Acura, Porsche First to Claim MICHELIN GREEN X

The tenth & final race of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season provided a fitting test to determine the event winners & the first MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge season champions.

The Lowe's Fern&ez Acura & drivers Adrian Fern&ez & Luis Diaz claimed their third MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge Prototype category win of the year & eighth race win in the LMP2 class to clinch the 2009 MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge Prototype team & driver championships. The victory was the eighth for Acura in ten events.

Relentlessly chasing the larger, more powerful LMP1 class Acura prototype of race winner Gil de Ferran, up & around the hilly 2.238 mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit, Fern&ez crossed the line just 0.662 seconds behind the larger more powerful LMP1 winner in the four hour race.

"The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge is a great way for us to be an example to everyone to be more energy efficient," said Fern&ez. "Our cars feature a lot of technology. Both Gil & I were trying to be more efficient & save fuel but still maximize our speed to avoid another pit stop in the final laps. We are very proud & happy to get this championship award."

The #44 Flying Lizard Porsche of Seth Neiman & Johannes van Overbeek scored a second MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge victory in as many starts since switching to E85R ethanol fuel. The victory leapfrogged them ahead of their teammates in the #45 Flying Lizard Porsche in season rankings to claim the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge GT category award. The victory was the fifth of the season for Porsche.

"This was an exciting end to the first season of MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge competition," said Silvia Mammone, Michelin Motorsports manager. "In ten races, we saw nine different cars from eight different teams post wins for five different manufacturers, & they won using three different fuels."

Through the course of the season, the ALMS manufacturers & teams competed on a wide variety of circuits ranging from 1.5 miles to over 4.0 miles long. The races ranged from 100 minutes to 12 hours.

Prior to the race Michelin joined with the ALMS & members of the "Green Racing working group" to announce that Michelin will support the MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge awards again in 2010.

About The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge

The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge, developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency & SAE International is a race within the race at all 2009 American Le Mans Series events.

All ALMS entries compete with E10 ethanol blended gasoline; E85R gasoline blended ethanol, GTL (natural gas to liquid) biodiesel or E10-electric hybrid power.

Teams win by delivering the best overall performance, fuel efficiency, & smallest environmental impact throughout the race. Using a formula developed by the Argonne National Labs that includes over 30 different factors, real time st&ings are posted on timing & scoring screens throughout the race. The American Le Mans Series is the only series currently recognized as "Green Racing" by the U. S. Department of Energy; Environmental Protection Agency & SAE International.

The MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge trophies are presented to the respective Prototype & GT winners. The bases for the unique MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge trophies are made of rubber recycled from MICHELIN® GREEN X® labeled consumer tires.

About MICHELIN® GREEN X® Tires

MICHELIN® GREEN X® labeled consumer tires are optimized for fuel economy by reducing their rolling resistance & weight without compromising other key performance factors such as traction, grip & tread wear. Each tire is marked with Michelin's "GREEN X®" symbol on the sidewall, indicating to consumers a level of increased fuel-efficiency & reduced CO2 emissions.

For over 16 years, Michelin has been dedicated to the research & development of energy-efficient tires & now, a complete line of fuel-efficient tires is available to fit the most immediate consumer needs.

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures & sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles & the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel & restaurant guides, maps & road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 22,600 & operates 19 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations.