A record crowd at the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta
that included officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and
the Environmental Protection Agency saw a pair of cellulosic
E85R-fueled cars score victories in the Michelin Green X
Challenge.
It was the first race in which all five fuels permitted in the
American Le Mans Series (ALMS) – GTL-diesel, E85R; E10;
Isobutanol, and hybrid electric – were on the track together in
competition.
The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing team captured GT category honors
and became the 12th different car from 10 teams and seven
manufacturers to claim a Green X victory in 2010; the Drayson
Racing Lola Judd notched its third Green X win of the season in
the Prototype class.
Highcroft HPD claimed the year-long Prototype honors and the
Flying Lizard Porsche team successfully defended its GT
championship.
"The ALMS has become a spot for rapid prototyping of
technologies that can help the world," says Highcroft team owner
Duncan Dayton, who gives a "hats off" to ALMS, the EPA, the DOE
and Michelin.
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"It's only going to get more exciting as we bring in more and
more technologies to make cars better," Dayton says.
A new Porsche GT3 R Hybrid made its American debut, completing
the entire race and finishing 18th in the 45 car field. The car
ran unclassified and was not eligible for Green X honors as
technical rules for the hybrid class are still in
development.
"Road Atlanta is one of the most difficult and demanding tracks
in North America, and the elevation changes, high speed corners
and endless traffic place tremendous loads on tires," notes
Silvia Mammone, Michelin's motorsports manager. "It is very
satisfying to our engineers, tire developers, chemists and
support staff to see all of our technical partners able to
perform at a very high level over the entire 1,000-mile
race."
For more information, visit www.michelinman.com.