B06/10 | AER 4.0 L Turbo V8 | 0 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 26 | 85 | ||||
| 4 | Oryx Dyson Racing | Lola B09/86 | Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 64 |
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level 5 Motorsports | Lola B08/80 & Lola B11/40 | HPD HR28TT 2.8 L Turbo V6 | 30 | 20 | 25 | 130 | ||||||
| HPD ARX-01g | 25 | 30 |
All teams utilize the Oreca FLM09 chassis with Chevrolet LS3 engine.
[9]
| Pos | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CORE Autosport | 26 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 18 | 13 | 21 | 23 | 167 | |
| 2 | Genoa Racing | 30 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 166 | |
| 3 | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 26 | 138 | |
| 4 | Performance Tech Motorsports | 18 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 86 | |
| 5 | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 0 | 8 | 13 | 25 | 0 | 9 | 30 | 85 |
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BMW Team RLL | BMW M3 GT2 | BMW 4.0 L V8 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 26 | 180 | |
| 2 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | Chevrolet 5.5 L V8 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 23 | 139 | |
| 3 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 18 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 25 | 30 | 115 | |
| 4 | Team Falken Tire | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 97 | |
| 5 | Risi Competizione | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 83 | |
| 6 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 18 | 81 | |
| 7 | Robertson Racing | Ford GT-R Mk. VII | Élan 5.0 L V8 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 52 | |||
| 8 | Paul Miller Racing | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 47 | |
| 9 | JaguarRSR | Jaguar XKR GT | Jaguar 5.0 L V8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 10 | West Yokohama Racing | Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT2 | Lamborghini 5.2 L V10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
All teams utilize variations of the Porsche 997 GT3 Cup.
[11]
| Pos | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Swan Racing | 30 | 20 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 30 | 185 | |
| 2 | TRG | 26 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 8 | 25 | 23 | 171 | |
| 3 | Alex Job Racing | 13 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 15 | 26 | 117 | |
| 4 | Green Hornet/Black Swan Racing | 16 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 18 | 63 | ||||
| 5 | JDX Racing | 20 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 62 | |||
| 6 | Magnus Racing | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 53 | ||||||
| 7 | GMG Racing | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 36 |
Drivers who participated in races but failed to score points over the course of the season are not listed.
| Pos | Driver | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Chris Dyson | Dyson Racing Team | 30 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 30 | 186 | |
| 1= |  Guy Smith | Dyson Racing Team | 30 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 30 | 186 | |
| 2 |  Klaus Graf | Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing | 0 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 124 | |
| 3 | Lucas Luhr | Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing | 0 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 114 | ||
| 4= |  Tony Burgess | Autocon | 13 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 26 | 85 | |||||
| 4= | Chris McMurry | Autocon | 13 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 26 | 85 | |||||
| 5= | Humaid Al Masaood | Oryx Dyson Racing | 13 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 64 | ||||
| 5= | Steven Kane | Oryx Dyson Racing | 13 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 64 | ||||
| 6 | Jay Cochran | Dyson Racing Team | 30 | 30 | 60 | ||||||||
| 7= |  Adrián Fernández | Aston Martin Racing | 25 | 25 | |||||||||
| 7= | Stefan Mücke | Aston Martin Racing | 25 | 25 | |||||||||
| 7= | Harold Primat | Aston Martin Racing | 25 | 25 |
| Pos | Driver | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= |  Christophe Bouchut | Level 5 Motorsports | 26 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 126 | |||||
| 1= | Scott Tucker | Level 5 Motorsports | 26 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 126 | |||||
| 2 | Luis Díaz | Level 5 Motorsports | 30 | 0 | 25 | 23 | 78 | ||||||
| 3 | João Barbosa | Level 5 Motorsports | 26 | 30 | 56 | ||||||||
| 4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Level 5 Motorsports | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| 5= | Zak Brown | United Autosports | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
| 5= |  Stefan Johansson | United Autosports | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
| 5= | Mark Patterson | United Autosports | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
| 6 | Marino Franchitti | Level 5 Motorsports | 23 | 23 |
Drivers in the LMPC category are allowed to drive for more than one car during an event. If a driver is in each car for a minimum of two hours each, he is allowed to score the points from whichever car he chooses.
