The American Le Mans Series is responding to economic conditions and the decline in the diversity of racing machinery on the grid by changing up the racing classes in its ranks for next season. Rather than imposing spending caps that would be tough to enforce, the series is adding new classes that are closer to production machinery.
Starting in 2010, the two-tier LMP1 and LMP2 categories will be merged into one LMP class, while a new LMP Challenge class will be added starting with the inclusion of Oreca's lower powered Formula Le Mans cars. However, the old system will remain in place for the Sebring 12 Hours and Petit Le Mans races so as to allow European teams to compete in the series' premier American races.
In the GT categories, GT2 class will be remade as GT in the wake of GT1's decline, with a new GT Challenge mirroring the LMP Challenge class for Porsche 911 GT3s. ALMS CEO Scott Atherton has left the door open to other GT3 competitors if they are interested, so hopefully we'll soon see the Audi R8 GT4 get the necessary mods to run in the GTC class.
Nissan has announced its Global Motorsports Activities for 2009 and it looks like we'll be seeing the GT-R campaign in the FIA-GT1 category earlier than expected. Initial reports claimed that Nissan would begin offering LeMans-spec racers to privateer teams for the 2010 FIA-GT1 season, but in an effort to test the performance and competitiveness of the platform, a NISMO-developed GT-R will run as a non-championship entry in four races in 2009. Nissan is partnering with Gigawave MotorSport on the GT-R entry and has tapped GT500 racer Michael Krumm from NISMO and Darren Turner from Gigawave to pilot the GT-R during the season. Nissan hasn't announced exactly what events the NISMO GT-R will participate in, but there's a good chance that we'll be seeing Godzilla running at LeMans. The specs on race-ready GT-R haven't been officially revealed, but there's a possibility that NISMO will drop the twin-turbo'd V6 in favor of the 4.5-liter VK45D8 V8. Output is estimated to be between 540-590 hp and 450-500 lb-ft of torque, with a curb weight as low as 3,000 pounds.
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Last weekend, Corvette owners were let in on a limited edition Vette in the pipeline: the Corvette GT-1 Edition. Created to celebrate Corvette's last hurrah in the current GT1 class this year, the car is actually more like a rolling trophy than your typical paint-and-decals collector's edition car. The GT-1 package will come in yellow with black stripes, or black with yellow stripes, and be available on the coupe, convertible, and Z06. The yellow windshield banner from the C6.R will be in place, and the car will also feature "Jake," the racing team's mascot (the yellow skull with the Corvette pennants). The C6.R driver's names will be placed on the roof of the car, and the championships they've won will be written on the lower door.
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Japan's Auto Sport magazine has procured a handful of shots and some preliminary specs on the FIA-GT1-ready Nissan GT-R, and judging by the modifications and performance stats, Nissan is planning an all-out assault on the series and a possible campaign at LeMans. In order to get the GT-R up to snuff, NISMO has fitted the super coupe with a full body kit, GT-style wing, plexiglass windows, upgraded brakes, wheels and ducting, along with a hood reminiscent of the unit fitted on the SuperGT GT500 class GT-R. Informed speculation says that Nissan has ditched the twin-turbo'd 3.8-liter V6 in favor of a V8, possibly the 4.5-liter VK45DE used on the SuperGT racer.
The Nissan GT-R LM is rumored to be putting out 542 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque with a curb weight of 3,417 pounds and a price tag somewhere in the ballpark of 18,000,000 yen, or just under $200k US. Production is rumored to be limited to 300 units total, with 10 vehicles being built each month. The LeMans car would only be sold to teams competing in the enduro, with a price tag of 65,000,000 yen ($720k US), 592 hp, 506 lb-ft of torque and tipping the scales at 2,976 pounds. There's still no confirmation when Nissan will begin campaigning the GT-R in a series outside of SuperGT, but don't be surprised to see an LM-spec car in at least one series in 2009.
GT1-class racing is one of the most hotly contested in Europe, with cars like the Aston Martin DBR9 and Maserati MC12 competing among others for top honors in the Le Mans Series and FIA GT Championship. Here in the American Le Mans Series, however, officials are considering the possibility that they'll have to shut down the class altogether. This season, the Corvettes have had the category all to themselves, which has made the class uninteresting, with predictable outcomes. Bell Motorsports announced their intention to run Aston Martins to compete with the Corvettes for GT1 victory, but that may be another case of too little too late. Itching for a good fight, GM is reportedly dropping down to the paradoxically more competitive GT2 series. Not anxious to run another season of an empty GT1 roster, ALMS could very well cut the class out altogether.
In the absence of any substantive competition in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class, the team of Corvette Racing has decided to create its own challenges for the C6R Corvette. At the ALMS press conference today in Detroit, Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper announced that Corvette Racing would be running cellulosic E85 (made from wood chips in this case, not corn) in the 2008 ALMS GT1 class. The team is targeting a race debut in March for its E85 C6R race cars at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
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