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Grand-Am, ALMS merger results in new United SportsCar Racing series

Jeffrey N. Ross — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:29:00 EST

After the merger between Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series was announced last year, a contest was held to name the new combined series, and that new name is now officially the United SportCar Racing series. This new branding will take place at the start of the 2014 season beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Fans of the American Le Mans Series are probably losing the most in this new series. Not only is the ALMS name (along with the connection to the 24 Hours of Le Mans) going away, but the more exciting P1 prototype class is also being dropped. In the new United SportCar Racing series, the new Prototype class will consist of Daytona Prototypes, ALMS P2 cars and the DeltaWing (including a new closed-cockpit version). The ALMS GT class will be renamed GT Le Mans (GTLM), while GT Daytona (GTD) will combine the current Grand-Am GT class and the ALMS' GTC cars. The Prototype Challenge (PC) and GX classes will both carry over unchanged from Grand-Am and ALMS, respectively.

Grand-Am, ALMS merger results in new United SportsCar Racing series originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out

Jeffrey N. Ross — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Racing

Other than the announcement back in September that the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series were merging, there have been precious few details as to how the newly combined series would shake out. Today, both entities helped clear things up a bit by announcing some of the new classification changes that will go into effect for the 2014 Rolex 24, changes that are confirmed through the 2015 season.

The names for the new classes (or the new series as a whole) have yet to be released, but the breakdown goes like this:

The ALMS P1 prototype class (pictured above) has been eliminated
Grand-Am Daytona Prototype and ALMS P2 classes will be merged
Nissan Deltawing will compete in this merged class
ALMS Prototype Challenge will remain a separate class
Grand-Am and ALMS GT classes will continue to run separate cars and classes
The future of the Grand-Am's new GX class sounds unsure after this year, with it either becoming part of the ALMS GT class or becoming its own separate class

Right off the bat, this suggests we will no longer see LMP1 cars like the Audi R18 TDI or Lola racecars in the US, though we still don't know what sort of rule changes there will be for the Prototype and GT classes (and we wouldn't be surprised to see these competitors end up in a different class). Despite losing the LMP1 cars (which currently runs hybrid and diesel racecars), both organizations look to include more "green technologies." We already know the new ALMS GX class will feature 2014 Mazda6 with a Skyactiv-D diesel engine under the hood.

For more information about the newly combined road racing series, check out the press release by scrolling below.

Continue reading ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out

ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ALMS and Grand-Am make merger official, first joint race named

Seyth Miersma — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Earlier reports of a merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series have proven to be well founded today, as representatives from both series have confirmed that the merger is indeed taking place.

Grand-Am founder Jim France and ALMS founder Don Panoz stated jointly this afternoon that the new sports car racing series, as yet unnamed, will kick off with its first joint race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014. The new series is likely to present a schedule of some 12 races per year, though each series will continue on independently for the 2013 season.

While no confirmation of the exact racing-class structure has been given yet, a continuation of the popular Prototype and GT classes seems likely. Evidence for this came in the form of some Grand-Am and ALMS cars on display for the announcement: a Corvette Daytona Prototype, SRT Viper GTS-R and a Lola B12/80 Judd, amongst others.

France (the son of legendary NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr.) will take on the role of Chairman for the new series, with Panoz serving as Vice Chairman.

Some larger support from NASCAR is seemingly in evidence, too, with three members of that series' executive structure serving as board members for the new sports car racing tie-up.

For their part, early response to the announcement on the part of participating automakers seems bullish. Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing, called the event an "epic moment for sports car racing in America." Echoing those sentiments, Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT, said in a press release, "Congratulations to both leadership teams for unifying their efforts to create what will certainly be an amazing new series featuring outstanding sports car competition at some of the most legendary race courses."

ALMS and Grand-Am make merger official, first joint race named originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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