**video taken from Oak tree hill on September 15, 2012
Category Archives: Le Mans 2012
American Le Mans Series at Virginia International Raceway : Day 2
Day 2 at American Le Mans Series at Virginia International Raceway and I was pretty sure I could hear the angry roar of race machines in my head from the previous day’s race practice. But this day is no day to fret because the VIR 240 Race starts at 2:30 pm to last for 4 straight hours. It was streamed live with a coverage available on ESPN. Our morning was spent stalking race drivers and crews at their pit stations. It was super cool to get up close and personal. We were very lucky to be able to chat with Beth Chryst, sponsored by beatbyagirl.org, who made me truly proud as a woman to see her in the race track. We also had a warm conversation with Miles Maroney and his dad who revealed that Miles started racing at age 4!
This 9th round of the race was won by the insanely fast Muscle Milk Pickett Racing pair of Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf.
open wheels at the pit station at ALMS-VIR 2012
with Beth Chryst of beatbyagirl.org (center) and our good friend Jane Toney (right) ALMS-VIR 2012
with Miles Maroney (center) and hubby (left) at VIR pit station ALMS-VIR 2012
open wheel at ALMS-VIR 2012
who wants a golden GTC?
Prototype 2 and a Lotus Evora GT at ALMS-VIR 2012
Prototype 2 of Level 5 Motorsports at ALMS-VIR 2012
Prototype 1 #16 Dyson Racing Team at ALMS-VIR 2012
#48 Porsche 911 GT3 at ALMS-VIR 2012
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, Henzler/Sellers at ALMS-VIR 2012
#02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari 458GT at ALMS-VIR 2012
#02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron Ferrari 458GT at ALMS-VIR 2012
Prototype 2 of Conquest Endurance Team at ALMS-VIR 2012
Prototype Challenge of Taken 2 team at ALMS-VIR 2012
ALMS-VIR 2012 pit station
the pretty faces of Falken at ALMS-VIR 2012
ALMS-VIR 2012, view from the Oak Hill
All these cars are too fast and our camera had a hard time coping with their speed. This is my only decent photo of Muscle Milk P1, the winner of American Le Mans Series 9th round, taken at the Oak Tree Hill.
the winner of ALMS-VIR 2012 9th round, Muscle Milk taken from Oak Tree Hill
hubby and I enjoying American Le Mans Series 9th round at Virginia International Raceway 2012
hubby and his MR at ALMS-VIR 2012
our good friend Jonathan Toney at ALMS-VIR 2012
And just in case you are wondering how these cars look when stripped naked, here:
#8 Merchant Services Racing Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet getting naked
Lotus No. 23 Evora GT getting naked at the pit station
Video
american le mans series 2012 at virginia international raceway
**video taken from nascar bend view on September 14, 2012
American Le Mans Series at Virginia International Raceway : Day 1
The Virginia International Raceway hosted the 9th round of 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron. Luckily for us, it is only about two and a half hour drive to the race track from North Carolina. For hubby and I and for our friends Jonathan and Jane Toney, this 14th season race is not a treat to miss, even stayed two whole days that felt like the best weekend and (loudest) ever.
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) debuted in 1999. It basically follows the same rules as the 24 Hours Le Mans with 3 primary classes racing and added 2 “challenge classes”. Prototypes ( P1 in red numbers, P2 in blue numbers, PC in purple numbers) are purpose-built racing machines while GT in green numbers and GTC in orange numbers are production-based modified cars.
The morning of our day 1 at VIR was spent watching the practices overlooking from the up hill.
view from the up hill
By noon we attended a fan forum participated by ALMS President & CEO Scott Atherton, VIR Co-owner and Managing Partner Connie Nyholm, No. 4 Corvette Racing C6R driver Tommy Milner, No. 01 ESM Ferrari F458 Italia driver Johannes van Overbeek , and RSR Racing owner Paul Gentilozzi.
fan forum at the pavilion
But my favorite part of our first day was staying and taking photos at the nascar bend and it was tricky.
In between walks around the track, I grabbed the opportunity to take photos of what catches my eye (and attention).
corvette station
hubby and I at the corvette station
I am not an expert of cars and racing and I am still learning the ropes. Hubby was very comforting when he said that we all are. Well, I am enjoying this learning process and guess what, I love American Le Mans Series :)
aerial view of VIR. photo credits to VIResort
