'Green Challenge' Debuts With Hybrid Racer at Saturday's American Le Mans Series
By John O'Dell September 30, 2008
When the American Le Mans Series
Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta wraps up this weekend, one of the trophies to be awarded will be for the winner of a new "Green Challenge"
race within the race.
Favorites are the series' clean-diesel cars, but the first hybrid race car (left)
since the Panoz Q9 GT hybrids of the late 1990s also is in the running.
The Green Challenge is a new contest in which cars in the race are judged on green criteria including fuel consumption and total environmental impact.
Saturday's race will mark the first time a motorsports event will use the green racing protocols jointly developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, the ALMS governing board, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy over the past five years.
Green racing encourages manufacturers to introduce and develop environmentally sensitive technologies and to promote them through auto racing.
"While many industries are involved in 'green' concepts, SAE International views auto racing as one of the most viable avenues to educate the public about alternative fuels and cutting-edge technology," David L. Amati, the engineering association's Global Automotive Business director, said in a statement.
"As a global sport, auto racing is second only to soccer in popularity. The global aspect is integral, as the automotive industry worldwide is seeking to balance transportation needs with energy concerns through technical innovation.
The Green Challange "goes a long way to restore auto-racing's relevance in promoting the progressive technology of its auto manufacturers to consumers," said ALMS chief executive Scott Atherton.
In addition to clean diesel cars from Audi (right)
and Peugeot and an assortment of E10 and cellulosic E85 ethanol burners, the 10-hour race Saturday will feature the series first "hybrid car, running a so-called KERS - or kinetic energy recovery system - setup.
The car, entered by Corsa Motorsports
, uses a Zytek Group
chassis and E10 ethanol-fueled V8 engine along with an electric motor and lithium ion battery that's charged from the car's tremendous braking energy.
The Zytek-developed KERS used as a sort of supercharger for short bursts.
While the American Le Mans Series marks the debut of the Corsa hybrid, the technology soon will become more prevalent as Formula 1 adopts rules permitting it starting with the 2009 season.
There also is talk of the European Le Mans Series allowing hybrid energy recovery systems.
John O'Dell,Senior Editor
----------
Cick for Part 1
and Part 2
of Green Car Advisor's
series on KERS development for Formula 1 racing.
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