(Detroit, January 12, 2009) The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) has provided some of the most exciting motor racing anywhere in the world over its first decade of existence. However, as teams prepare for the beginning of the 2009 season, at Sebring in March, the series faces loss of manufacturers and sponsors as the global economic turmoil continues. Scott Atherton spoke with Green Fuels Forecast at the North American International Auto Show about the challenges and possibilities going forward.

The tenth anniversary season of the American Le Mans Series wrapped up last fall just as financial institutions around the world went into free fall. Up until that point Atherton tells GFF "It couldn't have been better frankly, it was the best year overall that we've had. It was the top year for attendance, the top year for manufacturer involvement, sponsor involvement, the quality of the racing. Coupled with some of the initiatives that came together with our collaboration with the EPA, the DOE and SAE International on the Green Challenge. We look back at 2008 with an ear to ear smile."

Unfortunately late 2008 saw many manufacturers announce the cancellation or curtailment of race programs, including Subaru pulling out of the World Rally Championship and Honda abandoning its Formula One effort. ALMS was not immune to this as Porsche has ended its LMP2 program and Audi has retired its R10 TDI diesel LMP1 racers. For 2009 Audi's sports-car effort will focus on the 24 hours of Le Mans with the new R15 TDI. The only currently scheduled ALMS appearance of the R15 will be at the season opening 12 Hours of Sebring.

"As we look to this coming season, for sure like everyone in this industry we're facing our challenges. We're not immune. But I couldn't be happier about the positioning of the series. When I look around at the other forms of motor sport and I see the way that the American Le Mans Series is configured and what we represent to a manufacturer, it's an example of don't fix it because it's not broken."

"At a time when every line of every budget is being scrutinized, the fact that we represent an opportunity for a manufacturer to bring new technology to the racetrack not with the intent of making a better race car solely but to have that technology flow through to the road car is a unique positioning point for us. If you are trying to justify your racing based on the entertainment value, if you are one of the major auto manufacturers right now that's got to be a difficult thing to do."

"At least we can demonstrate a real, sustainable, factual link of technical transfer from race car to road cars, as evidenced by what's happening with many of our manufacturers."

In spite of that success the loss of Audi as a full time competitor in 2009 is a significant blow. Atherton tells GFF "That's a very challenging result for us to contend with for sure but I wouldn't count them out either. We fell into the middle of a budget cut competition if you will, among executives to see who can endure the most pain. It's unfortunate but at that same time we've got other manufacturers that under what most would describe as the most challenging business climate in modern times are making decisions to come into the series. BMW making it's debut, Acura reaffirming its commitment to prototype."

"We've got another major manufacturer, we met with them yesterday. They are scheduled to make their announcements in Sebring. They will not be able to compete until most likely Long Beach (in April). That's a GT program. Mazda is doubling their effort with Dyson Racing (in the LMP2 class)."

"Sebring ironically is going to be quite possibly bigger than it was in '08. There are two (diesel powered) Peugeots confirmed, the world premier of the Audi R15 which they've told everyone the first time you'll see it is when they unload it in Sebring. The Acura debut with their LMP1 car."

While most major racing series around the world have adopted increasingly strict rules in the name of cost-cutting and even competition, the ALMS and Automobile Club de l'Ouest (organizers of Le Mans) are an exception. In their efforts to make racing more relevant to the street, alternative drive systems and fuels play a major part. ALMS has already has three types of fuels in use. The Audis and occasionally the Peugeots are diesel powered. The Corvette Racing and Intersport teams along with a few smaller squads began running on cellulosic E85 during the 2008 season.

Atherton tells GFF that the ALMS wants to maintain a competitive landscape while encouraging innovation. On the question of additional alternatives, Atherton was deliberately vague. "There's one other example of an alternative fuel and they've asked for confidentiality. It would potentially be a fourth fuel."

"Our criteria for the fuels, they're all considered alternative fuels although most people would consider E10 common-place now, but if the fuel doesn't represent a viable commercial alternative to a consumer, then it's very difficult if not impossible for us to justify. We don't want to throw another alternative onto the list just for the sake of having another. If it's determined that the infrastructure just isn't there or the industry isn't planning to evolve in that direction, it would be as I said very difficult for us to justify that."

"But there is a major oil company, energy company that is behind this and they have linked with a major manufacturer and have recognized the opportunity with the American Le Mans Series to showcase what this would mean to a consumer. It's something that we are wrestling with right now."

Atherton did not indicate when a decision on this fuel proposal might be made although an initial meeting is scheduled in the coming weeks.

The new manufacturer that will announce its participation in is also considering using cellulosic E85. "That would another very compelling story because this is a brand name, someone you would not typically connect with that type of an endeavor."

In 2009 Corsa Racing will debut a hybrid E10/electric race car with technology from Zytec in the UK. According to Atherton there is no one else that is planning to run a hybrid system this year although Peugeot showed a prototype version of its 908 last fall equipped with an electric hybrid system.

"We have a major manufacturer that is working on a prototype and it's not Peugeot. This one is completely undercover right now. I hate to sound like we're throwing stuff out there just to bait people but it's not the case. We literally had to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that's 100 pages long. Our technical people have travelled to their R&D center two or three times now."

"We are also working closely with the FIA and the ACO because to be candid the rule book doesn't take this kind of technology into consideration. Thankfully, they (the un-named manufacturer) have approached us in the early, early days of its development to say 'we want to share with you what we're working on because the last thing we want to have happen is for us to show and say we want to come race and you have you guys turn us away at the door because you have no basis for managing, controlling, any oversight over what this technology can do."

It's refreshing to see a racing organization like the ALMS embrace new technology that has a potential to improve efficiency on the road and be willing to work cooperatively with potential competitors to see new ideas implemented. Atherton and his team have also recognized their own internal technical limitations and brought in outside engineering consultants to help evaluate new proposals like this new hybrid system and formulate rules that will allow for fair competition.

"The easiest path of least resistance is to simply legislate it (referring to new technology) out and we're committed to not do that." Atherton says that so far manufacturers have been good about self-policing and not trying to get too far out in front of the field. The teams are aware of the results when that happens. Too many series have collapsed in the past when a single brand becomes too dominant. Examples like the original Can-Am series in the early 1970s and the IMSA GTP series in the early 1990s.

Referring back to the manufacturer developing the new hybrid technology, Atherton tells GFF "they said specifically, they recognize the opportunity to compete in the ALMS because their absolute goal of racing is not to simply show up with a very effective race car, but its to develop this technology so it can be applied to the road car that much faster."

One concept that no manufacturers have brought to the table yet are pure battery electric vehicles. Atherton acknowledges that ALMS needs to sit down with the ACO to formulate a plan for how to handle the potential for electric race cars.

For now, the American Le Mans Series appears to be in a relatively enviable position compared to some other series. There is still a significant interest in being able showcase and test alternative drive technologies that can transferred to the road. With the Green Challenge being a season long feature of the series from 2009, teams can be recognized for their efforts.