ALMS and ACO hold Paris summit

American Le Mans Series executives met in Paris, France, yesterday with Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) delegates to discuss the future of Le Mans-style sportscar racing. ALMS founder Don Panoz represented the series with ALMS president Scott Atherton and Doug Robinson of IMSA. Automobile manufacturers participating in the meeting included Audi, General Motors, Michelotto (Ferrari), Panoz, Porsche and SARD (Toyota)

Jan 17, 2003, 8:57 AM

Topics included the new technical rules for the LMP sports-prototypes that will take effect in 2004 (and will be shared by the ACO and the FIA), performance criteria for each class of car, the relative performance of 2003 and 2004 cars, and plans for future European endurance races.

"It was a very spirited and productive meeting," said Atherton before returning to the USA with Panoz and Robinson. "This meeting was by invitation of the ACO and was designed as an open forum of communication on a number of topics related to the new specifications, and how they can best be implemented with current guidelines. It's very early, but indications are that manufacturers are finding the new rules to be appealing. The presence of a number of manufacturer representatives at the meeting, and those who wanted to be there, is an indication of the interest level."