Lowe’s Fernandez Acura Racing and BMW Rahal Letterman win at St. Petersburg
The first MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge contested on a street course produced a pair of surprise winners today on the second stop of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season.
Although the Acura LMP1 prototype of Highcroft Racing claimed the overall race win, it was the second place finishing and LMP2 class winning Acura prototype from Lowe’s Fernandez Racing that claimed the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge prototype award.
The demands of the hot, slick, 14-turn, 1.8 mile temporary circuit through the streets of St. Petersburg helped the lighter, more nimble Lowe’s Fernandez Acura entry complete the same number of race laps while using less energy and reversing the finishing order in the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge.
“It is an honor for Acura to win the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge today in the prototype class,” said Jack Spurney, general manager of Honda Performance Development. “It was a first for Acura to capture LMP1, LMP2 and the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge in the Acura Sports Car Challenge. The MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge is the newest category, but very important to racing.”
Lowe’s Fernandez Racing co-owner and co-driver Adrian Fernandez noted, “The American Le Mans Series and Michelin have set the examples for technology and the environment in motorsports. Lowe’s is very involved in the environment and it is very appropriate that Mr. Robert Niblock, the CEO of Lowe’s is with us today to accept the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge trophy.”
The race played out in a similar fashion in the GT category where the new BMW E92 M3 of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing finished second in the GT2 class to the Flying Lizard Porsche, but claimed the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge GT award.
“At BMW we believe in sustainability and have developed the theme of ‘efficient dynamics’ to demonstrate how we can be efficient while being fast. To see the technology and race craft we employ win the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge in just our second race is highly rewarding,” said Martin Birkmann, BMW North America motorsport manager. “We are proud to win the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge GT award here at St. Petersburg.”
Developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and SAE International, the MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge is a race within the race at all 2009 American Le Mans Series events.
For over 16 years, Michelin has 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. Each tire has Michelin’s “Green X” marking signaling an increased level of energy-efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.
(reposted from www.americanlemans.com)
