2008 American Le Mans Series
The 2008 American Le Mans Series season was the 38th season for the IMSA GT Championship, with the tenth season known as the American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Tourer race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 15 and ended October 18 after eleven races.
The Audi Sport North America team wrapped up its title defence of LMP1 class Teams Championship with three races in hand after the Sports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio in August. Drivers Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr also secured the Drivers Championship after the Detroit Sports Car Challenge. It was a record fifth ALMS drivers title for Luhr and a fourth for Werner.
The Petit Le Mans saw the drivers title for GT1 decided with Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell taking the title while Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler likewise secured the GT2 drivers championship. It was O'Connell's fourth GT1 title and Bergmeisters third GT2 title.
Schedule
The Lone Star Grand Prix was originally scheduled to take place on April 26. However, following the merger of the Champ Car World Series and Indy Racing League, the Champ Car Grand Prix of Houston event was initially cancelled. The American Le Mans Series race, as well as the support races, were later cancelled on March 3.Season results
Overall winner in bold.Rnd | Circuit | LMP1 Winning Team | LMP2 Winning Team | GT1 Winning Team | GT2 Winning Team | Results |
Rnd | Circuit | LMP1 Winning Drivers | LMP2 Winning Drivers | GT1 Winning Drivers | GT2 Winning Drivers | Results |
1 | Sebring | #1 Audi Sport North America | #7 Penske Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports | Results |
1 | Sebring | Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen Allan McNish | Timo Bernhard Romain Dumas Emmanuel Collard | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen Ron Fellows | Jörg Bergmeister Wolf Henzler Marc Lieb | Results |
2 | St. Petersburg | #2 Audi Sport North America | #7 Penske Racing | #4 Corvette Racing | #71 Tafel Racing | Results |
2 | St. Petersburg | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | Timo Bernhard Romain Dumas | Olivier Beretta Oliver Gavin | Dominik Farnbacher Dirk Müller | Results |
3 | Long Beach | #2 Audi Sport North America | #9 Highcroft Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #71 Tafel Racing | Results |
3 | Long Beach | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | David Brabham Scott Sharp | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Dominik Farnbacher Dirk Müller | Results |
4 | Miller | #2 Audi Sport North America | #7 Penske Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports | Results |
4 | Miller | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | Timo Bernhard Romain Dumas | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Jörg Bergmeister Wolf Henzler | Results |
5 | Lime Rock | #2 Audi Sport North America | #9 Highcroft Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports | Results |
5 | Lime Rock | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | David Brabham Scott Sharp | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Jörg Bergmeister Wolf Henzler | Results |
6 | Mid-Ohio | #2 Audi Sport North America | #7 Penske Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #71 Tafel Racing | Results |
6 | Mid-Ohio | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | Timo Bernhard Romain Dumas | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Dominik Farnbacher Dirk Müller | Results |
7 | Road America | #2 Audi Sport North America | #9 Highcroft Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #87 Farnbacher-Loles | Results |
7 | Road America | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | David Brabham Scott Sharp | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Dirk Werner Richard Westbrook Bryce Miller | Results |
8 | Mosport | #2 Audi Sport North America | #9 Highcroft Racing | #3 Corvette Racing | #62 Risi Competizione | Results |
8 | Mosport | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | David Brabham Scott Sharp | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen | Jaime Melo Mika Salo | Results |
9 | Belle Isle | #37 Intersport Racing | #26 Andretti Green Racing | #4 Corvette Racing | #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports | Results |
9 | Belle Isle | John Field Clint Field Richard Berry | Franck Montagny James Rossiter | Olivier Beretta Oliver Gavin | Jörg Bergmeister Wolf Henzler | Results |
10 | Road Atlanta | #1 Audi Sport North America | #5 Penske Motorsports | #3 Corvette Racing | #62 Risi Competizione | Results |
10 | Road Atlanta | Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello Emanuele Pirro | Ryan Briscoe Hélio Castroneves | Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen Ron Fellows | Jaime Melo Mika Salo | Results |
11 | Laguna Seca | #2 Audi Sport North America | #26 Andretti Green Racing | #4 Corvette Racing | #71 Tafel Racing | Results |
11 | Laguna Seca | Marco Werner Lucas Luhr | Franck Montagny Tony Kanaan | Olivier Beretta Oliver Gavin | Dominik Farnbacher Dirk Müller | Results |
Teams championships
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:- 20-16-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1
- 25-21-18-15-13-11-9-8-7-6
- 30-26-23-20-18-16-14-13-12-11
LMP1 standings
LMP2 standings
GT1 standings
GT2 standings
Drivers championship
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:- 20-16-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1
- 25-21-18-15-13-11-9-8-7-6
- 30-26-23-20-18-16-14-13-12-11
LMP1 standings
† - Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 4.LMP2 standings
† - Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 2.GT1 standings
GT2 standings
Partial season entries
- Team Cytosport, following a partnership with Charouz Racing System and Team Jota to run in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans, plans to return to the ALMS at Mid-Ohio
- Although Team ECO attempted to run their diesel-powered Radical SR10 LMP1 at Sebring, homologation problems have forced the team to delay their debut until Mid-Ohio.
- Autocon Motorsports will run a partial schedule, skipping most street circuit rounds, to concentrate on their bid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their car will be upgraded to full CA07 specification by Le Mans.
Green Challenge