Michelin Adopts the First American Forests' Tree.

The Series “Never Idle” campaign debuted on an international stage at Sebring International Raceway, in conjunction with American Forests, planted a Magnolia tree within the Series’ Patrón Paddock.  With a record number of entries in attendance, the tree became the latest member in an extraordinary effort to emphasis the Series platform as the Global Leader of Green Racing.

Throughout the season, Series’ teams and manufacturers will be taking turns to adopt indigenous trees in race cities as well as raise money to support tree plantings throughout North America, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions during Series’ race days. A goal of 5,000 trees has been recognized for 2010.

Michelin became the first manufacturer to support the off-track outreach program established by Series’ partner American Forests, and hosted the budding tree, a symbol of the both the start of a new season and a new environmental initiative.

Adopted for Sebring by Michelin, the tree grew roots throughout race week in the MICHELIN GREEN X Challenge exhibit.

Following the 12 Hours of Sebring, Sebring International Raceway laid claim to the tree with the intent to plant the Magnolia on property as an advocate for the cause.

"We are proud to participate in this important environmental initiative," stated Sebring President and General Manager Tres Stephenson. "This displaying and subsequent planting of this tree is symbolic of our commitment to the Global ReLeaf program. We will encourage the thousands of guests who annually visit Sebring International Raceway to do their part."

AMERICAN FORESTS is the nation’s oldest nonprofit conservation group, dedicated to growing a healthier world with trees. Our work encompasses planting trees for ecosystem restoration through our Global ReLeaf program, calculating the value of urban forests, fostering environmental education, and improving public policy for trees. AMERICAN FORESTS also maintains the official listing of the largest-known trees of their species in the United States. We have a goal to plant 100 million trees to restore damaged ecosystems in the U.S. and around the world by 2020.

AMERICAN FORESTS’ Historic Tree program brings history alive by propagating and selling the offspring of trees connected to significant historical people, places and events, offering a unique way for people to connect to the past while being part of a sustainable future. The Historic Tree program helps people understand how trees benefit us all – environmentally, socially, and economically.

The American Le Mans Series, based on the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, is the only motorsports body in the world that features multiple street-legal alternative energy sources - clean diesel, E10 and E85 cellulosic ethanols, and new hybrid technologies. The American Le Mans Series has taken the leadership role in motorsports for the furthering of alternative fuel technology and use. It also illustrates deeper the Series’ relevance to its list of prestigious manufacturers and affluent consumer base.

The car eventually came to a stop upright on its wheels. After being taken to the track's medical center, he was transported to Highlands Regional for further observation.

Prior to the crash, the Intersport Lola-AER had posted the fastest time of the afternoon session.

The GETG FLM09 will be the first Series car to use environment safe G-OIL™.

G-OIL is the world's lowest petroleum, "eco-friendly," ultimate biodegradable motor oil.  Unlike traditional petrochemical-based motor oils from leading manufacturers, Green Earth Technologies' G-OIL is made with American-grown renewable animal fats. These saturated fats, whose molecular single-bond carbon chains are similar to common petroleum oils, have no harsh effects on the environment, and drastically cut our dependence on foreign oil.


The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will open its 12th season with America’s greatest sports car race, the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida from March 17-20. The green flag will fall at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED starting at 10 a.m. ET. Live coverage also will be available on American Le Mans Radio, as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook page and the official YouTube channel.

• 2010 marks Dalziel's second season of competition in the ALMS. In 2005, he competed in the ALMS GT1 Class with Pacific Coast Motorsport. Making seven ALMS starts, the team earned five top-ten finishes, one GT1 Class podium (3rd - Portland).
• This weekend will mark Dalziel's second start in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. In 2005 he competed with Pacific Coast Motorsport driving a Corvette C5-R and finished 10th overall, 6th in the GT1 Class.
• Although Dalziel is a native of Scotland, this race will be considered a "home race" for him as he resides in Orlando, Florida, where he has been living for the past five years. His wife, Jessica, is from the Sebring/Lake Placid area, so he will have a lot of family and friends at the track this weekend cheering him on.
• Dalziel is the 2010 24 Hours of Daytona Winner.

