UK's defense minister quits job to race ethanol car

UK Defence Minister Lord Paul Drayson took a "leave of absence" (that's a nice way of saying he quit) from his job to race a bio-ethanol car in Le Mans. Here's part of what Lord Drayson said in a letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown;

As you know I have a passion for motor racing and over the past year have competed in the British GT championship racing a unique bio-ethanol fuelled race car, achieving a 'historic first' win for a green-fuelled car and coming second overall in the championship. ... A number of special circumstances have now presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take my racing to the next level. ... I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race. ... So this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase British motorsport technology for environmentally friendly racing.

Let's see, Drayson's choices were to oversee a $30 Billion war in Iraq (it's an unpaid position) or try and win Le Mans with a bio-ethanol race car? I wonder if Rumsfeld is racing green cars now that he resigned?

[Source: BBC News]