With
2008 being the tenth year of the American Le Mans Series, one wonders why
we have gone something like 8 years with out a series year-in-review book.
But we now have one and there’s no better group behind it than the one
assembled. They’re not what you would call a “who’s who” of Motorsports
journalists. No, instead they are a small group of very dedicated
sportscar racing journalist and photographers. You won’t find them
chasing NASCAR or any other series that might throw money their way.
Nope, instead they work for free out of their passion for sportscar racing
and sportscar racing in exclusivity, and it shows.
By the numbers, the book is 143 pages long, measures 12.5” x 9.25” x .6875”, and weighs 2 lb. 10.2 oz. Open the cover and you’ll find all 12 rounds of the 2007 American Le Mans Series are detailed in a consistent format. The graphic layout takes a page from the American Le Mans Series style guide and the yearbook has a nice clean and crisp look to it. The book is visually efficient and to the point with certainly no filler.
Each race is broken down into Practice & Qualifying and the Race with synopsis of the happenings in each session and includes the starting line up as well as full race results and race data (fastest laps by class, etc.). And the nuisances of each event are captured through Tom Kjos and Gary Horrocks’ on the spot reporting making the 2007 yearbook an excellent time capsule for the season. Photography is superb, as you would expect given the talent involved (Spetz, Thompson, Machaqueiro, Martin, and Jeannie Kjos).
There are plans to expand some aspects of the 2008 addition. And with any expansion, the book’s value to the fan will simply increase that much more. With this as the starting point, a high mark has already been set.
