American Le Mans Series Returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
DUBLIN, Ohio (June 24, 2002) - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will host an action packed racing weekend June 28-30, when the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) headlines a race weekend that also includes the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge, Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship, and Star Mazda series. The 2.25-mile, 13-turn permanent road course, located in Lexington, Ohio will host the American Le Mans event for the second straight year. The ALMS will take the track for the featured event, a 2 hour and 45 minute "sprint" race, on Sunday, June 30, with the green flag scheduled to drop at 2:00 PM. Many of the same cars that competed just two weeks ago in the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans in France will be competing at Mid-Ohio. Exotic Le Mans Prototypes by manufacturers such as Audi, Panoz, Riley & Scott, and Lola will join Grand Touring machines such as Dodge Vipers, Chevrolet Corvettes, Ford Mustangs, and Porsche 911 Turbos for an interclass, "race within a race" battle. The Trans-Am series joins the ALMS as they did last year to compete in their own 100-mile battle on Saturday, June 29 at 1:30 PM. Trans-Am, the longest running road racing series in North America, first competed at Mid-Ohio in 1967 and will make their 22nd start on the track in 2002. Porsches, Audi S4s, Corvettes, and many more exotic cars will take the track in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge, divided into two classes of racing. The GT class races at 8:55 AM Sunday, with the Touring class on the track at 11:20 AM. Each race is scheduled for 50 minutes, or a predetermined number of laps (27 for GT, 26 for Touring). The Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship makes its first of two stops at Mid-Ohio in 2002 (FF2000 will return during the CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio) as the first step on the open-wheel ladder series. The Formula Ford series races at 10:10 AM on Sunday. (more) American Le Mans Series Returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2-2-2-2 The fifth series racing at Mid-Ohio this weekend is the Star Mazda Series, placing the emphasis on the circuit's drivers in this spec car series. These open-wheel cars will be almost identical, providing a low-cost opportunity for aspiring racers to gain confidence and experience in a race car. The 45 minute Star Mazda race will begin at 5:15 PM on Saturday. In addition to the high-speed action on the track, there are many other opportunities to interact with drivers off the track. On Thursday, June 27, the green flag will officially wave on the weekend with the American Le Mans Fan Fest at Brewmaster's Gate in Columbus, Ohio. Win weekend tickets, meet a driver, and get up-close with an American Le Mans car at this event. At the track on Friday from 12:05 to 1:05 PM, the American Le Mans Series Fan Forum provides fans a chance to ask the hard-hitting questions of top executives in the American Le Mans Series. Don Panos, Scott Atherton, and others will be on hand to provide answers in this open forum "town-meeting" session on Championship Row at Mid-Ohio. Saturday is also full of fan activities off the track, beginning with an all-driver autograph session for the American Le Mans Series at 10:00 AM. This one-hour session will be immediately followed by 45 minutes of autographs from the Trans-Am Series and World Challenge drivers. Just because the track goes cold, doesn't mean the day is over. Fans can stick around and sing along to all of their favorite songs when Chris Logsdon performs at 6:00 PM Saturday evening. On Sunday, the American Le Mans Series provides fans with an opportunity to go into the pits with the ALMS drivers for the driver's meeting. Any spectator with a paddock pass will be able to get a glimpse of a side of racing not often seen in the 10:55 AM meeting. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is located approximately halfway between Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio off of Interstate 71. Commonly referred to as the "Most Competitive in the U.S.", Mid-Ohio hosts six events throughout the summer. For event information or tickets, call 1-800-MID-OHIO or visit us on the web at www.midohio.com <http://www.midohio.com>.