ALMS chief upbeat about future

Atherton believes that 20 prestigious companies - including chassis manufacturers, tyres and engine brands will be competing in the 2007 series.

Acura will join the expected continuation of factory efforts from companies such as Porsche, Aston Martin, Mazda and Audi next season.

"A year ago, we said the pipeline of content in the American Le Mans Series was refilling. One by one, that claim is coming true," Atherton said.

"The recent commitments we have received from such world-class manufacturers like Audi, Porsche, BMW, Lexus, Ferrari and now Acura proves that the American Le Mans Series is the premium brand of motorsports.

"There is a reason why the world's most elite group of manufacturers want to compete here. No other racing series in the world can match the diversity of premium manufacturers that are present in the American Le Mans Series.

"This doesn't apply to just our automobile manufacturers. There is also a collection of premier, world-class tire manufacturers - Michelin, Kumho, Pirelli, Yokohama and others - which are relentlessly competing with each other in every category."