Petit Le Mans 2008

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Audi and Peugeot’s exciting yearlong fight culminates this weekend with a final face-off between the two powerhouse LMP1 diesel teams. Following its American Le Mans Series debut at Sebring in March and its defeat in June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Peugeot comes locked and loaded to Road Atlanta with no intentions of leaving empty handed again. At Sebring, the singleton Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP proved to have the upper hand, outpacing the two Audi R10 TDIs in the early stages of the 12-hour endurance race. However, the French Lion ran into hydraulic problems, resulting in an 11th place overall finish. Audi fought issues of its own at Sebring, which opened the door for an LMP2 class Penske Porsche RS Spyder to take the overall victory. The two Audi turbocharged V12 diesel prototypes wound up third and sixth overall, but still took top class honors. The battle then continued in Europe, with a trio of Le Mans Series races prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Peugeot reigned supreme in all three and carried that momentum into the famed twice- around-the-clock French classic. Like last year’s debut at Circuit de la Sarthe, Team Peugeot Total had the quicker diesel prototype. The 908s dominated the opening half of the race, but got caught out when rain came in the early morning hours. Audi’s better-adapted R10 TDIs shined in the adverse conditions and captured its eighth Le Mans crown. Audi put a further dent in Peugeot’s armor in the Le Mans Series season finale at Silverstone last month, snatching the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles away from the French diesels in what the German squad called an “exploit.” Now, Peugeot is fired up for revenge with star drivers Nicolas Minassian, Stephane Sarrazin and Christian Klien leading the charge, taking the fight onto Audi Sport North America’s home soil. Audi counters by adding Le Mans winners Allan McNish and Dindo Capello to their roster. Audi’s Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr have already clinched the ALMS drivers’ title, helping secure the team’s championship as well. With championships off the table, it will be a flat-out war to decide who’s king of the diesels.
Featuring the world’s premiere sports cars and an all-star cast of drivers, the Petit Le Mans promises to be a great race, but it is the race within the race, the first ever “Green Challenge” that will make it truly historic. Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, and the independent SAE International officially recognized the ALMS as America’s first “green racing” series. Mans. Together with the ALMS, they put together the technical measures and procedures for the first-ever “Green Challenge” here at Petit Le A 1,000 mile race at one of the sport’s fastest tracks may seem an unlikely setting for EPA, DOE and SAE officials, but it is precisely the technology, the rules permitting everything from turbo-diesel prototypes to E85 fueled Corvettes, and the range of energy sources that earned the ALMS the Green Racing recognition. By measuring and assessing new technologies in the heat of one of the most competitive racing series worldwide, officials and manufacturers hope to speed the development of new energies and technologies for anxious and increasingly receptive consumer markets. Instead of viewing each other warily, the manufacturers, ALMS, and government officials have worked closely to develop the rules for the Green Challenge that will become a feature at every ALMS race in 2009. Michelin, an ALMS mainstay and environmental leader worldwide with its Challenge Bibendum events and corporate programs, already sponsors similar awards, called the Michelin Energy Endurance Challenge, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and for the Le Mans Series events in Europe. While the Green Challenge formula in ALMS differs somewhat in its formula, the intent is the same to recognize the best in combining performance and energy efficiency. Scoring for the Green Challenge takes place simultaneously with the actual timing and scoring of the Petit Le Mans race itself. When the checkered flag falls at the end of the 1,000 mile (or 10-hour) race, there may be two sets of winners or perhaps even a double champion claiming both the race win and the Green Challenge title. CLEANER AND GREENER EPA; DOE Join ALMS in First Green Challenge
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Petit Le Mans 2008

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