Racing Green

Racing Green is the story of how advances in motorsport science are changing the world, helping it become smarter and more environmentally friendly. Motor racing is already one of the most scientifically demanding sports: it involves a combination of peak physical and mental skill, world-class mechanical nous and perennial technological innovation. These innovations, first developed for racing, have been incorporated into everyday car designs to improve their safety - from ABS brakes to crash helmets - and ecological impact, via electric engines and more efficient fuels and tyres. Author Kit Chapman is a lifelong motorsports fan who has previously worked with Virgin Racing's Formula E team on the chemistry and material science of their cars. With help from his wide range of contacts in the industry, Kit criss-crosses the globe from Ohio to Monaco, Spain to Bahrain. He steps behind the scenes of current engineering breakthroughs, picking up extraordinary tales along the way, such as that of maverick designer Warren Mosler who designed a car so fast it was banned from racing. Part travelogue, part historical retrospective, Racing Green combines visits to the experts with lively retellings of real-life incidents that became milestones in modern car development. Kit looks at the breadth of racing, both its glories and its tragedies, revealing the industry as a driving force for progress, and where it's on track to take us next.

Kit Chapman is an award-winning journalist, adventurer and motorsports fan. With more than a decade of experience writing for titles such as Nature, New Scientist, Chemistry World, Physics World and the Daily Telegraph, his work has taken him to more than 75 countries as he seeks amazing tales from the cutting edge of science. Kit has a PhD in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Sunderland and a masters degree in pharmacy from the University of Bradford.

Introduction PART I: THE FASTEST R&D LAB ON EARTH Chapter One: Fire and ICE Chapter Two: Speeding Bullets Chapter Three: Together in Electric Dreams Chapter Four: Applying the Brakes Chapter Five: The Last Airbenders Chapter Six: Going with the Flow Chapter Seven: Virtually There PART II: RACING FOR LIFE Chapter Eight: The Full Might of What We Can Do Chapter Nine: Matters of Life and Death Chapter Ten: Twenty-Seven Seconds Chapter Eleven: Rise of the Robots PART III: THE MATERIAL WORLD Chapter Twelve: Flax, Fibres and Floating Frogs Chapter Thirteen: All That's Fit to Print Chapter Fourteen: Fuelling the Future Chapter Fifteen: The Terrible History of Tyres Chapter Sixteen: Going to Extremes Appendix: Martin, Mosler & Me Acknowledgments Index