Sports car series meets new technologies head-on

The drive to develop fuels to replace gasoline and technologies that will lead to a cleaner environment has been long on talk and short on action.

But the American Le Mans Series, with the help of the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and SAE International, is doing something to change that, beginning with the 11th annual Petit Le Mans sports car race at Road Atlanta on Saturday.

Besides racing for victories in four classes, everyone in the field will also be competing in the first Green Challenge, a competition to highlight the fuel efficiency, carbon footprint and petroleum offset impact of each of the eight manufacturers that race in the ALMS.

"The competition will define which platform, which car, which drive train combination, has the best overall fuel-efficiency rating, the least harmful emissions being emitted and the least petroleum offset score," said Scott Atherton, president of the ALMS.

Cars in the ALMS use one of three street-legal alternative fuels:

-E10 gasoline, sometimes called gasohol, is a mixture of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

-E85 cellulosic ethanol typically contains up to 85 percent denatured ethanol - in this case made entirely from wood waste.

-Zero sulphur diesel.

"We believe those three fuels represent the choices that consumers will soon have at the fuel station, so it's not just about featuring alternative fuels, but it's about featuring practical alternative fuels," Atherton said. "We've got an infrastructure in place that can handle the distribution of such fuels.

"That's part and parcel to everything this series represents. It's not just nanotechnology or breakthrough engineering, it's the practical application of it, a link from the racetrack to the road car. And, in this case, it's the link from the racetrack to the fuel station."

The EPA and the DOE first approached the SAE, which establishes U.S. mechanical and engineering standards, three years ago, Atherton said. They believed that auto racing - green racing - could help educate consumers about alternative fuels, new drive train systems, and developments in energy efficiency and emission control.

The Green Challenge was born after the government agencies, auto racing sanctioning organizations - including the ALMS and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), which oversees timing and scoring - and automotive equipment manufacturers met to establish criteria for green racing.

"Motorsports has always enjoyed the distinction of being at the forefront of advanced automotive engineering and has been a primary catalyst for moving new technologies to the showroom floor," said Andy Karsner, assistant secretary of energy efficiency and renewable energy for the DOE. "The leadership role the American Le Mans Series has taken by embracing open and diverse alternative fuel technology platforms has not only set the bar for automotive racing, but has helped redefine the future of the transportation sector."