One of the worldwide leaders of the “green racing” movement claimed a milestone win Aug. 23 as Paul Drayson and co-driver Jonny Cocker clinched both the Michelin Green X Challenge and the overall American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race at Road America.
In scoring his team’s second Green X victory, he won earlier this year at Salt Lake City and last year in Japan, Drayson clocked the race’s fastest lap on his way to his first overall ALMS win.
“I’m here with my wife Elspeth and our family and team because the ALMS is leading the world in making racing relevant and providing the opportunity to bring a race team into competition with new technologies,” says Drayson, who is the United Kingdom’s former Minister for Technology and Innovation and a current member of the House of Lords.
“It is not only about being able to race with new technologies – it is about winning with the new technologies,” he points out, saying the Green X “provides the platform for science and technology to help speed innovation.”
“To win the Michelin Green X Challenge and win the race overall and have the fastest lap all in the same day is the whole point,” Grayson observes. “We are showing that the new technologies will win.”
Drayson’s victory was the first overall checkered flag for cellulosic E85 ethanol in the 116-race history of the Green X aspect of the competition, which focuses on using alternative fuels.
The next ALMS race, Aug. 29 at Mosport Canada, will mark the second time that Green X awards have been presented north of the border.
For more information, visit www.michelinman.com.
