24h Le Mans
The Lola-Toyota of Neel Jani, Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld (Rebellion Racing) won the last edition of Petit Le Mans, running as the closing round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Look Back at fifteen years of history.
Photo : VSC Pictures
In 2014 the two series of American endurance racing, the ALMS and Grand Am, will be united under the banner of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, which has decided to maintain Petit Le Mans as it's closing race. Established in 1998, this event over a thousand miles (1,600 kilometres) or ten hours of racing, marked the true beginning of the rebirth of endurance racing as we know it today, with the FIA World Endurance Championship, the European Le Mans series and the Asian Le Mans Series. In fifteen years of existence, Petit Le Mans has become a "must do" race on the international calendar of the discipline.
- Italian Dindo Capello holds the record for victories at Petit Le Mans, with five wins (2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008).
- Twelve drivers have successfully completed the double of the Le Mans 24 Hours and Petit Le Mans: David Brabham, Andy Wallace, Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, Michele Alboreto, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro, Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto, Johnny Herbert, Marco Werner and Alexander Wurz.
- Winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 with the Frenchman Loic Duval, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen have four and one victory respectively at Petit Le Mans.
- Five French drivers have won Petit Le Mans: Emmanuel Collard (1998), Eric Bernard (1999), Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin ( 2009, 2010 and 2011) and Nicolas Prost (2012 - 2013).
- Five manufacturers have been successful at Petit Le Mans: Ferrari, Panoz, Audi, Peugeot and Lola.
- Nine runnings of Petit Le Mans have been won by Audi. The "brand with the rings" remained unbeaten on the Road Atlanta circuit from 2000 to 2008.
- Ferrari won the first edition of Petit Le Mans in 1998 with a 333 SP prototype driven by Emmanuel Collard, Wayne Taylor and Eric van de Poele.
- The creator of Petit Le Mans and initiator of the American Le Mans Series, Don Panoz also established himself as a winning manufacturer in his favourite race in 1999. His now famous front-engined prototype was driven by David Brabham, Eric Bernard and Andy Wallace.
- Peugeot is the only French manufacturer to have won at Petit Le Mans, with three consecutive wins in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
- The 2010 and 2011 editions of Petit Le Mans were also part of the calendar of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which preceded the creation of the World Endurance Championship by the FIA.
Jean-Philippe Doret/ACO - Translated by Tony Light/ACO
Photo: BRASELTON (GEORGIA), ROAD ATLANTA CIRCUIT, PETIT LE MANS, FREE PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING, September 29, 2011. Holding the record for victories at Petit Le Mans with five wins, Dindo Capello has also won three times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2003, 2004 and 2008).
