Second of three races that make up ILMC (Intercontinental Le Mans Cup), Petit Le Mans will be held on the Road Atlanta circuit, the Mecca of U.S. motorsport for the past 40 years
Traditionally, the south eastern United States is the kingdom of oval racing and particularly NASCAR, while the west is more inclined towards the European style of road circuits like Laguna Seca in California. Offsetting that imbalance, the Road Atlanta circuit emerged from the red Georgia clay in 1970 in Braselton (Georgia), 50 miles northeast of Atlanta along Interstate 85 towards Greenville. The newcomer quickly won popularity with the CAN-AM series. The inaugural race was run in September 1970 where outsider Tony Dean, won at the wheel of his modest Porsche 908/2 after the retirement of all the favourites, including the works McLaren. The tone was set right from the outset: at Road Atlanta, anything can happen!
The hilly, tree-lined circuit that snakes through the Georgia countryside is difficult and technical but also fast and popular with drivers. It has a dozen turns, including some blind, and clearances leaving little room for error throughout its 2.54 miles. The set pieces are the sequence of esses which follow the first turn and down at breakneck speed towards the esses that precede the return to the pits: many have left their hopes of victory here.
Having been somewhat neglected in the 80s, the circuit has been renovated following its acquisition in 1996 by Don Panoz, whose cars are built in Braselton. Through its history Road Atlanta has been delighting audiences, and since its inception, the popular success of the Petit Le Mans has never wavered. The circuit has been the scene of some spectacular accidents: Mark Donohue was injured in 1972 after the flight of his Porsche 917-10 Can-Am and more recently, in a Porsche 911-GT1, Yannick Dalmas also joined the Road Atlanta 'flying club'. Since then, a chicane has been added and modifications were made to prototypes to avoid this kind of incident. Safety has never ceased to improve, as was evident last year when Scott Sharp emerged unscathed from his Acura.
The birth of Petit Le Mans (a distance of 1,000 miles, or about 10 hours) in 1998 made Road Atlanta another legend of endurance racing alongside Sebring. Its inclusion in ILMC, on the 40th anniversary tour, allows it now to take a new course towards intercontinental recognition...!