Rahal to speak on Alternative Fuels in racing

Bobby Rahal

The American Le Mans Series’ message of alternative fuels will take to the national stage again as Bobby Rahal, owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, will be a featured speaker at the Alternative Fuel for Vehicles Institute’s annual conference and expo in mid-May.

Rahal, whose team recently completed its first season in the American Le Mans Series’ GT2 class, has been a strong proponent of alternative energy sources in motorsport and his address will cover that very topic. Appropriately, a primary sponsor of the Rahal Letterman Porsche is EPIC (Ethanol Promotion and Information Council). The RLR duo of Ralf Kelleners and Tom Milner finished fourth in the GT2 championship with five podiums in the last seven events.

The annual AFVI conference features more than 200 speakers and is expected to draw 2,000 registrants for four days of activity, including workshops, sessions, networking, a Ride-n-Drive, a free public forum, and a trade show for fleets. The tradeshow features over 100 exhibitors, displaying products and services available for purchase and use today. Attendees see cutting-edge vehicles and technologies from exhibitors who share the practical knowledge their businesses have gained through real-world applications.

The American Le Mans Series’ alternative fuel initiative continues to be a high-ranking staple of its platform, providing one of many links from participating manufacturers’ race cars to their showroom counterparts. The Series plans to reinforce that position with an expected ‘Green’ announcement later this month at the North American International Auto Show.

Preparations for the 2008 American Le Mans Series, its 10th season of world-class sports car racing, begin January 28-30 with the annual Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway.

The 2008 season opens with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 15. The race will start at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live by SPEED, which will begin its coverage at 9:30 a.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA’s Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.