Friday Notebook: Petit Le Mans

It might well be the busiest news day of the year for the American Le Mans Series. Between the ALMS' annual “State of the Series” announcement and other notes of interest, Friday at Petit Le Mans featured several key pieces of information.

2012 SCHEDULE UNVEILED – All nine rounds return from the 2011 ALMS schedule, although a couple dates have shifted and two races to be determined were listed.

The series once again opens at Sebring for the 60th anniversary running of the 12 Hours of Sebring on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. A month break follows before another race in conjunction with IndyCar at Long Beach, April 14 – the first of three weekends with IndyCar in the 2012 season.

Mazda Raceway goes back to May again, as it was in 2010, after reverting back to September this year. That race occurs May 12, before a yet-to-be-determined fourth race listed only as for May/June.

The revival of the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle Park has been rumored but not confirmed for the June 1-3 weekend. However, June 3 is the test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which may limit ALMS participation to one or the other.

The other TBD in the schedule is a September/October slot in-between Baltimore (Sept. 1) and Petit Le Mans (Oct. 20).

2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón Schedule

TV PACKAGE SHIFTS – The most commonly lamented issue facing series fans in 2011 was a lack of access to ESPN3.com for live streaming of all races, as the only option to watch live broadcasts in the U.S. That changes in part for 2012.

While the series will continue to stream all races live on ESPN3.com, four races will also be televised live on TV – three on ESPN2 and one on ABC. Noteworthy here is that two of them – Long Beach and Mid-Ohio – are joint weekends with IndyCar where it will eliminate the dilemma of having both races on TV simultaneously, as happened on several occasions in 2011.

“We knew that breaking away from the status quo was going to be difficult but rewarding in the end,” said ALMS President and CEO Scott Atherton.

OTHER "STATE OF THE SERIES" NOTES – The ACO and IMSA confirmed a renewal of the 13-year partnership for what was described as “2012 and beyond” by Atherton. An increased ACO presence is fully in play this week as this race doubles as the ALMS season finale and the penultimate round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Sebring has been confirmed as the first joint round of the ALMS and the newly renamed World Endurance Championship, now with full FIA sanction and ACO promotion in 2012 (ACO President Jean-Claude Plassart and FIA President Jean Todt, ABOVE).

The same class structure – LMP1, LMP2, GT, and the two Challenge classes – stays in place for 2012. Any events ALMS shares with the WEC in 2012 are likely to maintain a WEC-type class structure, as this year.

LMP1 regulations will remain consistent with the current 2011 regulations that include 2010 “grandfathered” cars. LMP2, LMPC, GT and GTC regulations will remain as in 2011.

DRIVER INJURED IN MORNING PRACTICE – Driday morning's practice session ended 12 minutes early following a heavy accident between Intersport's David Ducote and Robertson Racing's David Murry. Both teams have withdrawn their second cars from entry and the cars may be available if the primary chassis is damaged beyond repair, but the far greater concern after the accident was Ducote's health; the Houston native was airlifted from the circuit to a nearby hospital.

At 2 p.m. ET, Dr. Gregg Summerville, IMSA Chief Medical Officer, provided a statement on Ducote's incident:

“Upon arrival the patient was awake and alert, and was moving all of his extremities. Because of the speed and the impact – and due to mechanism of the injury – it was determined as a precaution to transport the patient to a Level 1 trauma center.”

DELTAWING AT SEBRING? –  Friday morning's first big announcement came when Highcroft Racing confirmed its revolutionary new car, the DeltaWing project, will race on Michelin tires for 2012. The special construction features four-inch front tires, the first of their kind in sports car racing and something that Michelin hopes to learn from to transfer into consumer technology.

Noting the first line of the team's press release that said in part: “The unique DeltaWing Le Mans sports car that will make its debut at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans …” does not preclude a future announcement of the team's participation in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Highcroft confirmed it still has the intention of getting at least one prior full race distance in with the DeltaWing before Le Mans, and Sebring would be a logical first event if testing goes according to plan. The team plans to start testing later this year.