We are sad to share that former journalist, and speaker for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Philippe Debarle passed away on Friday 9 October.

The ACO USA Members Club was at the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona Race from Friday January 26-Sunday January 28 for an exciting weekend of racing and special events.

ACO USA Members and their guests were invited to a meet-up at Houligans on Friday evening.&nbsp; 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Harley Cluxton III and Thierry Perrier were special guests at the event hosted by ACO USA Regional Ambassadors May Lee and William Withers.&nbsp;Jean-Jacques Foignet from Sarthe Tourism was also present with information on visiting the region for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in June.&nbsp; Attendees were able to dine, drink and meet other Members to develop connections.&nbsp;

During the meet-up, attendees were offered the opportunity to sign-up for special VIP Garage and Pit Tours hosted by Porsche Penske and Algarve Pro Racing that took place on Saturday and Sunday during the race.&nbsp;ACO volunteers Gordon Taylor and his wife Catherine helped to host several of the tours along with May Lee and William Withers.&nbsp;Members were excited for the personalized in-depth tours provided by the two racing outfits.&nbsp;Congratulations to Porsche Penske for winning their first Rolex 24 race after competing for 55 years in the endurance race!

Look for more ACO USA Member meet-ups at other races later this year!

Photos by May Lee &gt; <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/199995461@N02/albums/72177720314500812/with/53503556439" target="_blank">see more</a>

CLUB ACO - USA MEMBERS KICK OFF 2024 AT THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA RACE

We come from all walks of life to share our passion for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the club is full of talents, some of them just waiting to be discovered.

<h4>An evening with a legend</h4>

The recent Evening with a Legend online ACO Club Members meeting boosted the ascension of a rising star, 18-year-old Sally Mott from Victoria in Texas. At the event, the racecar driver was introduced to another local driver, a guy called&hellip; Ben Keating! The well-known privateer, who operates a chain of car dealerships in Victoria, has several class wins at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring to his name. His neighbourly gesture helped further Sally&rsquo;s career.

<h4>A childhood dream</h4>

When you&rsquo;re the only child of a national champion kart and car racer, sooner or later you&rsquo;re going to find yourself at the wheel. Aged 8, Sally had fun driving around, but had little interest in racing. She was happy watching dad. But a few years later, at 15, she changed her tune, and began chasing a goal &ndash; to become a racing driver.

But speed costs money. Sally learned it wasn&rsquo;t easy putting a sponsor&rsquo;s name on the side of a go kart, so she switched to cars and chose a Miata, the most-raced car on the planet, and one backed by an enthusiastic manufacturer (Mazda) that provides a ladder system for aspiring racers. Coached by her father and number one fan, she began at racing at local club and then regional level. Success bred success. She raced as much as logistics and finances would allow,&nbsp;always looking ahead for the next opportunity.

<h4>Ben zooms in</h4>

Chance came in the shape of the ACO! During the Zoom event in July, a shout-out to Ben that there was someone else from Victoria on the call led to a career-boosting encounter.&nbsp;On learning of Sally&rsquo;s race history and driving ambition, Ben invited Sally and her father to share 
a car three weeks later at a Champ Car 24-Hour Enduro at VIR and to pay for the transport and&nbsp;accommodation. A massive boost for a racer on a budget!

On the flight to Virginia, Ben questioned Sally about her goal. She had her sights set on the&nbsp;pinnacle of Miata racing, the MX-5 Cup. Ben urged her to &ldquo;jump right in at the deep end&rdquo;. Sally was a bit hesitant to take the plunge, but Ben was adamant: &ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get exposure. You&rsquo;ll get your&nbsp;name out there. And you&rsquo;ll learn.&rdquo;

<h4>A legend in the making</h4>

At VIR, Sally adopted the aggressive style that suits karting. A 24-hour endurance event calls for different tactics, as she learned, and by the end of the weekend she showed Ben she could hold her own in the MX-5 Cup. Thanks to his encouragement Sally secured a ride at the MX-5 Cup race during Petit Le Mans weekend. And she didn&rsquo;t stop there. Spotted at Petit Le Mans, she was invited to the Mazda MX-5 Cup 
Shootout where her performance resulted in a $75,000 scholarship from Mazda. This year&rsquo;s goal is a full MX-5 Cup season.

Sally&rsquo;s off-track performance is equally impressive. Practiced in seeking sponsorship since her kart days, she is adept at social media and knows how to get her story out. She maintains an active involvement in women-in-motorsports groups where she has &ldquo;found her community&rdquo; and is happy to invest time networking and signing autographs.

<h4>Making strides</h4>

Not content to climb the ladder one rung at a time, Sally went from racing Club Miata to Mazda factory driver within a year. Motorsport can be tough, but drivers look out for each other. May Club ACO events help many more rising stars on their way up!

