Ohio State to host ALMS

The world’s leading sports car championship – American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n – comes to the Ohio State University campus Tuesday, August 3 with an emphasis on its position as the Global Leader in Green Racing.

Partnering with Ohio State’s U.S. Department of Energy-supported EcoCAR program and College of Engineering, the Series will deliver a program at Knowlton Hall from 5:30-7 p.m. that emphasizes advancements in technology and alternative fuels being pioneered by its manufacturers and teams.

The cars and stars of the series will begin arriving on Knowlton Plaza at 3:00 p.m. Among the cars on display will be BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team’s BMW M3 GT, Drayson Racing’s cellulosic E85-fueled Lola and Intersport Racing’s Elan DP02 for IMSA's Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship.

Participating in the Knowlton Hall presentation will be American Le Mans Series President/CEO Scott Atherton; Corvette Program Manager Doug Fehan; U.S. DOE’s Forest Jehlik from Argonne National Laboratory; and Paul Drayson, team owner/driver for Drayson Racing and Great Britain’s former Minister of Science and Innovation. Ohio State participants will include Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni, director of the Center for Automotive Research and Eric Schacht, team leader for the EcoCAR program.

The EcoCAR program selects student teams from across North America to re-engineer a GM-provided Saturn Vue using advanced powertrain technologies to minimize energy consumption, emissions and greenhouse gases. The American Le Mans Series is the only major sports series in the world that runs exclusively on multiple alternative fuels and energy sources. The five approved energy sources include clean diesel, two ethanol blends (cellulosic E85 and E10), isobutanol and gas-electric hybrid. The Series recently announced the North American debut of Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid at its season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

The U.S. DOE, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SAE International have proclaimed the American Le Mans Series as the only motorsports series that meets its green racing protocols. As such, it has created a year-end Green Challenge™ award for auto manufacturers that score best over the course of the season in overall performance, fuel efficiency and reduced carbon footprint. The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge duplicates the award on a race-by-race basis for teams – one prototype and one GT class team.

A tour of Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research will be available to ALMS participants and the public beginning at 3 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend the 5:30 p.m. Knowlton Hall presentation. Admission is free.

The American Le Mans Series races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, August 7. Green flag is at 3 p.m.