DEKRA Announces Risi Competizione's Ferrari F458 Italia as Green Challenge Winner of TUDOR Championship Race in Sebring, Florida

ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Mar 23, 2015) - DEKRA North America, Inc. congratulates Risi Competizione's Ferrari F458 Italia as the winner of the DEKRA Green Challenge Award in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race held in Sebring, Florida on March 21, 2015. DEKRA is the sponsor of the DEKRA Green Challenge Award, which recognizes the most environmentally "clean, fast, and efficient" GT Le Mans (GTLM) competitor in each TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Race.

The "greenest" car of every race is determined through Green Racing protocols established by the United States Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Society of Automotive Engineers International as part of an overarching strategic alliance with the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).

"DEKRA has a long tradition of involvement with elite motorsports events and series, and we are very excited to be partnering with IMSA and the TUDOR Championships," said Donald O. Nicholson, President and Chief Regional Officer of DEKRA NA. "As a leader in automotive emissions and safety testing and sustainability, we are proud to sponsor the DEKRA Green Challenge Award, which recognizes these elite green racers."

All cars competing in the TUDOR Championship utilize alternative fuels including E-10, cellulosic E-85 and renewable synthetic clean diesel. The GTLM Class is the only class within the Tudor Series that uses cellulosic E85, which is a blend of 85 percent denatured ethanol and 15 percent gasoline that can only be used in specially designed vehicles. These alternative fuels are relevant to the world's automotive manufacturers and energy companies as they develop transportation solutions for the future that are sustainable and have a low environmental impact.

The Green Challenge scores are calculated each lap of the race from data provided by the timing and scoring system plus the observed energy consumption -- or fuel used -- of each car's pit refueling tank sensors. The score for "clean" is based on a rating of each car's environmental impact determined by adding together the greenhouse gases emitted and non-renewable energy (petroleum consumed) by each car during the race. "Fast" describes the average on-track speed of each car compared to the leader (recalculated for every lap) in kilometers per hour. "Efficiency" is calculated by how well each car used the energy it consumed based on the car's observed fuel consumption and performance, as compared to the leader of the lap.

"Much of the interest in cellulosic ethanol as a vehicle fuel is its ability to replace gasoline made from imported oil," said Nicholson. "E-85 fuel also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it is made from ethanol produced in the U.S. DEKRA is excited to be part of this new vision for the future."

DEKRA also serves as IMSA's official Technical Partner, overseeing the Tudor series race car technical inspections to help ensure IMSA standards are being followed. As unbiased, third-party experts, DEKRA adds credibility to IMSA's technical and safety inspection process.

Every TUDOR Championship car is inspected at the DEKRA Technical Center and receives a DEKRA sticker showing that it has met IMSA's extensive safety and technical standards. While IMSA's specs are unique, DEKRA has a similarly rigorous process for the safety and quality inspections it offers corporate and consumer clients.

The 2015 TUDOR Championship season opened at Daytona International Speedway with the 53rd Rolex 24 At Daytona. There are 12 races each year across the U.S. and Canada, which attract over a million fans and include racers from Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Corvette, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Porsche, SRT, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.

About DEKRA
DEKRA SE is one of the world's leading expert organizations and currently runs activities in more than 50 countries on all five continents. About 35,000 employees are committed to ensuring long-term safety, quality and environmental protection. The DEKRA Business Units "Automotive," "Industrial" and "Personnel" provide professional and innovative services in the fields of vehicle inspection, expertise, claims services, system certification, product testing & certification, industrial & construction inspection, consulting, qualification and temporary work. In 2014, DEKRA generated sales totaling approximately 2.5 billion Euros.

About IMSA
The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 with a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, as well as four single-make series: Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama; Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin; Ferrari Challenge North America; and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. IMSA -- a company within the NASCAR Holdings group -- is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected TUDOR Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.