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American LeMans
ALMS: 10 Questions with Lou Gigliotti
The LG Motorsports owner/driver discusses his team's progress, and also the challenges of the ALMS.
John Dagys  |  Posted April 10, 2009   Chicago, IL
Lou Gigliotti sold his entire fleet of World Challenge cars to fund his Riley Corvette ALMS program, which enters its second year. (John Thawley)
Following LG Motorsports’ strong fourth place finish in Saturday’s Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, team owner/driver Lou Gigliotti sat down with John Dagys to discuss his team’s progress in the American Le Mans Series. Gigliotti, a former Trans-Am and World Challenge competitor, has put everything on the line to make it in the ALMS, and reflects on some of the challenges his team has battled through so far.

DAGYS: How does it feel to have come off the team’s best run to-date in the ALMS?

GIGLIOTTI: It’s validation. With the help of Whelen Engineering and the American Le Mans Series, we were allowed to bring a competitive Riley Corvette to the GT2 battle. The ALMS put out a Balance of Performance adjustment for the BMW and Corvette for this race, and it allowed for great racing among completely different cars with completely different architecture.

DAGYS: Attrition came into play at St. Pete, but your co-driver Eric Curran was setting impressive lap times comparable to the leaders, and ran as high as second at one stage. Does that give you more confidence in knowing that you can fight with the big boys?

GIGLIOTTI: Yes. The balance between all the different cars is not an easy task, but the object is to allow all cars to compete, to not only put on a show, but to also give the series relevance. I think St. Pete showed that it is getting closer to a real show for the fans. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong tire compound for the race and it hurt our performance. I'm quite sure we had the car to hang on to 2nd place.

DAGYS: You’ve raced against Eric before in SPEED World Challenge GT. How does it feel to be now racing together with one common goal?

GIGLIOTTI: Eric is yet another overlooked American driver. He is as American as apple pie and he is a really good driver. Another important part of his talent is ability to read the car and make suggestions toward making the car better.

Like life, racing can be unfair for drivers. Some drivers with lots of funding or high profile names can find open doors regardless of talent. If they have the talent, then they can keep going. But a young driver like Eric with talent and less funding needs to find ways to showcase their talent. That is where the unfairness comes in. We hope that Whelen Engineering can continue to assist Eric Curran and allow him to stay in the car all season. Trust me, Eric is the real deal, and I am glad that we can give him a chance.

DAGYS: What have been some major developments to the Riley Corvette during the off-season?

Gigliotti and Curran showcased the potential of the Riley Corvette on the Streets of St. Petersburg, as the GT2 contender ran as high as second. (John Thawley)
GIGLIOTTI: Aero improvements that we carried over from our wind tunnel time with the Corvette World Challenge cars. That is the major area. But we also keep trying to get the car down to the minimum allowed weight. My son Louis and our in house guys have been trying to lighten things up and we have seen some success in the endeavor. But for St. Pete, we had to remove the 56-pound A/C system to get closer to the minimum. Heat has never bothered me, so doing one hour in the car without air was just like going back to the Trans-Am days, only cooler.

Thankfully, Bobby Cronin's CRD Engine Development at least helps us keep up with the fast segment of the class. But that is not our aspiration. It is just a starting point. Only cash will allow the team and our Corvette to keep moving.

DAGYS: Riley Technologies provided you with at-track assistance for a few races last year. How closely are you working with them this season?

GIGLIOTTI: We are still working with Riley, but you have to understand, while they spent millions to develop this car with the U.S. and European markets in mind. But they have hit a road block since GM has opted to move to GT2 class. This has caused GM to renege on their promise to Riley naming them as the only GM-endorsed GT2 builder. This has left Riley with no choice but to pull back from further development on the car. So in essence, we are on our own now.

We still communicate with Riley and they are happy to help in any way that doesn’t cost money. Who can blame them? Unfortunately that puts LG Motorsports in a tough position, all because of politics.

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