The seventh stop of the 2012 American Le Mans Series produced a pair of repeat winners in the Michelin Green X Challenge in competition that matched the tight battles of the four–hour Road Race Showcase at Road America.
Taking their second consecutive Michelin Green X Challenge Prototype win were the Indianapolis-based Conquest Endurance Racing, Nissan, and co-drivers Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson.
“It is great for us to win the Michelin Green X Challenge for the second consecutive race,” said Heinemeier Hansson. “It is good for us to have a car that runs fast, clean, and efficient and still be on the top step of the class podium in the race.” Their LMP2 class victory in the four-hour race marks the 29th time in Michelin Green X Challenge history that an award winner also won its class on track.
Scoring its fourth Michelin Green X Challenge win in the last five ALMS races was the E85 R fueled No. 3 Corvette Racing C6 ZR1 driven by Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. Corvette Racing earned a 1-2 finish in today’s Michelin Green X Challenge. This marks the third time in the four-year history of the awards that Corvette Racing has won the GT category Michelin Green X Challenge honors at Road America.
The final margin for the winning Corvette over its sister car No. 4 was a narrow 0.085 points under the Green Racing formula established by the U.S. Department of Energy, the EPA, SAE International. The formula calculates Clean, Fast, and Efficient performance. The score reflects a measure of the oil used and greenhouse gas emissions for each car on a well-to-wheel basis, each car’s speed during the race and the car’s energy consumption divided by the car’s mass.
“Winning the Michelin Green X Challenge at a fast, demanding, high-speed 4.08 mile circuit like Road America takes a special combination of aerodynamics, power, and efficiency and the Conquest Endurance team, Nissan and Corvette Racing excelled at those challenges” said Silvia Mammone, motorsport manager, Michelin North America.
