European races to be revived

ALMS founder Don Panoz made the double announcement at Le Mans today (Friday), saying that a single race will be run in Europe next year, with two planned for 2004.

It will mark Panoz's second attempt to establish his series on the other side of the Atlantic. The ALMS raced at Silverstone and the Nurburgring in 2000, before the European Le Mans Series was launched last year. But low grid numbers forced its cancellation for this season.

A venue for next year's event is undecided, but is likely to be one of Europe's major and most historical circuits. Panoz said it was a possibility that the race could offer the winner an automatic entry for the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours, if the as-yet unspecified distance of the event is deemed long enough.

Panoz has been able to plan the European return thanks to the stability provided by the new contract extension with Le Mans governing body, the ACO. The series will continue to use the Le Mans name and regulations for a further five years.

"Our relationship with the ACO has been instrumental in the growth this series has experienced since it began in 1999," said Panoz. "Use of the ACO's rules gives us stability in technical regulations that has made our series attractive to race teams and manufacturers."

"This announcement will confirm the level of stability and consistency for professional sportscar racing. It will provide manufacturers, promoters, teams and fans with a great platform for future growth of the ALMS.

"It is also very important to us to be able to continue to use the Le Mans name in all aspects of our series operation. We have built an equity in the ALMS name and it is what we are."