Text by&nbsp;Stuart Wirtz.

ACO CLUB- How Ben Keating gave young driver Sally Mott a helping hand

Here are the track time dates reserved for Club ACO Members in 2024 at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. Sign up now for these exceptional outings!

Track time reserved for Club ACO Members in 2024 will take place on Saturday&nbsp;13 April, Monday&nbsp;16 September and Monday&nbsp;14 October. There are&nbsp;90 sports car spots available and 10 additional member drivers. You may&nbsp;also sign up&nbsp;a passenger (18 years or older).

These track times are&nbsp;reserved for collection&nbsp;cars,&nbsp;or those more than&nbsp;30 years old, weighing between 800 and 1,800 kg (field G1 on the registration document), registered and equipped with approved road tyres. Track time at the&nbsp;Bugatti circuit is&nbsp;open pit lane, in other words drivers can enter the track whenever they want and stay out for as long as they wish.

Up to 30 cars can take the track at the&nbsp;Bugatti circuit at the same time.&nbsp;Coaches will be on-site each&nbsp;day and a box with a view of the track, run by the Club, will provide spectators every comfort.

<h4>Prices</h4>

The price for a day of track time&nbsp;is &euro;325, the additional driver fee is&nbsp;&euro;65 and&nbsp;registration remains free of cost.

<h4>Register</h4>

Please click on your&nbsp;desired date(s) to register:

&gt;&gt; Saturday&nbsp;13 April 2024 [EVENT CLOSED] &lt;&lt;

&gt;&gt; <a href="https://club.lemans.org/fr/event/roulage-club-16-09-2024?token=3786ebbcad87df11a30f8f8e42f358d0" target="_blank">Monday&nbsp;16 September&nbsp;2024</a>&nbsp;&lt;&lt;

&gt;&gt; <a href="https://club.lemans.org/fr/event/roulage-club-14-10-2024" target="_blank">Monday&nbsp;14 October&nbsp;2024</a>&nbsp;&lt;&lt;

<h4>Refunds</h4>

If you wish to cancel and do so at least 5 days before your registered date, a refund will be&nbsp;credited to your Club ACO Member account.

No refunds will be credited if cancellation is made&nbsp;less&nbsp;than&nbsp;5&nbsp;days prior to your registered date.

Please <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/contact">contact us</a> for a copy of the General Terms &amp;&nbsp;Conditions in English.

&nbsp;

Club ACO – Track time for Members in 2024

On Friday, January 26, you are invited to a meet-up of Club ACO’s American Members in a Daytona bar. A visit to the pits on Rolex 24 at Daytona race day could be on the cards. Sign up today!

Join other ACO USA Members at the 2024 <a href="https://www.imsa.com/events/2024-rolex-24-at-daytona/" target="_blank">Rolex 24 at Daytona</a> meet-up on Friday January 26, 2024!&nbsp;The meet-up takes place&nbsp;at Houligan&#39;s Speedway located at&nbsp;1725 W International Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM.&nbsp;We will serve a selection of appetizers and there will be drinks available for purchase at the cash bar. Cost for the event is $30&nbsp;for attendees registered by Friday January 19.&nbsp;You can also pay $40&nbsp;at the door the night of the event.&nbsp;The meet-up is open to all attendees who have paid the entrance fee.&nbsp;We look forward to seeing everyone in January!

&gt;&gt; <a href="https://my.weezevent.com/2024-aco-member-meet-up-at-the-rolex-24-at-daytona-in-florida?_gl=1*injwlh*_gcl_au*Mjc2MzQwNTkxLjE3MDE4NTEwNDQ.*_ga*MTUxODkzODE1MC4xNzAxODUxMDQ0*_ga_39H9VBFX7G*MTcwMjQ3MTMzMC42LjEuMTcwMjQ3MTM0My40Ny4wLjA." target="_blank">Sign up</a> &lt;&lt;

ACO Club - Rolex 24 at Daytona: meet other US Members of Club ACO

The&nbsp;speaker for ACO events in the 1980s and 1990s,&nbsp;Philippe Debarle also dedicated a large part of his life to&nbsp;motorcycle racing. A journaliste gifted with technical&nbsp;expertise considered remarkable by his peers, Debarle also had a hand in the creation of the Superbike Worldd Championship.&nbsp; 
 
The Automobile Club de l&#39;Ouest extends its sincerest condolences to Philippe Debarle&#39;s family and loved ones.&nbsp;

ACO Universe

Former 24 Hours of Le Mans speaker Philippe Debarle has passed away

Related News

CLUB ACO - USA MEMBERS KICK OFF 2024 AT THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA RACE

ACO CLUB- How Ben Keating gave young driver Sally Mott a helping hand

Club ACO – Track time for Members in 2024

ACO Club - Rolex 24 at Daytona: meet other US Members of Club ACO