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American LeMans
ALMS: 2011 Rookie Of The Year, Eric Lux
American Le Mans Series rookie enjoys breakout 2011 season, which included being crowned LMPC class co-champion...
John Dagys  |  Posted December 11, 2011   Chicago, IL
Eric Lux shined in his prototype debut in the American Le Mans Series in 2011. (Photo: John Dagys)
The 2011 American Le Mans Series season featured close competition in nearly all categories, but the battle for top honors in LMP Challenge was often one of the hardest-fought. With races won and lost by fractions of a second, it was fitting the championship ended in a dead heat.

While Gunnar Jeannette and Ricardo Gonazlez helped claim the teams’ title for ALMS newcomers CORE autosport, the duo shared the LMPC drivers’ championship with Genoa Racing’s Eric Lux, who ended up on even points and with the exact same number of first, second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishes as Jeannette and Gonzalez.

It was no doubt a battle for the ages, which resulted in the first championship tie in the series’ 13-year history, but even more remarkable for Lux, who ended up taking home series Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the process.

Lux entered the 2011 season with a lot to learn. The 23-year-old New York native was no stranger to sportscar racing, having competed, and won in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, but was new to the ALMS, and more importantly, prototype racing in general.

But as the results proved, it didn’t take long for him to get up to speed. Paired with Elton Julian for the majority of the season, the duo scored wins at Lime Rock Park and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, while Lux collected six podiums in nine races, a feat in itself considering the high level of competition LMPC delivered.


Despite battling a sometimes underperforming car, fielded by one of the smallest teams in the ALMS paddock, Lux clearly held his own, even without veteran co-driver Elton Julian. A podium finish at Mosport teamed with car owner Christian Zugel and a near-win at Mid-Ohio proved that he was of championship-winning caliber.

And just two months later, Lux was holding the hardware to prove it, becoming the second consecutive LMPC champion to also win Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the same year.

That’s why it was a no-brainer to award Eric Lux as SPEED.com’s 2011 American Le Mans Series Rookie-of-the-Year.

What will the 2012 season bring for Lux? It’s unclear at the moment, but given his strong entrance into the ALMS this year, one of prototype racing’s newest stars shouldn’t be out of work for very long.

PHOTOS: 2011 ALMS Rookie of the Year, Eric Lux


John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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