The2008 American Le Mans Series season was the 38th season for theIMSA GT Championship, with the tenth season known as theAmerican Le Mans Series. It was a series forLe Mans Prototypes (LMP) andGrand Tourer (GT) race cars divided into four classes: LMP1, LMP2, GT1, and GT2. It began March 15 and ended October 18 after eleven races.
TheAudi Sport North America team wrapped up its title defence of LMP1 class Teams Championship with three races in hand after theSports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio in August. DriversMarco Werner andLucas Luhr also secured the Drivers Championship after theDetroit Sports Car Challenge. It was a record fifth ALMS drivers title for Luhr and a fourth for Werner.
ThePetit Le Mans saw the drivers title for GT1 decided withJan Magnussen andJohnny O'Connell taking the title whileJörg Bergmeister andWolf Henzler likewise secured the GT2 drivers championship. It was O'Connell's fourth GT1 title and Bergmeisters third GT2 title.
| Rnd | Race | Length | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobil 112 Hours of Sebring | 12 Hours | Sebring International Raceway | March 15 |
| 2 | AcuraSports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg | 1 Hour 55 Minutes | Streets of St. Petersburg | April 5 |
| 3 | Tequila PatrónAmerican Le Mans Series at Long Beach | 1 Hour 40 Minutes | Long Beach Street Circuit | April 19 |
| 4 | Larry H. Miller DealershipsUtah Grand Prix | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Miller Motorsports Park | May 18 |
| 5 | Northeast Grand Prix | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Lime Rock Park | July 12 |
| 6 | AcuraSports Car Challenge of Mid-Ohio | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Mid-Ohio | July 19 |
| 7 | Generac 500 at Road America | 4 Hours | Road America | August 9 |
| 8 | Grand Prix of Mosport | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Mosport International Raceway | August 24 |
| 9 | Detroit Sports Car Challenge | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Belle Isle street circuit | August 30 |
| 10 | Petit Le Mans | 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or 10 Hours | Road Atlanta | October 4 |
| 11 | Monterey Sports Car Championships | 4 Hours | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | October 18 |
TheLone Star Grand Prix was originally scheduled to take place on April 26. However, following the merger of theChamp Car World Series andIndy 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.[1]
| Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers | Rnds. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bell Motorsports | Aston Martin DBR9 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | D | 008 | Terry Borcheller | 1–2, 5, 7–9 |
| Chapman Ducote | 1–2, 5, 7–9 | |||||
 Antonio García | 1 | |||||
| Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | Chevrolet LS7.r 7.0L V8 | M | 3 | Johnny O'Connell | All |
 Jan Magnussen | All | |||||
 Ron Fellows | 1, 10 | |||||
| 4 |  Oliver Gavin | All | ||||
 Olivier Beretta | All | |||||
 Max Papis | 1, 10 |
* Was on the entry list but did not participate in the event.
Overall winner inbold.
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:
For races between four hours and eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
For races longer than eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Unlike theLe Mans Series where teams with multiple entries have each entry number scored separately to the championship, teams with multiple entries only score the points of their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Rd7 | Rd8 | Rd9 | Rd10 | Rd11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audi Sport North America | Audi R10 TDI | AudiTDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 230 | |
| 2 | Intersport Racing | Lola B06/10 Lola B06/10 Lola B07/17 | AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 AER P32C 3.6 L Turbo V8 Judd GV5.5 S2 5.5 L V10 | 23 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 129 | |||
| 3 |  Peugeot SportTotal | Peugeot 908 HDi FAP | PeugeotHDi 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel) | 20 | 26 | 46 | |||||||||
| 4 | Autocon Motorsports | Lola B06/10 | AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 41 | ||||||||
| 5 | Team LNT | Ginetta-Zytek 07S | Zytek 4.5 L V8 | 20 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Corsa Motorsports | Zytek 07S | Zytek 2ZG408 4.0 L V8 Zytek 4.5 L V8 | 18 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Creation Autosportif | Creation CA07 | AIM (Judd) YS5.5 5.5 L V10 | 15 | 15 |
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Rd7 | Rd8 | Rd9 | Rd10 | Rd11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penske Racing | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8 | 30 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 26 | 18 | 210 |
| 2 | PatrónHighcroft Racing | Acura ARX-01B | Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 7 | 162 | |
| 3 | Dyson Racing | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 13 | 129 |
| 4 | Andretti Green Racing | Acura ARX-01B | Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 14 | 25 | 128 |
| 5 |  Lowe'sFernández Racing | Acura ARX-01B | Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 88 | |
