1999 Panoz LMP-1 Roadster S

Panoz Auto Development was founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz. Among its list of road-going cars included the AIV Roadster, the Esperante, and the Abruzzi. Early racing endeavors included the G-Force GF09 produced by American manufacturer Elan Motorsport Technologies for IndyCar Series competition, the DP01 Champ Car World Series racer, and the DP09 spec open-wheel Superleague Formula series racer.

The Panoz Esperante GTR-1 was developed by Panoz and Reynard Motorsport for grand tourer endurance racing in 1997. It shared its 'Esperante' name with the road-going car but little else. To satisfy homologation requirements, a road-legal example was built with full interior and necessary modifications to make it suitable for road use. The racing variant competed in the FIA GT Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans in Europe as well as the IMSA GT, United States Road Racing Championship, and American Le Mans Series in North America.

At the end of the 1998 season, the FIA GT Championship and United States Road Racing Championship eliminated the GT1 category making the Esperante GTR-1 obsolete. The Esperante GTR-1s could have been modified into a LeMans Prototype, but instead, Panoz returned to the drawing board to create an all-new car.

The successor to the Esperante GTR-1 was the LMP-1 Roadster-S LeMans prototype. The design was handled by Reynard Motorsport with many styling cues similar to the Esperante GTR-1 along with the unconventional front-engine layout. Both front ends were nearly identical, with a rounded nose and narrow fenders surrounding deep valleys. The side air ducts located near the front suspension provided air directly to the radiators while the center NACA duct fed air to the engine. The cockpit was located behind the engine and just ahead of the rear axle, with a single rollhoop immediately behind the driver.

The chassis was a carbon-fiber composite monocoque structure with a Ford-sourced V8 engine serving as a partly stressed member. The 6L8 6.0-liter V8 was tuned by Elan Power Products (also owned by Don Panoz) and X-Trac provided the six-speed sequential gearbox. The suspension used doubled wishbones in the front and rear with pushrod actuated springs and dampers.

The racing debut of the Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S was at the second race of the inaugural American Le Mans Series season in 1999 with title sponsorship by Visteon. The single LMP-1 Roadster-S entry was joined by an older Esperante GTR-1 modified for the LMP class. The Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S displayed tremendous potential throughout the race and would finish fifth overall. A second chassis was completed in time for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with both cars finishing the race, taking seventh and eleventh places. On returning to the ALMS for Mosport, the cars finished in the top two positions. At the next round, the Panozes finished on the podium behind the BMW V12 LMR. They returned to the podium at Portland before the Petit Le Man's endurance event. By this point, a third LMP-1 Roadster-S had been completed and was sold to J&P Motorsport. A works Panoz took the overall victory, the second entry placed fifth and the J&P Motorsport entry eleventh. The two factory Panozes would finish out the season without another victory, but the 4th place at Grand Prix of Las Vegas from Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen allowed Panoz to take the LMP teams championship, just two points ahead of BMW.

One of the factory Panoz cars was sold to Danish Team Den Bla Avis for the 2000 season for competition in the Sports Racing World Cup, while two new cars were completed for competition in the American Le Mans Series. Neither of the works cars finished the 12 Horus of Sebring, then placed second and fifth at Charlotte before returning to Europe to contest Silverstone. In the U.K. it placed 2nd behind a BMW before it set its sights on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The two factory Panoz racers were joined by the Den Bla Avis Panoz and two more LMP-1s from Japanese Team Dragon, using one ex-factory car and a newly built car. Amazingly, all five Panoz vehicles finished the grueling 24-hour endurance event, although the Den Bla Avis entry would not be classified. The other cars placed fifth, sixth, eighth, and fifteenth. At its next outing, a Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S took the checkered flag at the 1000km Nürburgring before returning to the United States. When it arrived stateside, it found much stiffer competition and was unable to visit the podium until the seventh round, followed by another at Portland. It placed third and fourth at the Petit Le Mans, its final visit to the podium for the season.

The Panoz team used the LMP-1 for the early part of the 2001 season before replacing it with the new LMP07. The LMP-1s were then sold to privateers who mostly used them in the new European Le Mans Series. Westward Motorsports placed fifth at Donington Park with the LMP-1, and Lanesra placed third at Autodrom Most and won at Vallelunga.

After the LMP07 did not achieve the success that Panoz had hoped, the decision was made to reinstate the LMP-1 Roadster-S to its arsenal. The decision was rewarded with a podium finish on its return debut, an overall victory at Portland, and 2nd place finishes at Mosport and Mid-Ohio. By the close of the season, the racing results of the LMP07 and LMP-1 Roadster-S earned the team a second-place finish in the LMP900 championship.

Modifications to the LMP-1 Roadster-S brought about the LMP01 Evo featuring revised bodywork and mechanical modifications. It would race through the end of the 2003 season, earning an outright victory along the way and a second-place finish in the Petit Le Mans.

A the end of the 2003 season, the LMP01 Evos were replaced by the new Esperante GT-LM production-based race car for the GT2 class in the American Le Mans Series.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2022