ECO’s biodiesel car to run in ALMS finale
The 4 hour race will mark the world debut of the pioneering car.
Laguna Seca is one of the most demanding and spectacular race tracks in the world and presents a challenge that will stretch Eco Racing’s LMP1 race car and production V10 engine to the limits of endurance.
The drivers of the ECO Racing Radical LMP1 sports prototype will be Japanese star, Hideki Noda and experienced Indy Pro Series driver, Andrew Prendeville.
A 20 year elite veteran, Hideki Noda has raced worldwide in Formula One, Indy Cars and now Sportscars. “I am honored and excited to be joining ECO Racing at the final round of the American Le Mans Series. The Radical SR10/AER machine is its final stages of development, and I am honored to be chosen as the driver to be a part of the development process. I would also like to thank my sponsors and fans for making this happen. I haven't run Laguna Seca since 1997, it is a challenging track, and I am looking forward to racing there. The ALMS is a competitive series, with a solid fan base. I would like to take this opportunity to see what I can do in the ALMS and make it a race that will be a good start for the next season."
Las Vegas based American Andrew Prendeville has raced competitively in the Indy Lights Series for the past 2 seasons and is making his sportscar debut. “I think this is going to be a very interesting weekend for me. The American Le Mans Series is very intense this year and puts on a good show. I am very excited to be teaming up with Hideki Noda, ECO Racing, Matt Connolly and P1 Groupe to make this all come together. This is a very intriguing opportunity and am hopeful for a positive outcome."
The Team has been created by pioneering race engineer, Ian Dawson and is dedicated to developing, using and showcasing environmentally efficient technologies through elite international motorsport.
In 2004 Dawson raced the first ever bio diesel sportscar at Le Mans, two full years ahead of the debut of Audi’s diesel racer and three years ahead of fellow diesel powered rival Peugeot.
Since that time, Dawson has continued to develop the production road car based V10 engine, creating a partnership with D1 Oils to use the Jatropha based bio diesel fuel. All test bed and on track testing has been undertaken using Jatropha bio diesel. The Jatropha curcas tree is a drought resistant inedible oilseed plant which makes use of otherwise unusable land and has no impact upon the food chain.
Ian Dawson “After testing successfully over the past 2 months in UK, I am delighted that Eco Racing will be at Laguna Seca, one of the great race tracks and a real challenge for our car in its debut event. The team and our partners Radical and AER have worked very hard to create the best possible base line for us to begin our journey into 2009. I am also very pleased that we have a very strong driver line up – in Hideki and Andrew we have a great mix of experience and speed."