SEBRING, Fla. -- Tires made partially from orange peels and motor oil made from animal fat are part of the green future for sports car racing in America.
On Thursday at Sebring International Raceway, Yokohama tires introduced its ADVAN ENV-R tires, which combine orange oil made from discarded peels with natural rubber to form a new compound called Super Nano-Power Rubber. The tires will be used on Porsche 911 race cars in the Patron GT32 Challenge, a series sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association.
IMSA also sanctions the American Le Mans Series, which likes to call itself the most environmentally friendly racing series in the world.
Another step in that direction also came Thursday at Sebring with the announcement that ALMS has signed a two-year agreement with Green Earth Technologies to make its official motor oil G-Oil, a green motor oil made mostly from American-grown beef tallow.
G-Oil only recently certified for use in motor vehicles, will initially be used only in ALMS trucks and official vehicles. ALMS officials said they expect several teams to begin using the new oil in their race cars when the new product becomes readily available.
In another move announced Thursday, Michelin, which competes with several other tire companies in ALMS, announced that it will become the title sponsor of the series' green initiative that began last year in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, the SAE International and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Michelin Green X Challenge will hand out an award at each event, beginning with Saturday's 12 Hours of Sebring, to a prototype and a GT entry that demonstrate the best overall performance, fuel efficiency and least environmental impact throughout the length of the race.
"Providing support to the American Le Mans Series through the Michelin Green X Challenge is a natural fit for us and together with our partners, we can help encourage teams and manufacturers to demonstrate a cleaner, more fuel-efficient way to race, while maintaining performance and the spirit of competition," Michelin spokesman Scott Clark said.
Every car in the ALMS competes using one of four street legal fuel alternatives: clean sulfur-free diesel, E10, cellulosic E85 or gas-electric hybrid. Street legal refers to alternative fuels that can be purchased by the consumer at the local fuel station.
The inaugural ALMS Green Challenge was last October in the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta. Corvette Racing, using cellulosic E85, had the best overall green achievement score in the GT class, while Penske Racing won in the prototype class with its Porsche RS Spyder that competed using E10.
In the challenge, all cars are ranked according to the amount of energy used, greenhouse gases emitted and the amount of petroleum displaced. The Argonne National Laboratory created the rules, regulations and technical specifications for the competition.
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YOUNGEST GUN: Sage Karam just turned 14 years old, but he is already on his way up the racing ladder.
Karam, from Nazareth, Pa., and 16-year-old Cort Vernon from Key Biscayne, Fla., were both winners at the annual Skip Barber Mazda karting shootout, with both of them earning a full season in the 2009 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber Nationals that begin this week at Sebring.
The two are just part of the MazdaSpeed Motorsports Driver Development Ladder.
The class of 2009 also includes 19-year-old Justin Piscitell from Patterson, N.Y., 18-year-old John Edwards from Cincinnati, Ohio, 17-year-old Conor Daly of Noblesville, Ind., and Eric Foss from Forth Worth, Texas, the old man of the group at 35.
Nazareth is also the home base for racing's famed Andretti family, and Karam's driver uniform carries the logo of Andretti Green Racing, co-owned by longtime racing star Michael Andretti. He is the son of racing legend Mario Andretti and the father of current IndyCar star Marco Andretti.
"My dad is a (physical) trainer for Michael and Marco," Karam said. "Michael recommended my dad buy me a go-kart for my fourth birthday, and that's how I got started."
Asked if a ride for AGR in IndyCar might be in his future, the youngster said, "IndyCar, NASCAR, I just want to be a professional driver. Formula One would be awesome."
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DRIVER DEVELOPMENT: Racing veteran Eliseo Salazar from Chile has started Eliseo-THL Motorsports, a driver development team to help young South American racers establish careers in U.S. motorsports.
The team will race in the Star Mazda Championship and its first driver is 18-year-old Kevin Toledo from Rancagua, Chile, whose resume includes karting, the Formula Renault and F3 series in Chile and Argentina and two Star Mazda races in 2008.
"My dream is to someday drive in Indycar," said Toledo, who just graduated from high school. "And to have a legend like Eliseo Salazar, who has raced in Formula One as well as the Indy 500, managing my career gives me great confidence that I will achieve my goal."
"My idea for Eliseo-THL is to be a place where young South American drivers can come and not feel intimidated at first, for all the cultural and racing differences, starting with the language barrier," Salazar said. "I feel that I have, through blood, sweat and tears learned the ins and outs of American racing, and I can help ease the steep learning curve to succeed here."
Salazar is a veteran of F1, IndyCars, prototypes and international rallying.