LAKEVILLE, Conn. (July 7, 2012) – The weather was hot, the competition even hotter, and the teams that finished second overall and second in the fierce GT class proved to be the winners of the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge here at Lime Rock Park.
Claiming the second MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge victories for MAZDA, the Dyson Racing team, and isobutanol fuel, drivers Guy Smith and Chris Dyson won the race pole and led much of the two-hour forty five minute American Le Mans Series race here at the hilly 1.54 mile circuit before surrendering the lead in the closing stages.
Meanwhile the #3 Corvette Racing C6 R, driven by Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia, took runner-up honors in the GT class for production based cars after closing to within a few tenths of a second of the eventual winner in the final stages of the race and earned MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge GT honors for “fast, clean, and efficient” performance.
The latest victory is the second consecutive win and twelfth in the history of the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge program for Corvette Racing.
“Racing in a picturesque setting like Lime Rock Park reinforces the importance of using motorsports to develop clean new energies, and technologies in competition,” said Silvia Mammone, manager, motorsports, Michelin North America. “Manufacturers like Mazda and General Motors are all working to develop the cleanest, most efficient vehicles possible and the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge helps provide a benchmark of that progress,” said Mammone.
ABOUT THE MICHELIN® GREEN X® CHALLENGE
The American Le Mans Series is the only series currently recognized as “Green Racing” by the U. S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International.
All five energy sources identified in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy policy are represented in competition. The five energies are E10 ethanol-blended gasoline, E85R second-generation cellulosic ethanol, GTL (natural gas to liquid) biodiesel, E10-electric hybrid power and Iso-butanol gasoline.
The MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge trophies are presented to the respective Prototype and GT winners. The bases for the unique MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge trophies are made of rubber recycled from MICHELIN GREEN X labeled consumer tires.
ABOUT MICHELIN® GREEN X® TIRES
MICHELIN® GREEN X® labeled consumer tires are optimized for fuel economy by reducing their rolling resistance and weight without compromising other key performance factors such as traction, grip and tread wear. Each tire is marked with Michelin’s “GREEN X” symbol on the sidewall, indicating to consumers a level of increased fuel-efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.
For over 20 years, Michelinhas been dedicated to the research and development of energy-efficient tires and now, a complete line of fuel-efficient tires is available to fit the most immediate consumer needs. Please visit www.michelinman.com for a complete list.
Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,200 and operates 18 major manufacturing plants in 16 locations.
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For more information, visit www.michelinmedia.com or contact:
Lynne Fowler John Love
MichelinNorth America EMC Strategic Communications
office: 1 864 458 6365 office: 1 248 816 0106
mobile: 1 864 561 9914 mobile: 1 313 506 2114
lynne.fowler@us.michelin.com john@emcstrategic.com