Green Initiatives in Racing

Posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 8:36 pm

When one thinks of racing the images that come to mind may not necessarily include green initiatives.  We know that cars pollute the environment and so cars that race at high speeds for sport must be even worse…right? Wrong.  Actually green racing, a trend that has been rising in the motor sport industry, does the exact opposite.  Not only does it promote environmentally friendly practices on the racetrack, green racing reduces pollution in the consumer vehicle sector as well.

In fact, the goal of green racing is to use racing competitions to help develop cleaner, more fuel efficient vehicle propulsion systems that will eventually be implemented in consumer vehicles. The green technologies developed for racecars can lead to faster introduction of technologies that reduce greenhouse gases, reduce exhaust pollutants, and increase fuel economy. From a marketing standpoint the large fan base for motor sports could draw attention to these technologies more rapidly, hastening their acceptance in the general market.

Many racing venues have already made the move towards green as several racing series have begun using renewable fuels.  The Indy Racing League has been racing with 100% ethanol fuel since 2007, which means the Baltimore Grand Prix would be a green friendly event. Ethanol burns cleaner and produces better mileage, even though it results in less horsepower in the IRL cars.  In addition to social responsibility, use of ethanol is also motivated by an attempt to make racecars more relevant to general consumer vehicles to increase the fan base.

The good thing about the Green Racing Protocols is that they can be used in any racing series.  The protocols support the development of energy efficient technologies, the reduction of greenhouse gases and auto emissions, and the use of renewable fuels and hybrids.

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2 Responses

  1. Jason

    Hi Jean,
    Where are you located? We’d love to hear more about your operation. You can contact us here, through Facebook or http://www.baltimoreracingdevelopment.com
    Thanks for the reply,
    Jason

  2. Would you put me on your mailing list? I am interested in promoting green racing in karting where we touch those who will be racing in future generations and the future fans. I am currently designing a flex fuel kart racing engine to replace the two-strokes that are still prevalent in world karting.
    Best Regards
    Jean L Genibrel
    “The World’s Most Read karting Book Author”

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  • About Jay Davidson

    Jay, a Maryland corporate attorney, is a long-time resident of the Baltimore area. Prior to undertaking his present role with BRD, Jay was the Associate General Counsel for Field Operations for U.S. Foodservice, Inc., the nation's second largest foodservice company, with approximately $20 Billion in annual sales revenues. In that role, Jay managed lawyers and other staff and focused on meeting the business legal needs of approximately 20,000 employees at 70 divisions across the United States. Prior to that, Jay worked for national law firms and spent a year working for Sponsor Direct, a sports marketing firm based in New York. Jay received his JD with Honors from George Washington University and is undergraduate degree in History from Princeton University where he played varsity football.

  • about Jason Schiavone

    Jason, a Baltimore City native having grown up on the 600 Block of Washington Blvd in Ridgley’s Delight, saw both Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium go up and enhance the cities appeal.

    Jason earned a BA degree in economics at Towson University following graduation from Mount Saint Joe high school. After several years of medical device sales in Maryland and Virginia he returned to Towson University to earn a second Bachelor’s degree, in biology. Currently enrolled as a full-time pre-med student, Jason also spends time as an orthopedic research facility assistant at the University of Maryland school of Medicine.

    An avid sports fan, Jason supports the Ravens, Orioles and Terps and would love to see a professional basketball team return to Baltimore as well. However, one of his biggest passions is auto racing and has thus become involved as much as possible with the succession of Baltimore Racing Development. He’s a long-time and active member of the BMW Car Club of America who regularly attends car club races and participates in high performance driving events.

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    Two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser jr., a member of racing's fastest family, was raised in the rugged West. An avid snowmobiler and outdoorsman, Al grew up watching his father, Al Sr., a four-time Indianaoplis 500 winner and his Uncle Bobby, a three-time Indy winner.

    In addition to Al's Indy 500 wins, he is a two-time CART champion, two-time Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona winner and a two-time IROC champion.

    The 1985 campaign was a storybook season when Al finished second in the series standings to his father, by one point. In 1990, Al was named "Driver of the Year" and became the first second-generation Series champion. In 1992, he won his first Indy 500, by history's closest margin of 0.043 seconds.

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    The 2000 season saw Al move to the Indy Racing League with team owner Rick Galles, a trusted friend and fellow Albuquergue native. Al currently serves the IRL Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a spokesman and qualifies new drivers on the circuit. The 2000 winner of the IRL's "Most Popular Driver Award," Al is truly an All-American.

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