| 6 | de Ferran Motorsports | Acura ARX-01B | Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 85 | ||||
| 7 | Penske Motorsports, Inc. | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8 | 30 | 15 | 45 | |||||||||
| 8 | B-K Motorsport | Lola B07/46 Lola B08/86 | MazdaMZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 40 | |||
| 9 |  Horag Lista Racing | Porsche RS Spyder Evo | Porsche MR6 3.4 L V8 | 18 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Van der Steur Racing | Radical SR9 | AER P07 2.0 L Turbo I4 | 3 | 3 |
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Rd7 | Rd8 | Rd9 | Rd10 | Rd11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 250 |
| 2 | Bell Motorsports | Aston Martin DBR9 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 13 | 70 |
| Pos | Team | Chassis | Engine | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Rd7 | Rd8 | Rd9 | Rd10 | Rd11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 30 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 13 | 20 | 26 | 13 | 211 |
| 2 | Tafel Racing | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 195 |
| 3 | Risi Competizione | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 20 | 13 | 30 | 21 | 159 |
| 4 | Farnbacher-Loles Motorsport | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 25 | 16 | 18 | 106 | ||||
| 5 | Flying Lizard Motorsports 44 | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 92 | ||
| 6 | Panoz Team PTG | Panoz Esperante GT-LM | Ford (Élan) 5.0 L V8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 52 | ||||
| 7 |  VICI Racing | Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | Porsche 3.8 L Flat-6 Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 42 | |||||
| 8 | JMB Racing | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | 18 | 9 | 27 | |||||||||
| 9 | Drayson-Barwell | Aston Martin DBRS9 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 | Aston Martin 6.0 L V12 Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 24 | |||||||
| 10= | Corsa Motorsports | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0 L V8 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 23 | ||||||||
| 10= | Primetime Race Group | Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe | Dodge 8.3 L V10 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 23 | ||||||||
| 12 | Black Swan Racing | Ford GT-R Mk.VII | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 | ||||||||
| 13 | LG Motorsports | Chevrolet Corvette C6 | Chevrolet 6.3 L V8 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | ||||||||
| 14 | Robertson Racing | Ford GT-R Mk.VII | Ford 5.0 L V8 | 3 | 3 |
For races under three hours, points are awarded to the top 10 finishers in the following order:
For races between four hours and eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
For races longer than eight hours, points are awarded in the following order:
Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance are not awarded points. Drivers failing to drive for at least 45 minutes in the race are not awarded points, with the exception of the Long Beach round where drivers need only 30 minutes minimum.
† - Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 4.
† - Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long were both penalized three championship points for their entry making avoidable contact during Round 2.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Rd 10 | Rd 11 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Johnny O'Connell | Corvette Racing | 30 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 30 | 21 | 238 |
| 1= | Jan Magnussen | Corvette Racing | 30 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 30 | 21 | 238 |
| 3= | Oliver Gavin | Corvette Racing | 26 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 215 |
| 3= | Olivier Beretta | Corvette Racing | 26 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 26 | 25 | 215 |
| 5= | Chapman Ducote | Bell Motorsports | 23 | 21 | 13 | 13 | 70 | |||||||
| 5= | Terry Borcheller | Bell Motorsports | 23 | 21 | 13 | 13 | 70 | |||||||
| 7 | Ron Fellows | Corvette Racing | 30 | 30 | 60 | |||||||||
| 8 | Max Papis | Corvette Racing | 26 | 26 | 52 | |||||||||
| 9 | Antonio García | Bell Motorsports | 23 | 23 |
On June 24, 2008, the ALMS has announced for a new challenge called theGreen Challenge. The challenge, integrated with the series races, and which will debut at this year's Petit Le Mans, and continuing with the entire full season in 2009, emphasizes on targeting the series for "green racing." The ALMS was the first motorsport racing series in North America to be recognized by theUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), theUnited States Department of Energy and theSociety of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) to be recognized as a "Green Racing Series", and these three will take part organizing the challenge. All the teams will be eligible for theGreen Challenge. The point system will be the same as the regular ALMS scoring system, but teams start out with the most possible points a team in the ALMS have during the season, and the points are deducted based on the performance of the vehicle. The lowest points at the end of the season would be theGreen Challenge season champion.[5]