"I think everybody including all of the drivers love starting off the season at Sebring in the famed 12 hour race. We have many internationally famous, talented drivers turn up for this event, so it is always exciting to have the opportunity to compete with them. I think in particular, it is going to be a very strong GT field with more manufacturers and more cars than we have seen in previous years. Going into this season opener for the American Le Mans Series with JaguarRSR, I am hoping that we can represent the brand well against the competitors.
"Personally, I am so excited to get back to Sebring for the 12hour. I have only had the opportunity to drive in this race once back in 2005 and I have missed not being involved since then. I remember being blown away at the huge crowds and the energy inside the track. Not only for race day, but the whole week leading up to it. Getting to go back to Sebring driving for JaguarRSR is very special and I know that we will have many Jaguar fans there, looking for us to mix it up with the likes of Porsche, BMW, Ferrari and Corvette. Hopefully we give them something to cheer about."

Paul Gentilozzi, co-Driver of the #75 JaguarRSR XKR GT

• A five time Trans-Am Series Champion, Gentilozzi will wear multiple hats for the team, as not only the owner but also one of the three drivers designated to run at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
• Gentilozzi won the GTS class at the 1992 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
• Gentilozzi won the overall pole position at Sebring in 1994.
• This will be Gentilozzi's first start in the ALMS, but has previously raced in IMSA GTS and GTO competition. He earned nine IMSA poles and eight IMSA victories. He finished second in GTO points in 1992 and won the 1992 GTO, 1992 and 1993 GTS Manufacturers' Championships for Oldsmobile.
• Gentilozzi has raced at Sebring 16 times and earned two wins in Trans-Am competition and one IMSA GTO victory.

"The 12 Hours of Sebring is part of the world's culture for sports car racing. Each sport has its cornerstone events that define history. In the world of endurance sports car racing we have two of those in our series, the 24 hours of LeMans and the 12 Hours of Sebring.  These races are respected for their technical and competitive challenges as being world class. It has been 47 years since a Jaguar has won at Sebring; we are working to change that.

"The challenge of Sebring is not a one dimensional consideration.  Twelve hours on the Sebring track equals twenty four hours at any of the other famous tracks in the world.  The track design, historical pavement conditions, fog, campfire smoke and grueling pace make it a special challenge.  Having competed there over the last thirty years I have learned that taming it is out of the question, a peaceful co-existence and luck are the requirement for success."

Marc Goossens, co-Driver of the #75 JaguarRSR XKR GT

• Although Goossens has competed in ALMS competition in the past, this will be his first full-season ALMS effort.
• This will be the fifth start for Goossens in the 12 Hours of Sebring. His first race was in 2002 with Jim Matthews Racing and he finished 3rd overall in a Riley & Scott - Elan LMP1 machine. His last race here was in 2008 when he drove for LG Motorsport in a Corvette GT2.
• Goossens is a native of Belgium, the only driver racing this weekend from his country.
• Goossens was asked to join the JaguarRSR team for the debut of the new JaguarRSR XKR GT racer at the 2009 Petit Le Mans, and piloted the big cat to its first green flag during the ALMS season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

"The American Le Mans Series is a very good series. The GT class is very competitive, especially this year, because there are so many different car manufacturers competing against each other. I am proud to be representing JaguarRSR. We are a new team to this series so we have a very big challenge ahead of us. Most of our competitors have been racing in the ALMS for several years now; they have a lot of experience and have been able to really develop their cars. But I believe in the Jaguar brand, the RSR team has a great group of people that have a lot of experience in racing, so I know we can be competitive and we are going to work very hard to be on top.

"2002 was a pretty good year for me at this event.  We ended up being on top of the podium next to a factory Audi and the Champion Audi. Being a smaller team, private team, not having the same equipment as a factory team it was an accomplishment to be on the podium. The 12 Hours of Sebring is just one of those legendary races, historical place to go to. It is always fun to be racing at Sebring."
 
