The Future of Motorsports and The Environment

Want to know the future of automotive technology? Look to Motorsports for the answer. All of our cars are equipped with some sort of technology developed from racing. Now with environment concerns being the hot topic, the motorsports community is taking a more in depth look into how Green technologies can help improve efficiency of their race car and be friendlier to environment. Thanks to SEMA and MIA (Motorsport Industry Association), drivers, team owners, and series executives are gathering at the “Race Has Gone Green” conference to learn how they can get involved in the green mindset and to really understand if going “green” makes any sense.

Here’s the official press release from American Le Mans Series:

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SERIES A FOCAL POINT OF “RACE HAS GONE GREEN” CONFERENCE IN LONG BEACH
MIA/SEMA summit addresses role of motorsports in auto innovation

Drivers. Series Executives. Team Owners. All are represented in the Motorsport Industry Association-SEMA “Race Has Gone Green” conference to be held Friday, April 16 at the Long Beach Convention Center held in concert with the 39th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The weekend also will feature the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón on Saturday.

The conference will focus on the future of racing and emphasize the importance, and viability of developing products for the racing and automotive industries with efficiency and the environment in mind. Panelists and keynote speakers will explain how they are profiting from this new business and share information about that success.

At least five participants have direct involvement with the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. Scott Atherton, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Series, will participate on a panel entitled, “Is Green Racing Here to Stay?” along with Michelin’s Technical Director Forrest Patterson. Michelin, a world leader in tire research, also supports the American Le Mans Series’ MICHELIN® Green X® Challenge that awards teams each race for their overall performance, fuel efficiency and low environmental impact via reduced carbon emissions.

Steve Pruitt, whose Corsa Motorsports team fielded the 21st Century’s first gas-electric hybrid race car to race in the American Le Mans Series, joins a panel discussing “Energy Efficiency and Performance”.

Presenting the keynote luncheon address will be Mazda’s Robert Davis, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Quality. Mazda competes in the Series with a Dyson Racing Lola prototype that uses the biofuel, isobutanol.

Paul Drayson, driver and team owner of Drayson Racing, will close the session with remarks from his global perspective as Great Britain’s Minister of Science and Innovation. In addition, the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón — recognized as the Global Leader in Green Racing — will announce and present its ‘Green Dream Team” of drivers who will serve as the Series’ ambassadors for its green racing initiatives.

The “Race Has Gone Green” conference begins at 8:00 a.m. PT in the Long Beach Convention Center and concludes at 2:15 p.m. with a Paddock Tour of teams participating in the weekend’s race. Anyone interested in attending may contact Jeremy Burne (jbfauto@aol.com). Tickets are $275 for MIA/SEMA members and $375 for non-members.

The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach is the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The race, set at the historic Long Beach street circuit, is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 17 with coverage on SPEED set for 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.