A huge crowd gathers around the eventual GT drivers' champions for 2010, Flying Lizard Motorsports. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

In the American Le Mans Series’ GT class, the driver pairing that won the most races won the driver’s championship, and the team with the most podium finishes won the team’s and manufacturer’s championships.

Given the level of competition in the class, with entries from Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Corvette, Ford and Jaguar, there was always the likelihood different teams could split. That’s what happened in 2010.

Flying Lizard Motorsports managed to win two championships, the driver’s with Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long and the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge for GT. Both titles are repeats from 2009. Bergmeister and Long won a class-high four races and two individual MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenges this season.

“This is the sweetest championship for me in my career,” Long said. “Gotta thank Joerg for driving so well this season. I kept saying from the guys, “we stole that one.” We kept stealing wins, and my favorite was Laguna for me, we weren’t really in the position to win, and we capitalized on a restart and slipped through for the win. And Mosport, it was a win where we were defending the whole time and it was a real nail-biter.”

The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, on the other hand, captured the team’s and manufacturer’s championships, overtaking Flying Lizard and Porsche at Petit Le Mans. Between the two BMWs, they netted 10 podium finishes and were in the top three every event but this one. Their lone win came at Road America with Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller in the No. 90.

“It’s a bittersweet win too, that if the 62 had finished we would have won the team championship but not the manufacturer,” Rahal team owner Bobby Rahal said. “If anyone doubted there isn’t drama in motor racing… just look at this GT2 class this season.”

Risi Ferrari was desperately unlucky to not secure any championships. They won three races, earned six poles and took their first win in the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge at Lime Rock. A valiant effort from their drivers this season – Gianmaria Bruni, Jaime Melo, Toni Vilander, Mika Salo, Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer – in the sendoff to the legendary F430 GT.

Jeroen Bleekemolen and Tim Pappas secured the GT Challenge (GTC) class championship on the strength of four wins, three runners-up finishes and six pole positions (Bleekemolen scored all six).