We have always maintained that international racing community is the best way to move forward in promotion of alternate green fuel that helps us promote the concept of renewable, green energy sources. We already have seen how the Indy racing cars are switching to biofuel from this season and it is more interesting to note that just a few days back we have seen go-karting also go green. After a shakedown test at Snetterton last week the greenest racing car to compete in the international arena is now heading to Florida where it’ll debut in next week’s Sebring 12 Hours.
The British Eco Racing team’s Radical SR9 LMP1 prototype is powered by a modified version of the V10 engine found in the VW Touareg running on Shell GTL diesel; however the plan thereafter is to run on a fuel containing a 50-per-cent-bio component. And that is just one of several green initiatives being pioneered on this all new car.
It uses bodywork components made from 100-per-cent-biodegradable hemp fiber and will run solar panels to power some of its electrical systems. It has even been liveried in water-based, rather than petroleum-based, paint and its Dunlop wheels will be re-cycled after use.
Eco Racing is the latest venture by veteran sports car team manager Ian Dawson, whose Taurus team took diesel technology to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2004 and has spent the past two years developing the V10 engine run on a bio fuel made from the Jatropha plant (a non-edible product grown on land unsuitable for food production). The Eco Racing Radical will be driven at Sebring by Harri Toivonen, Ben Collins and historic racer, Simon Wright. The car might not be the fastest on the track and it will take a lot more research work to make sure that it is competitive in terms of speed. One still wonders if we will ever see a Ferrari win the F1 championship running on renewable sources of energy!
