Perhaps auto racing can go green if it's the Formula Zero racing league. According to their website, "Formula Zero is the new zero-emission race class for hydrogen and fuel cells vehicles." Starting with kart racing, the plan is to scale up to a full racing league. Founded by Godert van Hardenbroek and Eelco Rietveld, two Dutch motorsports enthusiasts. Participants see this as the future of motorsports:
"In 10 years if the motorsport industry as a whole hasn't engaged in zero or low emission principles, it probably won't be around," said Greg Offer, who headed up the Imperial team. "Teams that embrace this new technology early on will succeed, and those that don't will fall by the wayside." - BBC
A Dutch team won the endurance component of the Formula Zero championship while the Spanish EuplatecH2 had the fastest lap at 36 seconds. The ultimate prize of Zeroth place went to Greenchoice Forze team from Delft University. Enthusiasts argue that these vehicles exceed the excitement of combustion engine cars because it takes no time for them to reach peak power.
In March, Formula Zero will come to the U.S. with four races in South Carolina.
And because we must have NASCAR and NHRA, we must also have Formula Zero and the Grease to Greece Road Rally.
The race kicked off in London, with cars crossing the channel to France by ferry. Teams then headed to Athens. The key was that the cars could not use any fossil fuel to get there. The cars ran were biodiesel and drivers had to stop at restaurants along the way and ask for used up cooking oil to run their vehicles. Some even made their own biodiesel along the way, according to founder and team leader Andy Pag in an interview with NPR.
Pag has even greater ambitions than the 10 day cross Europe road rally:
No stranger to the eco-friendly cause, last year Pag demonstrated the use of waste chocolate as an alternative source of fuel when he drove a truck entirely powered by the foodstuff from London to Timbuktu in Mali. Next year, Pag plans to take to the skies and circle the globe, relying entirely on aviation fuel produced from recycled trash bags. Said Pag, "There is no reason why Joe Public cannot do this, [they would] save themselves a bit of money and help the environment because they are not using fossil fuels." - RideLust
8 teams, including farmers, a police officer, an accountant and several engineers, completed the 2500 mile journey. The race culminated at the British Embassy in Athens with the awarding by Ambassador Simon Gass of the Golden Lard Award to the team with the most "Grease Marks" for collecting fuel.
Now that's the kind of auto racing that's so much more than cars going around a track!
Further Reading:
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Written in September 2008