European Le Mans Series
Encyclopedia
The European Le Mans Series (ELMS) was a sports car
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
that was created in 2000 and ran its only season in 2001 before being cancelled. It was created by Don Panoz
Don Panoz
Dr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...
as an expansion on his successful American Le Mans Series
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...
run by IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
. The failure of the ELMS eventually led the way to the creation of the Le Mans Endurance Series
Le Mans Series
The Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...
in 2004.
Rules
The series was run almost identical to the rules used in the American Le Mans Series. Four classes competed, based on Le Mans PrototypeLe Mans Prototype
A Le Mans Prototype is a type of sports prototype race car most notably used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series...
s (LMP) and grand tourer
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
s (GT) cars, being known as LMP900, LMP675, GTS, and GT. Races were usually 2 Hours and 45 Minutes in length, with the exception of the 1000 km of Estoril. Points were awarded for finishers in each race as part of a championship. Championships included drivers, teams, manufacturers, engine suppliers, and tire suppliers.
Winners of the teams championship in their class earned automatic entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
.
History
With the Automobile Club de l'OuestAutomobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...
(ACO) allowing Don Panoz
Don Panoz
Dr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...
to bring the rules and racing formulas of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
to America with the creation of the Petit Le Mans
Petit Le Mans
The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
in 1998, Don Panoz attempted to built up a series to be based around Petit Le Mans. The aged IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
sportscar series was taken over and became the new American Le Mans Series, and met with much success in 1999
1999 American Le Mans Series season
The 1999 American Le Mans Series season was the first season of the IMSA American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Touring race cars divided into three classes: LMP, GTS, and GT...
. Following this success, Panoz attempting to bring sportscar racing back to Europe, which had lacked a major sportscar series since the demise of the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
in 1992. This led to the 2000 American Le Mans Series season
2000 American Le Mans Series season
The 2000 American Le Mans Series season was the 2nd season for the IMSA American Le Mans Series. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes and Grand Touring race cars divided into 3 classes: LMP, GTS, and GT...
, which included two races in Europe as the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
and Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
, as well as a round in Australia. These races would serve as a precursor to what would become the separate European Le Mans Series in 2001.
The European Le Mans Series was launched for 2001 with 5 races, including a premier 1000 km race at Estoril
Autódromo do Estoril
The Autódromo do Estoril is a race course in Portugal, owned by state-run holding management company Parpública. Its length is . It was the home of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996....
, which would be the European equivalent of the 1000 mile Petit Le Mans
Petit Le Mans
The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
and earn automatic entries to the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
for each class winner.
To aid in the development of the ELMS, the 2001 season shared some races between both ALMS and ELMS. The 12 Hours of Sebring
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
and Petit Le Mans
Petit Le Mans
The Petit Le Mans is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.The race was...
, normally ALMS races, were considered optional races for ELMS teams. At the same time, the ELMS races at Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
and Jarama
Circuito Permanente Del Jarama
The Circuito del Jarama , formerly known as Circuito Permanente del Jarama is a race course in Madrid, Spain which has hosted nine Formula One Spanish Grand Prix....
were considered optional for ALMS teams. This allowed for the possibility of boosting the draw from international teams to either series.
Unfortunately the series was unable to earn much attention from European sportscar teams, especially since the final FIA Sportscar Championship
FIA Sportscar Championship
The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating on two classes of open-cockpit sports prototypes in...
and FIA GT Championship
FIA GT Championship
The FIA GT Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The championship was mostly concentrated in Europe, but throughout the years has visited other continents including Asia and South...
series used similar cars, but different rules which would require teams to modify their cars or buy new cars to comply with ELMS rules. This means that the car count for the 2001 season was small. For the ELMS events that included ALMS teams, very few teams actually bothered to make the trip across the Atlantic to participate in races that appeared to have very few serious competitors. Of the ALMS teams that did race, nearly all were factory backed squads that had the money to spend on transporting their equipment to Europe. Thus the entry lists for each race fell from 25 at the beginning of the season to a mere 14 at season's end, with some classes only having one or two competitors.
With a lack of involvement from teams, and less interest from the media due to the lack of teams, the European Le Mans Series was forced to fold following the 2001 season.
The demise of the European Le Mans Series would not be the end of sportscar racing in Europe. In 2003, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest
Automobile Club de l'Ouest
The Automobile Club de l'Ouest , sometimes abbreviated to ACO, is the largest automotive group in France. It was founded in 1906 by car building and racing enthusiasts, and is most famous for being the organising entity behind the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race...
announced their intentions to create their own European-based series, named the Le Mans Endurance Series, which would be similar to the European Le Mans Series, but feature only 1000 km races instead of the shorter, 2 Hour 45 Minute races used by ELMS. This series would be far more successful, with a large number of participants from the very beginning.
APLMS
At the same time in the development of the European Le Mans Series, Don PanozDon Panoz
Dr. h.c. Donald Panoz is an American entrepreneur who made his name in pharmaceuticals and has since become a successful owner of various motorsport ventures.- Early life :...
also proposed the idea of yet another series. Originally named the Asian Le Mans Series, it was later known as the Asian-Pacific Le Mans Series (APLMS). Like the European Le Mans Series, this APLMS would bring an ACO-backed sportscar series to Asia and the Pacific. This could be seen as a resurrection of the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japanese Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier years...
(JSPC) which had ended in 1992. The ACO had previous backed a single Japanese event, the 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km
1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000km
The 1999 Le Mans Fuji 1000 km was an endurance race backed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , who ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Japan Automobile Federation , who ran the JGTC race series...
which combined Le Mans cars with JGTC
Super GT
The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...
machines for automatic entries to the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans
2000 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 68th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 17 and 18 2000.-Pre-race:After the 1999 race, most of the manufacturers in the top classes went in different directions. BMW and Toyota went into Formula One, while Mercedes-Benz left sportscars after the CLR...
. This idea was followed by the American Le Mans Series with the 2000 Race of a Thousand Years
2000 Race of a Thousand Years
The 2000 Race of a Thousand Years was an endurance race and the final round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series season. It was run on the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia on New Year's Eve, 31 December 2000...
race at the Adelaide Street Circuit
Adelaide Street Circuit
The Adelaide Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the central business district of the city of Adelaide in South Australia....
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. These two events served as a precursor to the planned APLMS series, and at the time of the creation of ELMS, Don Panoz announced his intention to hold an exhibition APLMS race at Sepang International Circuit
Sepang International Circuit
The Sepang International Circuit is a racing circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, approximately 60 km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur. It is the venue used for the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix, A1 Grand Prix as well as the...
in Malaysia in late 2001.
As the ELMS season went on, it became apparent that there was a lack of interest in the series, and Don Panoz decided that the APLMS would likely have even less interest. Thus the APLMS exhibition race and all plans for a series were scrapped.
The death of APLMS would also not be in vain, as in 2005 the SECO sanctioning body in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
announced their own endurance sportscar series, known as the Japan Le Mans Challenge
Japan Le Mans Challenge
The Japan Le Mans Challenge was an endurance sportscar series based in Japan built around the 24 Hours of Le Mans that began in 2006. It was run by the Sports Car Endurance Race Operation sanctioning body and ran under the rules laid out by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest...
(JLMC) with full ACO backing.
In 2009, a reborn Asian Le Mans Series
Asian Le Mans Series
The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season...
will be created with two 3-hour races in Shanghai
Shanghai International Circuit
The Shanghai International Circuit is a motor racing circuit, situated in the Jiading District of Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, which was first hosted in 2004....
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and two more in Okayama, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.