Autoblog

In the absence of any substantive competition in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class, the team of Corvette Racing has decided to create its own challenges for the C6R Corvette. At the ALMS press conference today in Detroit, Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper announced that Corvette Racing would be running cellulosic E85 (made from wood chips in this case, not corn) in the 2008 ALMS GT1 class. The team is targeting a race debut in March for its E85 C6R race cars at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The ALMS press conference as a whole focused on the series' intent to be the global leader in green racing. ALMS CEO Scott Atherton discussed how other racing series have migrated to focusing on personalities with the cars becoming just appliances (gee, wonder who he could be talking about?). ALMS wants its cars to be the stars of the show and also relevant to a changing automotive and environmental landscape. To that end, they are evolving rules to encourage technological innovation and adding a new Green Challenge that we'll have more details on soon. There's more information on the ALMS initiative at AutoblogGreen.

[Source: American Le Mans Series, AutoblogGreen]

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Earlier this fall there was speculation that Chevrolet would withdraw the Corvette Racing team from the 2008 race season due to a lack of competition. Throughout most of the 2007 ALMS season, the two bright yellow C6.Rs were the only GT1 cars on the track. Corvette fans can now rest easy because the thundering 'Vettes will be back for the full 2008 race calendar. The two-car factory team will run all twelve ALMS races as well as shooting for another class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even if you aren't necessarily a Corvette aficionado, the distinctly memorable sound of the C6.R hurtling down the track is definitely something worth experiencing, and race fans will be lucky to have another opportunity in 2008.

[Source: GM]