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A Year of Ethanol
By Andrew Cutler November 3 2007
Since it's earliest days auto racing has served as a testing platform to try out new ideas that, if successful, would one day make their way into street production cars. For the 2007 season the Indy Racing League took that "mission" in a new direction by becomming the first series to use an environmentally friendly and easily renewable fuel source; ethanol.

After decades of using methanol, in 2006 the IRL used a mixture of 90% methanol and 10% ethanol. Then, late last year, came the announcement that the series would be making the move to 100% fuel-grade ethanol for 2007.

While ethanol processed from corn (what the IRL uses) is not the most energy-efficient of the bio-fuels - an IRL car at speed averages only 1.6 miles per gallon - the advantages are still plentiful. Ethanol's higher octane produces higher compression ratios and it's high oxygen content means that there are fewer pollutants comming out of the exaust. Ethanol also helps to keep the engine cooler than gasoline and, in case of a fuel fire, is easier to extinguish.

Through the seventeen races of the 2007 IRL season there were no reported cases of engine-related issues that could be traced back to the use of ethanol.

"Our partnership with the ethanol industry has been a tremendous success both on and off the track," said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division of the Indy Racing League, told reporters last month. "We have been proud to share the track with a home-grown renewable fuel source that has such broad implications beyond racing. We will continue to be relevant and we will embrace the opportunity to lead the industry in our approach to balancing business with social responsibility."

 

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Re: A Year of Ethanol
Posted by: JamieM (IP Logged)
Date: 2007:11:04:03:34:07

To me racing should be about progress and technological development. So many series have gone "spec" lately, even F1 is heading down that road. Although IRL is pretty "spec" itself, the switch to ethanol is pretty cool. "Green" and "alternative" fuels are being talked about more and more here and I like seeing a racing series actually putting this technology to use.

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