The WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car drives down the straight of a test track at Bruntingthorpe near Lutterworth, in Leicestershire. The steering wheel is made from a polymer derived from carrots and other root vegetables while the seat is flax fibre shell, soy bean oil foam and recycled polyester fabric.

Cars powered by chocolate, steered by carrots with drivers sitting on soybean oil foam seats – it’s motor racing’s cheap, cheerful and environmentally-friendly series of the future.
While Formula One stables have not hesitated to spend millions of dollars on the latest thing in ultra-high technology to gift the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button a few milliseconds per circuit, researchers in Britain envisage an organic future for motor racing.
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The original concept of a NASCAR race car was that is was supposed to be composed of stock parts—parts you would buy in an auto parts store. In some respects that is true but not totally. The race car is a high performance racing machine designed to withstand high G-forces when banking on turns. Let’s look at what makes up this vehicle.

The first component most are interested in is the engine of a NASCAR racing vehicle. This engine actually is very close to that which you have in your car (provided you have a big engine) but it is customized so that it can withstand high temperature and torque. All parts in the engine of a are machined to within very tight specifications so that there is a minimum of friction. The carburetor is designed to let in the volume of air and fuel mixture required to sustain high speeds for lengthy spans of time. There are no fuel injectors in the race cars engine.
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Suzuki has used Intermot Cologne to reveal its first new bikes for 2011 – the revamped GSX-R600 and 750 supersports. But similarly to the 2009 makeover the Gixxer 1000 received, the new middleweights are more evolution than revolution despite the fact that the designers essentially went back to the drawing board. All-new engines and drivetrains produce the same peak horsepower as this year’s model (that’s 123hp for the 600 and 148 for the 750) but significant efforts have been made to improve fuel efficiency and reduce power losses between the crank and the rear wheel. The chassis and wheelbase of both bikes have been shortened, both bikes sport Showa’s fashionable and fully adjustable Big Piston forks and there’s a new and improved, radial Brembo monobloc braking system. The big news is that the Gixxer6 and 750 have gone on a pretty impressive diet, shedding 8 and 9 kilos respectively. It looks like a solid upgrade, if perhaps a little unexciting.
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Radial engines were traditionally used for powering aircraft, but two extraordinary Grand Prix cars embraced them, although neither raced.

Monaco-Trossi, 1935
The Monaco-Trossi was a truly maverick design, influenced heavily by aircraft technology. At its heart lay a 16-cylinder two-stroke twin supercharged radial engine. Mounted as far forward as possible it gave the car a menacing and unforgettable look, quite unlike anything ever seen. Ultimately, the positioning of the engine would play a major part in the car’s downfall.
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The drivers from Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One teams are taking their first laps on the great unknown that is the new Korea International Circuit today, at least their first laps in the real world. Previously all four of them got to try out the virtual version in the simulator.

That can prove invaluable when it comes to learning a new track like Yeongam it’s the only chance they’ll have to ‘see’ the track before driving it flat-out at the wheel of a multi-million dollar racing car.
Andy Damerum is Red Bull Technology’s VR guru. As the driver development manager for the F1 Simulator at Milton Keynes, Andy puts everyone through their paces and ensures the simulation is as close to the real thing as science can make it. A toy it isn’t.
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