Letters: In the fast lane

Gareth Evans — Fri, 23 Apr 1993 23:00:00 +0000

I read with interest your article ‘Will there be blood on the Indy tracks?’
(13 March). But I must take issue with the statement that the British manufacture
Indycars ‘by chance’.

It is no quirk of fate that Indycars are built in Britain. Indeed, Britain
is the home of the world’s motor racing industry, earning in excess of £350
million a year, and one that we should all be proud of.

Not only are such famous Formula One names as Williams, McLaren, Tyrrell,
Cosworth and Lotus based here, but also the Italian teams of Benetton and
Ferrari. With Indycar racing Britain once again leads the field with names
such as Penske and Lola.

When it comes to innovation in automobiles, the race track is the place
to be – active ride, turbos, disc brakes, to name but a few, were all developed
there. So where do the world’s automotive companies get this technology?
Germany, France, Japan? No – here in Britain.

Gareth Evans Basingstoke, Hampshire

Letters: Whales are cuter

Gareth Evans — Fri, 09 Apr 1993 23:00:00 +0000

According to your story, ‘The amphibious past of whales’ (Science, 20
March), ‘primitive whales were probably amphibians, as modern seals and
walruses are’. Amphibious these animals are; amphibians they most certainly
are not.

It’s a pity, really – if whales were amphibians, that much maligned
and oft ignored group might benefit from some of the huge amounts of public
sympathy (and money) available to cetacean conservation. The ‘cute and cuddly’
brigade have a far greater fund raising appeal, as even the most dedicated
herptile fan must admit (though with some chagrin).

Gareth Evans International Herpetological Society Stone, Staffordshire

Gareth Evans, Author at New �Ӱ�ԭ��

Letters: In the fast lane

Letters: Whales are cuter