LAP AROUND SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY by Marc Goossens
Driving out of pit lane you have to make sure you get a good look in your mirrors because there are a lot of cars approaching Turn 1 which is a blind, very fast corner. It is pretty tricky when you go out there on cold tires. Other than that, Turn 1 is pretty straight forward. There is only one good racing line through there and it is pretty bumpy, which throws the car off a little bit towards the exit of the corner. Therefore your racing line needs to be correct because if not, you will be running wide on exit. It is almost like a street circuit because there is a concrete wall on the inside and you have no tire wall in front of it or anything so if you turn in a little too early, you risk hitting the wall.
 
It says Turn 2 on the track map, but it isn't really a turn but more like a straightline braking into Turn 3. Turns 3, 4, and 5 are called the Carousel for the simple reason that it is a very smooth combination of left, right, left turns but you keep the flow going, keep the momentum through those corners because the exit of Turn 5 is important. As you accelerate towards Turn 6 it is actually a straight line so you go up to sixth gear so you get decent speed out of the car there. The most important thing is the braking for the Hairpin, Turn 7. The braking area is really important here and you will find that many people find it hard to accelerate as the exit of Turn 7 is very tight before you accelerate up to Turns 8 and 9, which is an easy flat zone - the Fangio Chicane.

It is very difficult braking into Cunningham Corner, Turn 10. The center of this corner on the apex is a little off camber, so it is very important to get your braking right in order to position your car on the inside to then accelerate successfully through Turn 11. If the car is setup well and your tires can still hold up you can go through Turn 11 flat out, full throttle. Towards the end of a stint when your tires are worn you still stay on the throttle but you short shift through the gears to not create any oversteer in the car through that turn.

Turn 13 is very similar to Turn 10, again braking is very important, positioning the car you actually go through the middle of the turn to head into the straightaway accelerating through Turn 14 up to 15 - it is very fast there, you are hitting sixth gear so the exit of Turn 13 is very important because of that long straightaway that follows. Turn 15 is not the most difficult corner of the track, in our case it is down three gears. You try to keep your speed and momentum up through the apex of Turn 15. There is not too much time that can be gained between 15 and 16. But the exit of Turn 16 is important because it leads onto the very long Ulmann straight.

Then we get to the final turn, 17, which is a little bit blind going in because you can't really see the apex of the corner. There are multiple lines through there and you will see that there are cars that have an early entry and there are other cars that enter the turn a little later trying to go a little harder on the power on the exit. Again it is a bumpy area, especially around the center of the corner where you got the most lock on the steering wheel. There is a huge bump which can un-settle the car if your not careful. The exit of that corner is almost as important as braking into it because of the Start/Finish straightaway. Turn 17 is probably one of the most important turns of the whole track.

Featuring the popular Xbox game Forza Motorsport 3, several “young drivers”, who are dealing with pediatric cancer, became champions on the digital streets of the Americas while the Series’ drivers spoke about the secret of racing – as well as the secret of life.

The secret? Keep your eyes focused on where you want to go.

In racing this means to watch the road ahead and visualize where the car is destined.

In life this means to envision your future and aspire to reach it.

This single notion is what made Brown, Dalziel and Gibson elite in their field as well as prepare them for the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 20.

Series’ drivers play Forza Motorsports 3 with children dealing with pediatric cancer.

All smiles at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, in support of the Austin Hatcher Foundation.

Ed Brown, Ryan Dalziel and Gary Gibson take a pit stop to talk to children about sports car racing.

The Austin Hatcher Foundation for a carefree childhood was formed in 2006 after Amy Jo and Jim Osborn lost their infant son Hatch to a rare form of pediatric cancer.  The foundation’s mission is to support research towards the diagnosis, treatment and development of a cure for pediatric cancer, and to provide support and hope to children and families undergoing treatment as well as those who have lost children due to cancer.  The foundation has developed a landmark group of programs and services essential to help cancer stricken children and their families function within their community.  These services are provided to families free of charge.

The green flag will fall at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED starting at 10 a.m. ET. Live coverage also will be available on American Le Mans Radio, as well as Sirius Channel 127 and XM Channel 245. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook page and the official YouTube channel.