St. Petersburg, Fla. (April 4, 2008 – AgNewsWire) – St. Petersburg, Florida will be the site of the greenest racing event in history April 5-6 when both the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series will compete on the streets in the Honda Grand Prix and Acura Sports Car Challenge. This is the second year that the IndyCar Series is racing on 100 percent ethanol and the first year the American Le Mans Series is offering cellulosic E85 racing ethanol to its teams.
Doug Robinson, executive director of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), which is the sanctioning body of the American Le Mans Series, says allowing the use of 85 percent cellulosic ethanol in that racing venue is part of their “green racing” platform that helps test alternative fuels and create public awareness.
“In rolling out that green racing strategy, the first step was to look at the renewable fuels and the greenhouse gas emissions,” Robinson said. “Also the depletion of oil that ultimately means that there’s a cap to the amount of gasoline and diesel fuel that’s available unless you can come up with some alternative sources.”