The 1999 American Le Mans Series was the inaugural season of the IMSA American Le Mans Series, and is now recognised as the 29th season of the IMSA GT Championship. It was a series for Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and Grand Touring (GT) race cars divided into three classes: LMP, GTS, and GT. It began March 20, 1999, and ended November 7, 1999, after eight races.
The American Le Mans Series officially replaced the dwindling IMSA GT Championship after the 1998 season. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which organized the 24 Hours of Le Mans, allowed IMSA's owner Don Panoz to create a series closely modeled after the formula used at Le Mans. The first official ACO-backed event had been held at the 1998 Petit Le Mans, which was part of the IMSA GT season but allowed ACO-spec cars to compete. The success of the event allowed Panoz to form the American Le Mans Series, which continued until its merger with Grand-Am in 2013.
Schedule
| Rnd | Race | Length | Circuit | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 Hours | Sebring International Raceway | Sebring, Florida | March 20 | |
| 2 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | April 18 | |
| 3 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Mosport Park | Bowmanville, Ontario | June 27 | |
| 4 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Sears Point Raceway | Sonoma, California | July 25 | |
| 5 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | August 1 | |
| 6 | 1000 Miles or 10 Hours | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | September 18 | |
| 7 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California | October 10 | |
| 8 | 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 7 | |
| Source:[1] | |||||
The following round was included on the original calendar but was later cancelled.
| Race | Length | Circuit | Location | Date | Cancellation reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Hours 45 Minutes | Streets of San Diego | San Diego, California | November 7 | Construction delays |
The inaugural ALMS season consisted of 8 races. Six were carried over from the previous seasons IMSA GT Championship which were 12 Hours of Sebring, Grand Prix of Atlanta, Mosport, Petit Le Mans, Laguna Seca and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only races not carried over were Lime Rock Park which switched to the USRRC schedule for 1999 and the second Sebring weekend. Sonoma and Portland joined the calendar to hold their first major endurance races since 1997 and 1994 respectively.
Originally the season finale was supposed to be the San Diego Grand Prix held on a 1.5 mile Road course at the former Naval Training Center.[2][3] However, the season finale would eventually be moved to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to construction delays.[4]
Entry list
Le Mans Prototype (LMP)
AMG-Mercedes had planned on entering their Mercedes-Benz CLR into the final three races of the season but cancelled their Sportscar program after a disastrous performance at Le Mans.[7]
Grand Touring Sport (GTS)
Grand Touring (GT)
* Was on the entry list but did not participate in the event.
Grand Touring Over (GTO)
A GTO class had been planned but was cancelled before the start of the season. The following four teams had been on the entry list for the Sebring 12 Hours before the class was cancelled.
| Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | No. | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Camaro | Chevrolet V8/90° 2v OHV | ? | 13 | ||
| Chevrolet Camaro | Chevrolet V8/90° 2v OHV | ? | 40 | ||
| Oldsmobile Cutlass | Chevrolet 5.3 L V8 | ? | 82 | ||
| Chevrolet Camaro | Chevrolet V8/90° 2v OHV | ? | 87 |
Season results
Overall winner in bold.
Championship standings
| Race | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | FL | lap lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 25 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sebring | 30 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
LMP Drivers' Championship
Bold - Pole position. F - Fastest lap. L - led a lap. M - led the most laps. * - Not awarded points.
LMP Manufacturers Championship
Manufacturers only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 149 | |
| 2 | 1 | WD | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 147 | ||
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 122 | |
| 4 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 15 | 74 | |
| 5 | 3 | 24 | ||||||||
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
| Source:[8] | ||||||||||
LMP Teams Championship
Teams only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | No. | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 149 | |
| 2 | 16 | DNS | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 2 | 42 | 1 | WD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 147 | ||
| 43 | 19 | WD | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 16 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 139 | ||
| 20 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 14 | ||||
| 4 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 99 | |
| 12 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 11 | 19 | 6 | 7 | |||
| 5 | 27 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 97 | |
| 36 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 85 | |
| 7 | 38 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 15 | 74 | |
| 8 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 63 | ||
| 9 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 12 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 52 | |
| 29 | 15 | 16 | DNQ | 16 | 14 | 18 | 11 | ||||
| 10 | 62 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 50 | ||||||
| 63 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 18 | 14 | 10 | |||||
| 11 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 49 | |||
| 12 | 18 | 27 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 32 | ||||
| 13 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 28 | ||||||
| 14 | 75 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 3 | 26 | |||||
| 15 | 77 | 3 | 24 | ||||||||
| 78 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 16 | 74 | 13 | 20 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 21 | ||||
| 17 | 06 | 15 | 9 | DNS | 16 | ||||||
| 18 | 31 | 13 | 13 | 14 | |||||||
| 19 | 31 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||
| 32 | 21 | ||||||||||
| 20 | 13 | 9 | 11 | ||||||||
| 20 | 00 | 9 | 11 | ||||||||
| 22 | 95 | 26 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 11 | |||||
| 23 | 5 | 21 | 10 | 10 | |||||||
| 24 | 97 | DNS | DNQ | 15 | 5 | ||||||
| - | 44 | 17 | 0 | ||||||||
| - | 60 | 22 | DNQ | 0 | |||||||
| - | 66 | 28 | 0 | ||||||||
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. | |
| Source:[8] | |||||||||||
GTS Drivers' Championship
Bold - Pole position. F - Fastest lap. L - led a lap. M - led the most laps. * - Not awarded points.
