SEBRING, Fla. (March 2, 2013) — The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) has named Continental Tire the Americas the exclusive tire supplier for and presenting sponsor of the ALMS Prototype Challenge (PC) class, a spec racer class within the ALMS' multi-tiered prototype racing class structure.
Continental replaces Michelin Motorsport as the supplier of race tires for this class, which features identical closed-wheel, open-cockpit, two-seat racers powered by matching 430-hp V8 racing engines supplied by the French race chassis designer Oreca/DPP.
The contract is for the 2013 season and starts immediately, ahead of the season-opening 12-hour endurance race at Sebring International Raceway March 16. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The PC Class is expected to have seven competing teams this year, the final year that the ALMS will run under its own competition rules before merging with the Grand-American Road Racing under the guidance of NASCAR.
"Continental Tire is…certainly eager to expand on our portfolio and showcase our technologies to such a dedicated audience," said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for Continental Tire. "This is certainly a step toward the future of sports car racing for us."
Conti already is the exclusive race tire supplier for the Grand-Am Rolex prototype and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series under Grand-Am. The PC class will use the same race-proven tire as the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class, Conti and the ALMS said. Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. builds Conti's race tires under contract.
Starting in 2014, the Grand-Am and ALMS will compete together under an equivalency formula before merging completely in 2015.
The ALMS created the PC Class in 2010 as a step on the ladder to the open prototpye classes. Michelin has been the series' tire supplier for its first three/four seasons.
As part of the agreement, Conti will receive logo placement on all PC cars — front, sides and rear — and Continental will air commercial spots during the ALMS broadcasts on ABC, ESPN2 and SPEED.