Acura and Corvette win Michelin Green X Challenge at Road America

Efficiency in competition was the name of the game in both the race and the Michelin Green X Challenge at the longest and one of the fastest circuits on the American Le Mans Series, the classic 4.0 mile circuit at Road America.

Fuel mileage played a key role in the second Michelin Green X Challenge win and sixth LMP2 class victory for the Lowe’s Fernandez Acura team of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz which finished third overall.

The Fernandez team took third place overall, just 15 seconds adrift of the bigger LMP1 Prototype leaders, to complete an  Acura sweep of the top three positions in the two-hour 45-minute race.

“Fuel mileage is how we won the race today,” said Fernandez. “We try to be efficient and to save fuel however we can.  By saving fuel early in the race we can extend our range and open more tactical options, like not changing tires on our last pit stop. The Michelin Green X Challenge is a great example for others. In racing, you take the cars to the maximum, but this shows that you can excel without wasting fuel and still win the race and the Michelin Green X Challenge.”

The new Corvette Racing GT2 cars produced their second victory in Michelin Green X Challengee in as many races as the No. 3 Corvette of Le Mans winners Johnny O’Connell and Jan Magnussen combined their third place in the GT2 race into their second victory in the Michelin Green X Challenge. Corvette Racing also won Michelin Green X Challenge GT honors at the season opening event at Sebring with their previous GT1 class entry.

 “The close competition in prototypes saw the top six cars finish on the same lap, all within just 48 seconds,” said Silvia Mammone, Michelin Motorsports manager. “That kind of close performance on the track makes the competition for the Michelin Green X Challenge especially tight and the teams are now finding small ways to save fuel on their way to the starting grid, during their pit stops, and running under the yellow caution flags” said Mammone.