| Pos | Driver | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Ricardo González | Core Autosport | 23 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 21 | 23 | 156 | |
| 1= | Gunnar Jeannette | Core Autosport | 23 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 21 | 23 | 156 | |
| 1= | Eric Lux | Genoa Racing | 20 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 156 | |
| 2= | Jon Bennett | Core Autosport | 26 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 130 | |
| 2= | Frankie Montecalvo | Core Autosport | 26 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 130 | |
| 3 | Kyle Marcelli | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 26 | 124 | |
| 4 | Elton Julian | Genoa Racing | 20 | 13 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 115 | |||
| 5 | Tomy Drissi | Intersport Racing | 0 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 26 | 108 | |||
| 6 | Rudy Junco Jr. | Core Autosport | 23 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 92 | ||||||
| 7 | Anthony Nicolosi | Performance Tech Motorsports | 18 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 86 | |
| 8 | Jarrett Boon | Performance Tech Motorsports | 0 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 68 | ||
| 9 | Jan-Dirk Lueders | Performance Tech Motorsports | 18 | 11 | 16 | 45 | |||||||
| 10 | Ryan Dalziel | Core Autosport | 26 | 18 | 44 | ||||||||
| 11= | Christian Zugel | Genoa Racing | 20 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 41 | |||||
| 11= | Jon Field | Intersport Racing | 6 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 41 | ||||||
| 12= | Ken Dobson | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 9 | 30 | 39 | ||||||||
| 12= | Henri Richard | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 9 | 30 | 39 | ||||||||
| 13 | Clint Field | Intersport Racing | 16 | 15 | 31 | ||||||||
| 14= | Dane Cameron | Genoa Racing | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| 14= | Jens Peterson | Genoa Racing | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| 14= | Ryan Lewis | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| 15 | Butch Leitzinger | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 25 | 25 | |||||||||
| 16 | Chapman Ducote | Intersport Racing | 15 | 6 | 0 | 21 | |||||||
| 17= | David Ducote | Intersport Racing | 15 | 0 | 15 | ||||||||
| 17= | Andy Wallace | Core Autosport | 15 | 15 | |||||||||
| 18= | David Cheng | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
| 18= | Javier Echeverría | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
| 18= | Ricardo Vera | Intersport Racing | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
| 19= | James French | Intersport Racing | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 19= | Michael Marsal | Intersport Racing | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 19= | Rene Villeneuve | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 20= | Alex Figge | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 8 | 8 | |||||||||
| 20= | Miles Maroney | PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports | 8 | 8 | |||||||||
| 21 |  James Kovacic | Intersport Racing | 6 | 6 |
| Pos | Driver | Team | SEB | LBH | LRP | MOS | MDO | ROA | BAL | LGA | ATL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Pappas | Black Swan Racing | 30 | 20 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 30 | 185 | |
| 2= | Duncan Ende | TRG | 26 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 6 | 25 | 23 | 157 | ||
| 2= | Spencer Pumpelly | TRG | 26 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 6 | 25 | 23 | 157 | ||
| 3 | Jeroen Bleekemolen | Black Swan Racing | 20 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 21 | 30 | 132 | ||||
| 4 | Bill Sweedler | Alex Job Racing | 13 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 15 | 26 | 117 | |
| 5 | Dion von Moltke | TRG | 18 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 108 | ||
| 6 | Leh Keen | Alex Job Racing | 13 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 26 | 79 | |||||
| 7 |  Damien Faulkner | Black Swan Racing | 30 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 71 | ||||||
| 8 | Brian Wong | Alex Job Racing | 13 | 10 | 15 | 26 | 64 | ||||||
| 9 | Peter LeSaffre | Kelly-Moss Motorsports | 16 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 18 | 63 | ||||
| 10 | Nick Ham | JDX Racing | 20 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 62 | |||
| 11 | Sebastiaan Bleekemolen | Black Swan Racing | 30 | 0 | 30 | 60 | |||||||
| 12= | John Potter | Magnus Racing | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 53 | ||||||
| 12= | Craig Stanton | Magnus Racing | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 53 | ||||||
| 13= | Sean Edwards | NGT Motorsports | 23 | 18 | 41 | ||||||||
| 13= | Peter Ludwig | TRG | 18 | 23 | 41 | ||||||||
| 14 | Chris Cumming | JDX Racing | 20 | 8 | 10 | 38 | |||||||
| 15= | James Sofronas | GMG Racing | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 36 | |||||
| 15= | Alex Welch | GMG Racing | 8 | 15 | 13 | 36 | |||||||
| 16 | Andrew Davis | Kelly-Moss Motorsports | 16 | 6 | 10 | 32 | |||||||
| 17 | Marc Bunting | TRG | 16 | 4 | 8 | 28 | |||||||
| 18= | Henrique Cisneros | NGT Motorsport | 18 | 9 | 27 | ||||||||
| 18= | Carlos Kauffman | NGT Motorsport | 18 | 9 | 27 | ||||||||
| 19 |  Alain Li | TRG | 26 | 26 | |||||||||
| 20 |  Emilio Di Guida | TRG | 11 | 11 | 22 | ||||||||
| 21= | Mike Piera | TRG | 20 | 20 | |||||||||
| 21= | Ben Keating | TRG | 20 | 20 | |||||||||
| 22 | Scott Blackett | JDX Racing | 10 | 8 | 18 | ||||||||
| 23 | Bob Faieta | Kelly-Moss Motorsports | 16 | 16 | |||||||||
| 24 | Shane Lewis | Alex Job Racing | 15 | 15 | |||||||||
| 25= | Chris Thompson | JDX Racing | 6 | 8 | 14 | ||||||||
| 25= | Matthew Marsh | Magnus Racing | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
| 26= | Butch Leitzinger | Alex Job Racing | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
| 26= | Jaap van Lagen | Green Hornet/Black Swan Racing | 13 | 13 | |||||||||
| 27= | Dominik Farnbacher | Porsche Napleton Racing | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 27= | David Heinemeier Hansson | Porsche Napleton Racing | 9 | 9 | |||||||||
| 28 | Brendan Gaughan | TRG | 8 | 8 |
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