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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: P2 Car Counts In Question
Level 5, Conquest, Dempsey and others still unconfirmed as 2013 American Le Mans Series season approaches...
There are questions surrounding the future of both Conquest Endurance and Level 5 Motorsports, the only two full-season ALMS P2 entries in 2012. (Photo: John Dagys)
While all indictions are that P2 cars will likely be a part of the unified North American sports car series in 2014, there are still concerns over the short-term future of the cost-capped prototype category for the final year of the American Le Mans Series.
With less than ten weeks until the season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring, SPEED.com has learned that not a single team has either committed or announced a full-season entry in the class.
Considered a thriving platform in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the pro-am structured prototype category has yet to take off in the States, with only two teams - Level 5 Motorsports and Conquest Endurance - having competed in the full ten-round championship in 2012.
Both squads, along with Dempsey Racing, which ran select rounds with its Lola B12/80 Judd, are now in a race against the clock to confirm 2013 programs, while also eyeing up any potential competition, or lack there of it, the category may or may not deliver.
“We are absolutely flat out trying to get the P2 situation sorted,” said Dempsey Racing team co-principal Joe Foster. “We had 2013 pretty much finished as regards commercial partners but the timing of the merger announcement ended up killing those deals after over a year of work.
“We’re now having to start from scratch with barely a couple of month’s notice. Patrick and I are putting a huge effort into new deals and we remain hopeful of keeping the P2 on track.”
While the primary goal has been to take the team to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the entry deadline for the French endurance classic is now less than two weeks away, leaving questions on the extent of Dempsey’s potential ALMS participation.
Conquest’s 2013 program is also in jeopardy, with the veteran IndyCar squad being asked to return its class-winning Morgan-Nissan to OAK Racing, which has cited lack of interest in U.S. P2 car sales as their decision to potentially end the arrangement.
Team owner Eric Bachelart, meanwhile, told SPEED.com that he’s still fighting to keep the program alive, with a few new drivers in the pipeline. David Heinemeier Hansson, Conquest’s principal backer in 2012, has moved on to a full-time drive in the WEC but could still be part of the team’s lineup for Sebring, according to Bachelart.
With an auto-invite already in hand, Le Mans also remains a goal for Conquest, but like Dempsey, is not yet confirmed. Bachelart said he may have to look for options in other categories should an ALMS P2 program not materialize.
The uncertainty over Conquest and Dempsey’s ALMS efforts, along with no solid new full-time P2 programs in the pipeline, has apparently made Level 5 have second thoughts as well, with the two-time class champions in a holding pattern to see if there will be legitimate competition in the category before committing.
It’s believed the Scott Tucker-owned squad does not want a repeat of 2011, which saw its Lola-Honda run unopposed in the first year under the cost-capped regulations.
“We are evaluating and assessing all current developments and options for our P2 team,” Tucker said. “When we have a clear understanding of what all of the options we are evaluating look like, we will then determine what we will consider doing.”
With less than ten weeks until the season-opening Twelve Hours of Sebring, SPEED.com has learned that not a single team has either committed or announced a full-season entry in the class.
Considered a thriving platform in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the pro-am structured prototype category has yet to take off in the States, with only two teams - Level 5 Motorsports and Conquest Endurance - having competed in the full ten-round championship in 2012.
Both squads, along with Dempsey Racing, which ran select rounds with its Lola B12/80 Judd, are now in a race against the clock to confirm 2013 programs, while also eyeing up any potential competition, or lack there of it, the category may or may not deliver.
“We are absolutely flat out trying to get the P2 situation sorted,” said Dempsey Racing team co-principal Joe Foster. “We had 2013 pretty much finished as regards commercial partners but the timing of the merger announcement ended up killing those deals after over a year of work.
“We’re now having to start from scratch with barely a couple of month’s notice. Patrick and I are putting a huge effort into new deals and we remain hopeful of keeping the P2 on track.”
While the primary goal has been to take the team to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the entry deadline for the French endurance classic is now less than two weeks away, leaving questions on the extent of Dempsey’s potential ALMS participation.
Conquest’s 2013 program is also in jeopardy, with the veteran IndyCar squad being asked to return its class-winning Morgan-Nissan to OAK Racing, which has cited lack of interest in U.S. P2 car sales as their decision to potentially end the arrangement.
Team owner Eric Bachelart, meanwhile, told SPEED.com that he’s still fighting to keep the program alive, with a few new drivers in the pipeline. David Heinemeier Hansson, Conquest’s principal backer in 2012, has moved on to a full-time drive in the WEC but could still be part of the team’s lineup for Sebring, according to Bachelart.
With an auto-invite already in hand, Le Mans also remains a goal for Conquest, but like Dempsey, is not yet confirmed. Bachelart said he may have to look for options in other categories should an ALMS P2 program not materialize.
The uncertainty over Conquest and Dempsey’s ALMS efforts, along with no solid new full-time P2 programs in the pipeline, has apparently made Level 5 have second thoughts as well, with the two-time class champions in a holding pattern to see if there will be legitimate competition in the category before committing.
It’s believed the Scott Tucker-owned squad does not want a repeat of 2011, which saw its Lola-Honda run unopposed in the first year under the cost-capped regulations.
“We are evaluating and assessing all current developments and options for our P2 team,” Tucker said. “When we have a clear understanding of what all of the options we are evaluating look like, we will then determine what we will consider doing.”
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