The weather changed dramatically between qualifying and the race, even if temperatures remained cool. It was under radiant sunshine that competitors took the start for two hours of racing in Long Beach, California, for the second round of the American Le Mans Series. The qualifying session was cancelled due to heavy rain, the grid was determined by the series rankings in each category. Despite only one free practice session, the safety car intervened only once halfway when the Formula Le Mans #7 hit the tyre wall in Turn 6.

The drivers were eager to race after being deprived of qualification. In the first lap, the BMW #56 and #3 Corvette touched. The Corvette shed bodywork, which ended up in the path of the Lola-Honda #54 of Black Swan Racing, which in turn hampered the Lotus #23 Alex Job Racing. The race ended there for Black Swan Racing who were decidedly unlucky this weekend.

A few laps later, the Lola-Mazda #16 touched the BMW #56 that subsequently pitted with a punctured right rear. After that the race was almost free of incidents except for the appearance of the safety car mid-race, however the race was thrilling in both P1 and GT.

The HPD-Honda #6 of Muscle Milk Pickett Racing driven by Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf traded its leading position with the Lola-Mazda #16 of Dyson Racing in the hands of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith until a few laps from the finish the blue and white Lola Mazda could no longer hold off the '100% Japanese' Honda prototype. The Formula Le Mans #06 Ryan Dalziel and Alex Popow enterd by CORE Autosport finished in third place overall, while the front of the P2 class lagged far behind. Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker certainly took the category, but they finished in a distant tenth place overall.

The GT class confirmed its reputation of one of the best GT fields in the world. Last year's winners BMW were quickly put out of the fight for the win, but the #56 car finished second in class despite the unexpected pit stop. Victory went to the #4 Corvette of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, the American winner of the LM GTE Pro in 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011. The #01 Ferrari Extreme Speed ​​Motorsports finished third after Scott Sharp passed the #3 Corvette of Jan Magnussen.

Full race result HERE

Next event for the competitors of the American Le Mans Series is in Monterey California always, for a six hour race on the beautiful circuit of Laguna Seca and its famous "corkscrew" on Saturday 12th May.

Cécile Bonardel

Photo : LONG BEACH (CALIFORNIA, USA), LONG BEACH STREET CIRCUIT, FRIDAY 13th APRIL 2012, FREE PRACTICE. The HPD-Honda of Muscle Milk Pickett Racing took victory at Long Beach