For more information on ECO Racing please contact
Andy King
cell: +44 7989 018464
e-mail: aking@eco-racing.co.uk
or andy.king@k-mc.co.uk
For more information on Prendeville, please contact
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
cell: 317-201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
ECO Racing Enters ALMS Season Finale at Laguna Seca Oct. 18;
Noda and Prendeville to Drive Environmentally Ground-Breaking Car
MONTEREY, Calif., Oct. 9 - The much-anticipated world debut of ECO Racing's
environmentally ground-breaking, production-engined, bio-diesel LMP1 Radical
AER is scheduled to occur at the American Le Mans Series' season finale, the
Monterey Sports Car Championships Oct. 16-18 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in
Monterey, Calif.
The British team has chosen Japanese star Hideki Noda and America's Andrew
Prendeville, a veteran of the tough Firestone Indy Lights Series, to drive the
car in the four-hour race that begins at 2:45 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday,
Oct. 18.
The race is scheduled to be broadcast on NBC on a tape-delayed basis from 2
p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Oct. 19.
Noda, 39, of Osaka, Japan, has raced worldwide in Formula 1, Indy cars and
sports cars.
"I am honored and excited to be joining ECO Racing at the final round of the
American Le Mans Series," Noda said. "The Radical SR10/AER machine is in its
final stages of development, and I am honored to be chosen as a driver to be
part of the development process. I would also like to thank my sponsors and
fans for making this happen.
"I haven't run Laguna Seca since 1997," Noda added. "It is a challenging
track, and I am looking forward to racing there. The ALMS is a competitive
series, with a solid fan base. I would like to take this opportunity to see what I
can do in the ALMS and make it a race that will be a good start for the next
season."
Las Vegas-based Prendeville, who has raced competitively in the Firestone
Indy Lights Series for the past two seasons, will be making his sports car debut
in the No. 10 car.
"I think this is going to be a very interesting weekend for me," said the
27-year-old native of New Jersey. "The American Le Mans Series is very intense
this year and puts on a good show. I'm very excited to be teaming up with
Hideki Noda, ECO Racing, Matt Connolly and P1 Groupe to make this all come
together. This is a very intriguing opportunity, and I'm hopeful for a positive
outcome."
The team was created by pioneering race engineer Ian Dawson. It is dedicated
to developing, using and showcasing environmentally efficient technologies on
the elite stage of international motorsports.
In 2004 Dawson raced the first bio-diesel sports car at Le Mans, two full
years ahead of the debut of Audi's diesel racer and three years ahead of
diesel-powered rival Peugeot.
Since that time Dawson has continued to develop the production road car-based
V10 engine, creating a partnership with D1 Oils to use the Jatropha-based
bio-diesel fuel. All test-bed and on-track testing has been undertaken using
Jatropha bio diesel. It is made from the Jatropha curcas tree, a
drought-resistant, inedible oilseed plant that makes use of otherwise unusable land and has
no impact upon the food chain.
"After testing successfully over the past two months in the UK, I am
delighted that ECO Racing will be at Laguna Seca, one of the great race tracks and a
real challenge for our car in its debut event," Dawson said. "The team and our
partners, Radical and AER, have worked very hard to create the best possible
baseline for us to begin our journey into 2009. I am also very pleased that
we have a very strong driver lineup in Hideki and Andrew. We have a great mix
of experience and speed."
ECO Racing would also like to thank its sponsors:
* Steward (steward.ne.jp);
* Cisco Asset Management (cisco-a-m.co.jp);
* Prostaff (prostaff.jp.com/en/etop.htm);
* Dydo Drinco (dydo.co.jp);
* Global Jyuhan Corp. (global-j.co.jp);
* Tereshia (tereshia.com);
* P1 Groupe (p1groupe.com); and
* Matt Connolly Motorsports (mcmracingteam.com).
-30-
Notes to editors:
ECO Racing is a company led by veteran Le Mans engineer Ian Dawson,
award-winning businessman Simon Wright and experienced Finnish driver Harri Toivonen,
who have been inspired by the opportunity to extend the use of eco-technology
beyond fuel and into many other aspects of motorsports.
The team has been working tirelessly towards achieving its goal of being
competitive in the world's most demanding racing environments using as many
eco-based products and solutions as possible, both on and off the track. For
example, it will recycle its race tires through "fragging," turning them into bark
chippings. It is also working towards the use of hemp fiber for non-critical
bodywork panels.
ECO Racing has two V10 bio-diesel-powered Radical LMP1 sports cars. The
turbocharged V10 engine uses production-based components that have been modified to
adapt to the stresses of endurance competition.
The Jatropha curcas tree is a drought-resistant, inedible oilseed plant used
to produce bio-diesel fuel. Jatropha has many advantages over other bio-fuel
crops, as it requires less water than most plants, is hardy, and does not need
to be grown on good-quality agricultural land.
The four-hour Monterey Sports Car Championship race at Laguna Seca on
Saturday, Oct. 18 is the final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS).
Earlier this year the ALMS reaffirmed its position as motorsports' global leader
in alternative fuels by announcing its partnership with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy and SAE International to
incorporate "green racing" principles into its 2008 racing season.
After its debut at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta Oct. 4, in 2009 the ALMS
will conduct a "Green Challenge" as an integral part of the series. The
Green Challenge (tm) has been developed by the ALMS in association with the U.S.
Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SAE
International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Using a
formula involving more than 30 pieces of data and measurements, the criteria
measures race car performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact to rank
each car by the amount of energy used, greenhouse gasses emitted and petroleum
displaced.
The Le Mans Series in Europe and America's ALMS is contested by cars in four
categories. LMP1 is the top category and consists of high-tech, prototype
sports cars. ECO Racing's Radical bio-diesel car can reach speeds in excess of 190
miles per hour.