Jamie Melo and Jörg Bergmeister cross the finish line and take the chequered flag after 12 hours of competitive racing at Sebring during last year's edition - the closest recorded finish in this event. Photo: Regis Lefebure. watch the video >

Throughout its nine years of competition, the American Le Mans Series has been filled with memorable and historic moments. With the start of its 10th season on the horizon with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the series announced its 'Greatest Moments' as chosen by fans through internet voting.

Quite appropriately, the most exciting finish on the Series’ premier stage was chosen as its Greatest Moment - the climatic GT2 finish at Sebring in 2007 with Risi Competizione’s Jaime Melo and the Ferrari F430 GT beating Jörg Bergmeister in an all-out drag race on the final lap by just 0.202 seconds. It is the closest finish in the history of the 12 Hours.

“It’s a great honour to have been voted the American Le Mans Series’ No. 1 greatest moment, especially because this accolade comes from the fans,” said team owner Giuseppe Risi. “Since Risi Competizione has been involved in the Series, we have raced with and against some of the greatest names in motorsport and enjoyed a level of competition that is, in my opinion, the best in the world. I warmly applaud the American Le Mans Series for giving us and the Ferrari marque the opportunity to offer to fans the type of entertainment that was seen at Sebring last year. I hope we can repeat our victory in 2008, though I have to say I think we would all prefer the winning margin to be a little greater!”

“I’m very proud to be a part of the American Le Mans Series’ No. 1 greatest moment,” Melo said. “Lots of people have asked me about that last lap. We had some brake issues and we’d double stinted our tires, so I knew it would be hard but I just tried to keep calm and do a good job. I knew it was really important for me, the team and for Ferrari to win, but I didn’t realize then how much of an impact it would have - especially on the fans. We go racing to put on a good show for them, and perhaps this was one of the best shows so far. I wonder what will happen this year…?” 

Corvette Racing’s first Series victory at Texas in 2000 ranked second, followed by the fantastic 2007 finishes between Audi and Porsche at Petit Le Mans and the Monterey Sports Car Championships. Champion Racing’s overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005 rounded out the top five.

The first race of the Series – Sebring in 1999 – led the second half of the voting with the 2000 finish at Mosport between Audi and BMW (the closest overall finish in Series history at 0.148 seconds) next. Rounding out the list were the Audi R10 TDI’s debut at Sebring in 2006, the Audi R8’s debut in 2000 and Panoz Motor Sports’ thrilling overall victory at Washington.

Honorable mentions were Panoz’s win at Nurburgring in 2000, Pedro Lamy’s flight in the Aston Martin at Mid-Ohio in 2006, Acura’s debut win at Sebring in 2007, Dyson Racing’s 2003 overall win at Infineon and Aston Martin’s 0.033-second win at Lime Rock in 2006 for the closest finish in Series history.