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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 and adventurer. 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 60 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 master's degree in pharmacy from the University of Bradford. His first book, Superheavy, was shortlisted for the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science books.
"Chapman writes engagingly about the benefits motor racing has brought to a climate problem that needs all hands on the wheel."
– Financial Times
"Chapman's clear passion for all things motorsport seeps heavily through the narrative of this book, and he engagingly walks us through the history of motorsport, and the extraordinary engineering that goes into all the materials and parts."
– Engineering & Technology
