Aston Martin and BMW are double winners at Long Beach

Aston Martin today joined the ranks of the Michelin Green X Challenge winners by winning both the American Le Mans Series at Long Beach race and the Michelin Green X Challenge.

Ironically, the GT category-winning BMW Team RLL also scored the race and environmental double victory.

Previous winners include: Audi, Acura, Porsche, HPD, Chevrolet, Ferrari, BMW, Peugeot, and Lola/Judd.

The double victories for both Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing and BMW Team RLL mark the 17th and 18th times in the 20-race (40 awards) history that the Michelin Green X Challenge winners also won their respective class in the race itself.  The awards are part of virtually every major international sports car endurance event including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the European, Asian and American Le Mans Series.

The Michelin Green X Challenge victories for Benicia, Calif.-based Muscle Milk Aston Martin and Hilliard, Ohio-based BMW Team RLL include valuable points toward the special year-end prize of guaranteed entries to compete in the 2012 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. The GT category victory was the second of the season for the BMW squad.

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“The ALMS Series has a long-term view on environmental projects,” said Muscle Milk driver Klaus Graf. “We started this very early and some people may still think it is not the right thing, but this is the right direction. We will see changes in the future and there is no going back. Winning the race and the Michelin Green X Challenge shows us that we have chosen the right partners in combination with Lola, Aston Martin and Michelin.”

The Green Racing Steering group which oversees the awards and includes representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, SAE International and the sanctioning International Motor Sports Association noted that the winning Muscle Milk Aston Martin had the top scores in all three elements of the competition: clean, fast and efficient.  

“When the Michelin Green X Challenge winners are also the respective race winners the point is clearly made that being fast and being clean and efficient are all very closely linked,” said Silvia Mammone, motorsports manager Michelin North America.