Petit Le Mans
 |
|
| Venue | Road Atlanta |
|---|---|
| Corporate sponsor | Mazda |
| First race | 1998 |
| First ALMS race | 1999 |
| Distance | 1,000 mi (1,600 km) (1998-2013) |
| Laps | 394 |
| Duration | 1,000.76 mi. (1,610.57 km) or 10 hrs. (1998-2013) 10 hrs. (2014-Present) |
| Most wins (driver) | Rinaldo Capello (5) |
| Most wins (team) | Audi Sport North America (6) |
| Most wins (manufacturer) | Audi (9) |
The Petit Le Mans (French for little Le Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.
The race was founded by Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz and first run on October 10, 1998 as part of the IMSA season. The 1999 edition was one of the original events of the American Le Mans Series. The 2010 and 2011 editions were also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, but the 2012 race for the brand-new World Endurance Championship was controversially dropped in favour of Bahrain. Starting in 2014 the race became part of the United Sports Car Championship season.
From 1998 until 2013, Petit Le Mans covered a maximum of 1,000 miles (1,600 km) (which is approximately 394 laps) or a maximum of 10 hours, whichever came first; only once, in the rain-stopped 2009 race, had the leading team failed to complete 1,000 miles (1,600 km). Since 2014, the duration is 10 hours, without distance limitations. In addition to the overall race, teams of two or three drivers per car compete for class victories in different categories, divided into Le Mans prototypes and grand tourers. Class winners of this event originally received an automatic invitation to the following year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, however this was removed in 2012.
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