5. GUY SMITH & CHRIS DYSON — The Dyson Racing duo enjoyed its most successful season to date, as consistent finishes, coupled with a win at Lime Rock, helped propel Guy Smith and Chris Dyson to the LMP1 drivers’ championship.

Strong runs, particularly from Smith, helped keep their Lola B09/86 Mazda in contention against the usually quicker Lola-Aston Martin from Muscle Milk Pickett Racing. Smith’s thrilling fight with Klaus Graf in the final laps at Road America was undoubtedly one of his best drives all season, despite having finished second, a mere 0.111 seconds behind.

4. JEROEN BLEEKEMOLEN — Unable to share the GTC crown with team owner Tim Pappas due to missing a handful of races with Black Swan Racing, Jeroen Bleekemolen still proved to be one of the quickest Porsche drivers around, and undoubtedly the best in a 911 GT3 Cup car.

The Dutchman notched four victories in six starts and finished third in the class standings, despite having missed three rounds due to his Porsche Supercup and Rebellion Racing commitments. The highlight of the year, though, came in qualifying at Baltimore, when his climbed out of his car to retrieve a loose wheel, returned to the pits with it in the passenger compartment, and later going onto claim pole.

3. LUCAS LUHR & KLAUS GRAF — The Muscle Milk Pickett Racing combination of Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf were arguably the quickest in LMP1 and could have easily won the championship if for not mechanical woes for its fast, but fragile, Lola-Aston Martin.

The German pair were unable to recover from a costly DNF at Sebring but went onto score four wins. While Luhr was forced to miss the Baltimore round due to a clash with the FIA GT1 World Championship, Graf and super-sub Romain Dumas salvaged a fourth-place result after weekend plagued with electrical issues.

Former Audi factory driver Luhr impressed in his prototype comeback, proving his worth as a top-flight driver that could get the job done in both LMPs and GT cars, having claimed the GT1 World Championship in 2011 as well.

2. KYLE MARCELLI — Undoubtedly one of the sport’s rising stars, Kyle Marcelli enjoyed a breakout year with wins on both sides of the Atlantic. Sharing the wheel with no fewer than seven co-drivers during the ALMS season, the 21-year-old Canadian earned two poles, a pair of class victories and six podium finishes out of nine starts. His record was as good as anyone else in the LMPC field, although a pair of DNFs deprived Marcelli from a championship-winning effort.

Jumping between teams and co-drivers and filled with the uncertainty of getting to race on some weekends, Marcelli completed the majority of the season with Intersport Racing and jelled well with Tomy Drissi, whom he shared class wins at Mid-Ohio and Baltimore with. He also achieved success in Europe, winning in his Le Mans Series debut at Imola.

Marcelli’s raw talent saw him get quickly up to speed, no matter the obstacles thrown in front of him. It would be good to see what Marcelli could do behind the wheel of a LMP1 car, as this up-and-comer appears to be the real deal.

1. JOEY HAND & DIRK MULLER — BMW Team RLL set the benchmark in the ultra-competitive GT category, thanks in part to its two star drivers, Joey Hand and Dirk Muller. The duo enjoyed a dominant start to the season with wins at Sebring, Long Beach and Lime Rock Park and recorded solid finishes, despite facing their own share of drama through the summer months.

The combination of the well-developed BMW M3 GT, ace drivers Hand and Muller and Dunlop tires just seemed to click. Countless pole positions and fastest race laps, the BMW pair were undoubtedly the class of the field.

Hand particularly enjoyed his most successful season to date with an overall win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, class victory at Sebring, podium in his Le Mans debut and the ALMS GT crown, shared with Muller, whose friendship grew over the course of the unforgettable season.

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