Baltimore Grand Prix

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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