Petit Le Mans

The final race in the American Le Mans Series is this weekend's Petit Le Mans from the Road Atlanta Motorsports Center in Braselton, Georgia (just north of Atlanta). This season-ending event is to start at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, October 18th. The SPEED Channel will feature seven hours of live racing from the 2.54-mile road racing circuit, which consists of 12 turns. The race will run over 1000 miles or 10 hours - which ever happens to come first.

This race will feature some of the fan's old favorites - drivers who will be returning to the series for this final race of the year. These drivers include former ALMS teammates, Hans Stuck and Boris Said, who will be piloting the Number 6 Yokohama/ADVAN BMW/M3 with Bill Auberlen. The three will more than likely give the GT class a run for their money. Stuck will essentially be picking up where he left off as Road Atlanta held the driver's last American Le Mans Series race and victory.

Another fan favorite that has been absent for a number of years will be brought out of mothballs by JML Team Panoz. The Number 10 entry, to be driven by Olivier Beretta, David Saelens and Max Papis was first raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1997. Dubbed the 'Batmobile' for its likeness to the infamous car, the original Panoz GTR1 has been upgraded under the current regulations of the GTP class - the same class under which the Bentley took the overall win at this year's 24 Hours race. The upgraded car will be run under the name, Panoz GTP.

A Championship is on the line in the LMP900 class, with Frank Biela and co-driver Marco Werner leading the point standings. The two can take the Championship if they finish the Petit Le Mans sixth or better in their Infineon Team Joest Audi R8. If the pair run into some bad luck during the race, fellow Audi R8 driver, JJ Lehto, will have a chance to clinch the title.

As for the LMP 675 class, Christopher Dyson, who will be driving the Number 20 Lola EX257/AER MG, enters the race with only a ten-point lead over Jon Field and Duncan Dayton tied for second place. Field and Dayton will co-pilot another Lola EX257/AER MG entry along with Didier de Radigues.

Though the GTS Championship has already been decided, don't think for a moment that champions, Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell aren't hungry for the win. The two finished first in class at last year's Petit Le Mans, and are hoping to repeat the win this year. The two have earned three wins from the eight ALMS races previously held this year. Plus, Road Atlanta is O'Connell's home track - he lives just a few miles west of the Road Atlanta Motorsports Center.

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