The2012American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón VIR 240was a multi-class sports car and GT motor race held atVirginia International RacewayinAlton, Virginia,United Stateson September 15, 2012. It was the ninth and penultimate round of the2012 American Le Mans Series season.It was a new event for theAmerican Le Mans Seriesbut had been held the previous ten years for theRolex Sports Car Series.The race was held over a four-hour time period, during which 135 laps of the 3.3 kilometre "Full Course" circuit were completed for a race distance of 710 kilometres.
The race was won byMuscle Milk Pickett Racingpair ofLucas LuhrandKlaus Grafin theirHPD ARX-03a.The leaders of the P1 championship won by three laps over their season long rivals from theDyson Racing Team,Chris DysonandGuy Smithin theirLola B12/60.One lap further behind in third place was the P2 class winners,Level 5 Motorsportsteam ofScott TuckerandChristophe Bouchutin theirHPD ARX-03b.They won the P2 class by 27 seconds over their season-long rivals theConquest Enduranceteam ofMartin PlowmanandDavid Heinemeier Hanssonin theirMorgan LMP2.[1]
Three of the five class championships of drivers were decided, the first of them was the Prototype Challenge. Jon Bennett andColin Braundid all they could to keep the championship alive, winning PC in their CORE AutosportOreca FLM09,but third place was enough for their Venezuelan teammateAlex Popowto wrap up his first ALMS class championship, despite being involved in a first lap collision.[1]
In eighth place was the GT class and championship winners theCorvette Racingpair ofOliver GavinandTommy Milnerin theirChevrolet Corvette C6.R.In wrapping up the champion Gavin won his class for Corvette Racing for the fourth time with Milner claiming his first ALMS title. It also returned Corvette Racing to the winners list for the first time since 2008 after dominating much of the decade.[1]
SimilarlyCooper MacNeilwon the GT Challenge class from the front, wrapping his championship up forAlex Job Racingwith a 0.4 second win with his co-driverLeh Keenover the NGT Motorsport pair of Henrique Cisneros andJeroen Bleekemolen.[1]
28 of the 31 entries were running at races conclusion, although the second of the Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b's was subsequently excluded for failing an air-restrictor stall test after the race.[1]
Race
editRace result
editClass winners inbold.Cars failing to complete 70% of their class winner's distance are marked as Not Classified (NC).[2]
References
edit- ^abcde"A Muscle Milk Victory and Championships Galore at VIR".American Le Mans Series.2012-09-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-25.Retrieved2012-09-27.
- ^"Provisional Race Report"(PDF).International Motor Sports Association.2012-09-15.Retrieved2012-09-27.