Petit Le Mans

Petit Le Mans
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Venue Road Atlanta
Corporate sponsor Mazda
First race 1998
First ALMS race 1999
Distance 1,000 mi (1,600 km) (1998-2013)
Laps 394
Duration 1,000.76 mi.
(1,610.57 km) or 10 hrs. (1998-2013)
10 hrs. (2014-Present)
Most wins (driver) Rinaldo Capello (5)
Most wins (team) Audi Sport North America (6)
Most wins (manufacturer) Audi (9)

The Petit Le Mans (French for little Le Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.

The race was founded by Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz and first run on October 10, 1998 as part of the IMSA season. The 1999 edition was one of the original events of the American Le Mans Series. The 2010 and 2011 editions were also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, but the 2012 race for the brand-new World Endurance Championship was controversially dropped in favour of Bahrain. Starting in 2014 the race became part of the United Sports Car Championship season.

From 1998 until 2013, Petit Le Mans covered a maximum of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) (which is approximately 394 laps) or a maximum of 10 hours, whichever came first; only once, in the rain-stopped 2009 race, had the leading team failed to complete 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Since 2014, the duration is 10 hours, without distance limitations.[1][2] In addition to the overall race, teams of two or three drivers per car compete for class victories in different categories, divided into Le Mans prototypes and grand tourers. Class winners of this event originally received an automatic invitation to the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, however this was removed in 2012.

Rinaldo Capello holds the record of most race wins, having won in 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The 2009 & 2015 races were shortened due to heavy rains making the track impassable. The 2015 race featured the first time a GT car won overall against the faster prototypes. Rain created a flooded track the entire race causing multiple cautions and a red flag, allowing GTLM cars to leap-frog the prototypes that were struggling for grip in the conditions. Nick Tandy, winner of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, and co-driver Patrick Pilet took the checkered flag when officials called the race with a little over two hours remaining.

Overall winners

Year Drivers Team Chassis-Engine Championship(s)
1998 Belgium Eric van de Poele
South Africa Wayne Taylor
France Emmanuel Collard
United States Doyle-Risi Racing Ferrari 333 SP Professional SportsCar Racing Championship
1999 Australia David Brabham
France Éric Bernard
United Kingdom Andy Wallace
United States Panoz Motor Sports Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S-Ford American Le Mans Series
2000 United Kingdom Allan McNish
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Italy Michele Alboreto
Germany Audi Sport North America Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
2001 Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
Germany Audi Sport North America Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
European Le Mans Series
2002 Denmark Tom Kristensen
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Germany Audi Sport North America Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
2003 Finland JJ Lehto
United Kingdom Johnny Herbert
United States ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
2004 Germany Marco Werner
Finland JJ Lehto
United States ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
2005 Germany Frank Biela
Italy Emanuele Pirro
United States ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 American Le Mans Series
2006 Italy Rinaldo Capello
United Kingdom Allan McNish
United States Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI American Le Mans Series
2007 United Kingdom Allan McNish
Italy Rinaldo Capello
United States Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI American Le Mans Series
2008 United Kingdom Allan McNish
Italy Rinaldo Capello
Italy Emanuele Pirro
United States Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI American Le Mans Series
2009 France Franck Montagny
France Stéphane Sarrazin
France Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP American Le Mans Series
2010 France Franck Montagny
France Stéphane Sarrazin
Portugal Pedro Lamy
France Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP American Le Mans Series
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
2011 France Franck Montagny
France Stéphane Sarrazin
Austria Alexander Wurz
France Peugeot Sport Total Peugeot 908 American Le Mans Series
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
2012 Switzerland Neel Jani
France Nicolas Prost
Italy Andrea Belicchi
Switzerland Rebellion Racing Lola B12/60-Toyota American Le Mans Series
European Le Mans Series
2013 Switzerland Neel Jani
France Nicolas Prost
Germany Nick Heidfeld
Switzerland Rebellion Racing Lola B12/60-Toyota American Le Mans Series
2014 United States Jordan Taylor
United States Ricky Taylor
Italy Max Angelelli
United States Wayne Taylor Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP United SportsCar Championship
2015 United Kingdom Nick Tandy
France Patrick Pilet
Austria Richard Lietz
United States Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR United SportsCar Championship
2016 United States John Pew
Brazil Oswaldo Negri Jr.
France Olivier Pla
United States Michael Shank Racing Ligier JS P2-Honda WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Overall winners

Drivers with the most overall wins

RankDriverWinsYears
1Italy Rinaldo Capello52000, 2002, 2006-2008
2United Kingdom Allan McNish42000, 2006-2008
3Italy Emanuele Pirro32001, 2005, 2008
France Franck Montagny2009-2011
France Stéphane Sarrazin2009-2011
6Finland JJ Lehto22003-2004
Germany Frank Biela2001, 2005
Switzerland Neel Jani2012-2013
France Nicolas Prost2012-2013

Constructors with the most overall wins

RankMakerWinsYears
1 Germany Audi 9 2000-2008
2 France Peugeot 3 2009-2011
3 United Kingdom Lola 2 2012-2013
4 Italy Ferrari 1 1998
United States Panoz 1999
United States Chevrolet 2014
Germany Porsche 2015
France Ligier 2016

See also

References

  1. IMSA.com http://www.imsa.com/races/petit-le-mans-7?invalidate-cache=1408747848. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Dagys, John. Twitter.com https://twitter.com/sportscar365/status/514970994478690306. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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