24h Le Mans
The final round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship's inaugural season will take place at the magnificent Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia, with a 10-hour race called Petit Le Mans. For now, only the PC class drivers are sure to earn a title, which suggests some great battles on Saturday starting at 11:15 p.m. (local time).
Photo : Christian VIGNON - ACO/Nikon
For several years, Petit Le Mans has served as the close of the American endurance season, first with the American Le Mans Series, then this year with the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, born out of the merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Grand Am Series, the format of the race changed this year. Before, it was a 10-hour or 1,000-mile race - meaning if 1,000 miles had been raced before the end of 10 hours, the checkered flag was waved prior to the end of regulation time. When the race would take place on a dry track and the safety car did not stay out much, the event did not go the full 10 hours. As of this year, distance is no longer a factor: the race will last 10 hours, so with the start at 11:15 a.m. (4:15 p.m. in the U.K.), the competitors will cross the finish line at 9:15 p.m. (2:15 a.m. in the U.K.).
Given it is a long race, only two duos in the Prototype and GTD classes will relay; all other driver line-ups will have three drivers - points will be awarded not only at the end of the round, but also after 4 hours and 8 hours of racing. The intermediary rankings will be all the more important than a title the PC drivers already possess. The holy grail remains more or less for the taking, knowing the Prototype class drivers are assured a title if they each complete a 45-minute stint minimum, whereas on the other end of the spectrum, for the Constructor title in the GTLM class, Corvette and Viper have the same amount of points.
Lastly, while Petit Le Mans is the final round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship's 2014 season, it is also the final event in the North American Endurance Cup (NAEC), a championship within the championship which groups the results from the four main races of the championship: the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans.
The start of the 17th edition of Petit Le Mans (entry list) will be given Saturday, October 4th at 11:15 a.m., 4:15 p.m. in the U.K. (program).
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
