LEXINGTON, OHIO (August 1, 2012) – As the second half of the 2012 American Le Mans Series season begins, MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge leaders in both the Prototype and GT categories also lead their respective series championships for on-track race performance.
That is not a surprise to Scot Elkins, COO of the American Le Mans Series and overseer of the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge.
“Clean, fast and efficient performance not only wins races, it usually delivers great results in the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge, too,” said Elkins.
America’s leading environmental motorsports competition recognizes clean, fast, and efficient performance using a program developed by the Green Racing steering team comprised of representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, SAE International and the sanctioning International Motorsports Association.
Leading the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge Prototype standings and the ALMS LMP1 Prototype season championship is the Benicia, California-based Muscle Milk Pickett Racing HPD Honda team with drivers Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr.
New Hudson, Michigan-based Corvette Racing and its #3 Corvette C6.R with drivers Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia lead both the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge GT standings and the ALMS GT championship.
“For General Motors and Corvette Racing our goals at each race are always to win both the race and the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge,” said Doug Fehan, program manager Corvette Racing. “And, make no mistake; we want both of those championships.”
“When we started the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge program four years ago, we were not sure what to expect in terms of a correlation between race winners and MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge winners,” said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports manager.
To date, 28 of the 66 MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge winners have also won their respective classes in the ALMS races.
All ALMS LMP1, LMP2 and GT class entries from all four ALMS tire makers are automatically entered in the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge.
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.
In 2010, the season-ending Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta marked the first time that all five energy sources identified in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy policy were 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.
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 energy-efficiency that reduces 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.
MICHELIN® GREEN X® CHALLENGE WINNERS AT MID-OHIO
| YEAR |
CLASS |
WIN (Manufacturer/Team/Car/Drivers) |
| 2011 |
Prototype |
Aston Martin – Muscle Milk Aston Martin – AM Lola Coupe B08/62 – Luhr/Graf |
| 2011 |
GT |
Chevrolet – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – Magnussen/Gavin |
| |
|
|
| 2010 |
Prototype |
HPD – Patron Highcroft Racing – HPD ARX-01c – Brabham/Pagenaud |
| 2010 |
GT |
Porsche – Flying Lizard Motorsports – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Bergmeister/Long |
| |
|
|
| 2009 |
Prototype |
Acura – de Ferran Motorsports – Acura ARX-02a – de Ferran/Pagenaud |
| 2009 |
GT |
Chevrolet – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – O’Connell/Magnussen |
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