Whether it’s the GT2 Porsches that spend part of their gestation on the production line with the 911 Carreras, Targas and Turbos destined for your local doctor, lawyer or hedge fund manager, or the American Le Mans Series’ commitment to alternative fuels now (be it “clean” diesel or E10) and in the future (E50 within 18 to 24 months; bio-diesel and perhaps hydrogen fuel later), Sebring celebrated racing as an incubator/proving ground for cutting-edge technology with direct applications to the broader automotive industry.
Indeed, the tone for the weekend was set less in practice and qualifying than in Thursday’s Motorsports Industry Association’s “Energy Efficient Motorsport” symposium at Sebring’s Four Points Sheraton (aka The Chateau Elan) attended by representatives from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Argonne National Laboratories, Shell Oil (suppliers of Audi R10’s diesel fuel), VP Fuels (suppliers of the E10 fuel) and the major auto makers competing in the American Le Mans Series (as in Acura, Audi, Chevrolet, Mazda, and Porsche).
“Formula 1 may have high technology, but participants and manufacturers in Formula 1 will one day have to be accountable for the lack of relevance in automotive applications for every-day driving, ” said Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi North America. “You will see the diesel engine in the R10 and its technology on the roads of North America within the next 18 months. This (the American Le Mans Series) is where we are developing the ‘Cars of Tomorrow. ‘“
The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg.
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