ALMS Most Popular Driver

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Voting is now over for the "From the Fans" poll. ALMS now has the poll for voting for the top 10 favorite drivers. Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen has made the top ten. Please vote daily for your favorite Corvette driver. You can vote via desktop and cell phone.

2011 ALMS " Most Popular Driver"

Voting for this year`s From the Fans award is compete - NO, we won`t tell you who won! But we will tell you that you can now cast your vote for this year`s ALMS Most Popular Driver.

The 10 finalists - and those moving on from the two preliminary rounds - are Jeroen Bleekemolen, Guy Cosmo, Oliver Gavin, Klaus Graf, Wolf Henzler, Gunnar Jeannette, Jan Magnussen, Jaime Melo, Frankie Montecalvo and Guy Smith.

Voting will be open through 7 a.m. CST on Monday, Sept. 26. The winner will be announced at the annual Night of Champions banquet Sunday, Oct. 2 - the day after Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda.

http://americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=poll

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I voted

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SERIES CELEBRATES ON A 'NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS'
Team Falken Tire, Corvette's Magnussen winners among the fans
2011-10-03


The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón honored its competitors and participants Sunday on a “Night of Champions” – the Series’ annual championship awards banquet at Chateau Elan. Team Falken Tire and Corvette Racing’s Jan Magnussen were announced as winners in contests voted on by Series fans; Falken won the ‘From the Fans’ award as the group that made the most significant impact on the ALMS in 2011, and Magnussen was selected as Most Popular Driver.

Both honors, based on input from Series fans worldwide through americanlemans.com, were among many special honors given Sunday night.

Genoa Racing’s Eric Lux won Rookie of the Year to go along with sharing the LMP Challenge driving championship with CORE autosport’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Gunnar Jeannette. Alex Job Racing’s Bill Sweedler won the Founder’s Cup, an award that goes to the top gentleman driver in the ALMS.

The Battery Tender Mechanic of the Year trophies went to Mike Seymour, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing (LMP1); Dan Binks, Corvette Racing (GT); Steve Ragan, Genoa Racing (LMPC); Gary Biehl, TRG (GTC)

Michelin, a long-time supporter of the American Le Mans Series and championship-winning tire manufacturer, received the annual Promoter’s Trophy for its efforts in the promotion and support of the American Le Mans Series.



2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón Award Winners
Most Popular Driver: Jan Magnussen
From the Fans: Team Falken Tire
Rookie of the Year: Eric Lux
Founder’s Cup: Bill Sweedler
Promoter’s Trophy: Michelin
Mechanic of the Year: Mike Seymour, Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing (LMP1); Dan Binks, Corvette Racing (GT); Steve Ragan, Genoa Racing (LMPC); Gary Biehl, TRG (GTC)

Manufacturer Champions
Tire: Michelin (LMP2 and GT), Dunlop (LMP1)
GT: BMW
LMP2: Lola (Chassis), Honda Performance Development (Engine)
LMP1: Lola (Chassis), Mazda (Engine)

Team Champions
GTC: Black Swan Racing (1st)
TRG (2nd)
Alex Job Racing (3rd)
LMPC: CORE autosport (1st)
Genoa Racing (2nd)
Intersport Racing (3rd)
GT: BMW Team RLL (1st)
Corvette Racing (2nd)
Flying Lizard Motorsports (3rd)
LMP2: Level 5 Motorsports (1st)
LMP1: Dyson Racing (1st)
Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing (2nd)
Autocon Motorsports (3rd)

Driver Champions
GTC: Tim Pappas (1st)
Duncan Ende/Spencer Pumpelly (2nd)
Jeroen Bleekemolen (3rd)
LMPC: Ricardo Gonzalez/Gunnar Jeannette/Eric Lux (1st)
Jon Bennett/Frankie Montecalvo (2nd)
Kyle Marcelli (3rd)
GT: Joey Hand/Dirk Müller (1st)
Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen (2nd)
Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner (3rd)
LMP2: Christophe Bouchut/Scott Tucker (1st)
LMP1: Chris Dyson/Guy Smith (1st)
Klaus Graf (2nd)
Lucas Luhr (3rd)

http://americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=news|16365

Also, check out this great article on Corvette Racing and Tommy Milner:
http://www.wired.com:80/autopia/2011...8&viewall=true

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Corvette Racing Honored at ALMS Night of Champions



Jan Magnussen Voted Most Popular Driver, Dan Binks Named GT Mechanic of the Year



BRASELTON, Ga., Oct. 2, 2011 – Twenty-four hours after the checkered flag fell at the season-ending Petit Le Mans, the roar of racing engines was replaced by applause, toasts, and words of gratitude as the American Le Mans Series celebrated its champions. Corvette Racing drivers and team members were among the honorees at the awards ceremony.



Jan Magnussen was voted the Most Popular Driver in online balloting by fans. The Dane is the only ALMS driver to have won a race in every year since the series' inception in 1999. He joined Corvette Racing for endurance events in 2004, and became a full-season driver in 2007. He was GT1 co-champion with Johnny O'Connell in 2008, and finished second in the GT championship this year with teammate Oliver Gavin. He cited the series' international appeal as a factor in his selection as the Most Popular Driver.



"I've always enjoyed tremendous support from fans, especially in Denmark and Europe," Magnussen said. "You really have to go to Le Mans to experience their enthusiasm, and they follow me in the ALMS when I'm racing far from home. Driving a Corvette also helps, for sure!



"When I joined Corvette Racing for long-distance events, success at Le Mans was my goal," Magnussen recalled. "Now my goal is to win another ALMS championship, and there is no better teammate to help me achieve that than Oliver Gavin. We're going to come back stronger next year and finish one place higher."



Dan Binks, crew chief for the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R, was selected by International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) officials as the Battery Tender Mechanic of the Year in the GT class. Binks received a $5,000 award in recognition of his wrenching and leadership skills. He then donated the award to the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, the official charity of the ALMS, on behalf of his teammates.



"Donating the award to the Austin Hatcher Foundation on behalf of the entire Corvette Racing team is the right thing to do," Binks said. "We race as one team, and everyone on the crew deserved this award. We're fortunate to be able to do what we love, and we all want to help support the work that the Austin Hatcher Foundation does with children and families who are dealing with cancer."



Corvette Racing was runner-up in the GT Team championship, the team's best finish since moving to the GT category in 2009 after winning eight straight GT1 titles.



"The competition in the GT class is fantastic," said Corvette Racing team manager Gary Pratt. "We're racing against teams representing BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, and Jaguar, and it's always a fight. We really appreciate the quality of the competition, and it only makes us work harder to get to the top step."



Corvette Racing technical partner Michelin won the GT Tire Manufacturer championship on the final lap of the final race. The Corvette crew contributed to Michelin's success throughout the season with a victory at Mosport, runner-up finishes in Long Beach and Mid-Ohio, and third-place finishes in Sebring and Baltimore. Although not a part of the ALMS championship, Corvette Racing's victory in GTE-Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the crowning achievement of the 2011 season. The team has now tallied seven class victories in Le Mans



"Looking at our season overall, although we didn't collect as many victories as we'd like to, we did get the most important one, the 24 Hours of Le Mans," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Le Mans is the cornerstone of the Corvette Racing program, a win there is our main objective, and we accomplished that goal proudly for Chevrolet and Corvette."



Corvette Racing’s next event is the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 17, 2012.



Rick Voegelin

Chevy Racing Communications