GTS Manufacturers Championship
Manufacturers only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 156 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 150 | |||
| 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 119 | |
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
| Source:[9] | ||||||||||
GTS Teams Championship
Teams only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | No. | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 91 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 150 | |||
| 92 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 1 | |||||
| 93 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 56 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 136 | |
| 3 | 55 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 119 | |
| 4 | 61 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 113 | ||
| 5 | 83 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 108 | |
| 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 100 | ||||
| 4 | 7 | 4 | |||||||||
| 7 | 48 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 79 | ||||
| 49 | 5 | 8 | |||||||||
| 8 | 99 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 57 | ||||||
| 9 | 04 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 49 | ||||||
| 10 | 08 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 47 | ||||||
| 11 | 50 | 9 | 6 | 30 | |||||||
| 12 | 71 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||
| 13 | 19 | 11 | 9 | ||||||||
| - | 52 | DNS | 0 | ||||||||
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. | |
| Source:[9] | |||||||||||
GT Standings
GT Drivers' Championship
Bold - Pole position. F - Fastest lap. L - led a lap. M - led the most laps. * - Not awarded points.
GT Manufacturers' Championship
Manufacturers only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 191 | |
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 170 | |
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
| Source:[10] | ||||||||||
GT Teams' Championship
Teams only scored the points for their highest finishing entry in each race.
| Pos. | Team | No. | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 161 | ||
| 7 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 2 | |||
| 10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 146 | |
| 23 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 24 | 5 | 8 | |||||||||
| 3 | 02 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 124 | |
| 03 | 7 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 11 | |||
| 4 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 105 | ||
| 5 | 23 | 2 | DSQ | 1 | 2 | 1 | 92 | ||||
| 6 | 25 | DNS | 9 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 51 | |||
| 7 | 76 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 45 | |||
| 8 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 33 | |||||||
| 9 | 07 | 5 | DNS | 7 | 33 | ||||||
| 10 | 40 | 4 | 5 | 32 | |||||||
| 11 | 67 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 32 | ||||||
| 68 | 7 | 7 | 14 | ||||||||
| 12 | 73 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 27 | ||||||
| 13 | 70 | 8 | 12 | 25 | |||||||
| 14 | * | 9 | 7 | 24 | |||||||
| 15 | 88 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 23 | ||||||
| 16 | 90 | 9 | 8 | 23 | |||||||
| 17 | 33 | 4 | 22 | ||||||||
| 18 | 46 | 10 | 13 | 22 | |||||||
| 19 | 54 | 6 | 19 | ||||||||
| 72 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 20 | 65 | 10 | 13 | 17 | |||||||
| 21 | 51 | 5 | 15 | ||||||||
| 22 | 81 | 8 | 12 | ||||||||
| 23 | 53 | 6 | 9 | 11 | |||||||
| 24 | 39 | 14 | 11 | ||||||||
| 24 | 64 | 14 | 15 | 11 | |||||||
| 26 | 39 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||
| Pos. | Team | SEB |
ATL |
MOS |
SON |
POR |
ATL |
LAG |
LVS |
Pts. | |
| Source:[10] | |||||||||||
References
- ↑ "1999 Schedule". American Le Mans Series. Archived from the original on November 18, 1999. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ↑ "San Diego". Silhouet. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ↑ "1999 San Diego Grand Prix Track Layout Unveiled". Americanlemans.com. March 11, 1999. Archived from the original on January 26, 2000. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Season finale moves to Las Vegas". www.autosport.com. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ↑ "American Le Mans Series 1999 - Championships". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "ALMS 1999". World Sports Racing Prototypes. October 2, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Mercedes withdraws from Norisring". Autosport. June 22, 1999. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "1999 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS". imsaracing.net. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "1999 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES GTS CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS". imsaracing.net. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "1999 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS - GT". Imsaracing.net. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
Bibliography
- Jones, Bruce (1999). American Le Mans Series Yearbook 1999. Haymarket Specialist Publications. ISBN 978-0860249665.