Live online qualifying video returning at Detroit

For those that tuned into SPEEDtv.com last Saturday to witness the breathtaking battles for pole position at Mosport, the fight continues live this Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET around the tricky Belle Isle street course in Detroit.

Utilizing the Acura On-Board Pass Player, qualifying is being aired again in a partnership between www.SPEEDtv.com, the American Le Mans Series, and Radio Le Mans.

"Streaming of the ALMS qualifying session last weekend went quite well," said Kevin Annison, SPEED VP of Digital & Interactive Media. "It was very entertaining, well produced by our production team along with the Radio Le Mans crew, and we think we may be on to something.

We have the streaming infrastructure in place again for this weekend's 'SPEED On Board Pass' and decided to also stream the Detroit Qualifying session and keep learning. Broadband opportunities are opening a lot of doors and this may lead to something much bigger for SPEEDtv.com in the future."

This is the second race in a row that American Le Mans Series qualifying has been streamed in cooperation with SPEEDtv.com and American Le Mans Radio.

John Hindhaugh, Radio Le Mans host and play-by-play man for Friday's streaming qualifying, predicts we'll see sparks fly at Belle Isle. "I hope people can now understand why we get so animated about these qualifying sessions. In the last ten minutes of the prototype session we were actually jumping up and down with excitement...

I'm pleased you didn't see that it may have been somewhat embarrassing! I expect no different an outcome at Detroit this Friday. The cars come within millimeters of the concrete walls to get the most from their cars. Look for a few of the more brave souls to come in contact with the barriers on their way to pole position."

1) Click on the Qualifying session button to the right of the video player (under the 'Now Showing' tab to activate the video stream.

2) For a larger viewing window, click on the tab (highlighted in yellow) to expand the video player.

Archived video highlights of both qualifying sessions will be available soon after on SPEEDtv.com's American Le Mans Series page and at americanlemans.com

The Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch from Belle Isle is scheduled for 2:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 30. SPEED will broadcast the race live, and XM will air it from 5 to 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 31. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage of all on-track sessions at www.americanlemans.com,  which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring.

- Bob Dickinson-