Bikes & Cars...

Formula 1 president Max Mosely announced last week that the prestigious international racing series was going hybrid. Don’t worry, he didn’t really mean it.

It turns out that in 2009, Formula 1 will allow racers to use something called KERS, or Kinetic Energy Recovery System. This is like the regenerative braking system used in a Prius, where the energy generated by slowing down the car will be electronically captured and stored in an on-board battery for later use. In both Formula 1 and street cars, it allows the car to go farther on a tank of gas, which would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from the tailpipe squeeze in a few extra laps between pit stops.

Regenerative braking works best when slowing cars that are running at high speeds, so Formula 1 seems like a good place to use the technology. The system is not the same as friction braking, where pads or shoes or the like stop the car by coming into contact with the rotors, which is what most cars on the road and the track have used for decades.

Formula 1 has also begun a Make Cars Green campaign, which is about as straightforward a name as you can get. The goal of the campaign is a little harder to pin down, though, as so far it seems to entail taking pictures of F1 drivers behind a banner that says “Make Cars Green.” Organizers say F1 is working with companies like Bridgestone tires to make the sport “more road-relevant and environmentally sustainable,” but it seems we’ll have to wait and see exactly how they plan to do that. Besides, of course, group photos.

American Le Mans, meanwhile, continues its commitment to alternative fuels, including clean diesel and ethanol blends. An Aston-Martin became the first GT-class car to run a race on E85R at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Motorsports Industry Association held a seminar at the Florida series opener on energy efficiency.

Are these efforts really green, though? Not so much. Most of the cars using ethanol blends in ALMS are using E10, which is only 10% ethanol. The other 90% is still gasoline. And depending on who you ask, ethanol may not be doing us any environmental or economic favors. As far as Formula 1’s foray into regenerative braking systems, anything is an improvement over what they’ve been doing. But it remains to be seen how much of a difference KERS will make, and what further initiatives will be part of the promised season-long roll-out of Make Cars Green.

In the meantime, check out some guilt-free fast cars at NEDRA’s web site.

Photo by ajimixx.