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Other Moto Racing
DESPAIN: My Take On Green Racing
Builders of alternative propulsion motorcycles are putting them on the track to prove their viability...
Dave Despain  |  Posted June 08, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Dave Despain, the popular host of Wind Tunnel on SPEED. (Image: SPEED)
I’ve seen some motorcycles lately that got me thinking about the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500. No, I’m not about to propose that Indy’s 2011 MotoGP race move to Memorial Day weekend, but what follows is almost that radical. Let’s take it a step at a time.

There's a YouTube video circulating that shows a 24-hour motocross race in San Jose, California. What’s unusual is that the motocrossers are all electric! Battery-powered dirt bikes... who’da thunk?

Then there’s the "Killa Cycle," an electric-powered drag bike that's done zero to 169 miles per hour in under eight seconds.

And finally, next week’s 102nd anniversary of the Isle of Man TT will feature a class for electric road racer bikes. Claiming top speeds of 100 to 150 miles per hour, they'll race a full lap of the historic 37 mile Island circuit.

Never mind that these examples are all electric, the common theme that interests me in all this is racing! Builders of alternative propulsion motorcycles, doubtless aware of widespread skepticism toward their odd-ball products, are putting them on the track to prove their viability. Thus history repeats itself.

In 1901 Henry Ford raced Alexander Winton in an effort to prove the reliability and performance potential of his new-fangled horseless carriage. Henry won… and that racing victory helped him secure the funding to launch the Ford Motor Company.

Now consider the 100th anniversary Indy 500 in a number of different contexts. While the Hulman-George family - owners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway - sort out their future management plans, the present Indy Car formula - 33 identical Honda-powered Dallaras - has hit a new low in TV ratings. A new Indy Car formula is on the way, but additional manufacturer involvement in this economic climate seems sketchy. Meanwhile, like it or not, there are clear signs the internal combustion engine is nearing the end of its life cycle and alternatives are steadily gaining traction in the public consciousness. Is all of this perhaps an opportunity for radical change? Wouldn’t it be interesting if the Indy 500, for so many years a showcase for automotive ingenuity, could became the proving ground for future automotive propulsion technologies?

Detroit blogger Peter DeLorenzo proposes on AutoExtremist.com that the 100th Anniversary 500 have just one rule... 50 gallons of fuel per entry.

Thus the winning car must average 10 miles per gallon…bring on those moveable airfoils!

But my imagination runs even wilder. What if you only gave ‘em 10 gallons... make ‘em average 50 miles per gallon? I wonder how fast the winner would go…and what on earth he or she would be driving? How many high-tech companies would show up with bizarre prototypes? How many college engineering departments would assign their students to a 500 mile project? How many different approaches might we see to the problem of finishing 500 miles first? And how much would the Department of Energy pay to sponsor the race?

It’s been more than a century since the piston engine proved its chops in the crucible of competition. I find it very interesting to imagine the next generation of automotive propulsion systems having the opportunity to prove themselves in the biggest motor race in the world. I'm not gullible enough to think this is actually going to happen but I am idealistic enough to believe that it should.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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