American Le Mans Series LMP1 Champions and winners of this year's Le Mans 24 Hours Team ADT Champion Racing, have been awarded the first Automobile Club de France Ecology Trophy by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the Automobile Club de France.

This award was created to congratulate the Le Mans competitor whose car was deemed to have best preserved the environment based on thermal efficiency and reduced noise level.

The ACO insisted on the fact that "being the organiser of an international sporting event was not incompatible with the desire to preserve the environment," said Daniel Poissenot, the Sports Manager. "As these values and preoccupations are shared with the Automobile Club de France, these two bodies decided to collaborate to create the Automobile Club de France Ecology Trophy."

For the first time in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans the Audi R8, the most successful Le Mans Prototype ever, was awarded the prize for being the most environmentally friendly sports car produced. Deciding factors were, in this case, the fuel consumption during the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in relation to the vehicle's weight and average speed and also the lowest possible engine noise.

"This award is truly a testament to how great the Audi R8 really is," commented Dave Maraj, Team Owner, Champion Racing. "It not only is competitive, fast and reliable, but the engine was built to be fuel efficient as well.

At the headquarters of the French Automobile Club (ACF), Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich accepted the "Trophée pour l'Ecologie" on behalf of Champion Racing.