It won’t prevent fire, but like Scotch Guard, it keeps almost all of a flammable liquid from penetrating a suit. Without it, flaming fuel is absorbed and the suit becomes the source of the fire. (Photo: Molecule) » More Photos

Molecule's Protector doesn't claim to repel 100% of what touches a driver, but at its current rejection rate of 85%, that's 85% less fuel or oil a firesuit can absorb.

To me, that number is staggering, but Guasch insists the 85% repellency is just the starting point. "I'm a hard guy to satisfy-we'll keep pushing to get that number to over 90%. 100% is our long-term goal." For anyone looking to punk a friend that loves to barbecue, spray some of Molecule's finest on the charcoal in the barbeque and watch that friend waste an afternoon (and gallons of lighter fluid) trying to get the charcoal to light.

I'm a sucker for anything that can add personal safety AND cause hours of good-humored mischief amongst friends…

Mazda's Doonan also found another benefit of using Molecule's goods-no more dry cleaning bills. Molecule makes a cleaning spray that's tailored for using a washer; Fire Protector likes a bit of heat to bond and cure to the Nomex fabric, so spraying it on the suit and tossing it in your dryer is all that's needed.

"Since budget efficiency is a constant focus at Mazda, we have to seek ways to be careful with our funding. We've aligned ourselves with race teams that do the same…who wants to pay for dry cleaning, anyways…" Depending on the size of the ALMS, Indycar, F1, or NASCAR team, annual dry cleaning bills can run in the five figures.

If there's been an even greater embrace and endorsement of Molecule's fire safety innovation, Guasch is beaming about a new customer in England, the David Charles Group.

David Charles provides a unique firesuit cleaning and maintenance service after each race for five UK-based F1 teams, most of the A1GP field, and the majority of the GP2 grid. Having heard of Mazda's use of Fire Protector in the ALMS, Charles now hands back firesuits to the top F1 drivers and pit crews treated with Fire Protector.

In time, the feasibility of expanding a chemical technology like Molecule's flammable repellency agent to other fire-prone racing items such as bodywork, paint, and seats will be explored.

Protector is also being considered to treat the combat uniforms of our military forces to better protect against the IED explosive devices, and to treat the protective gear used by Firemen across the country. It's not hard to appreciate racing safety innovations that make the rare leap from race tracks to real life.

As more open wheel, sportscar, and stock car teams and series take a deeper look at Fire Protector, Molecule is also looking to help get their product to racing corner workers and safety marshals-the very people tasked with extinguishing flaming cars and drivers.

We don't often look to geeks in lab coats for the next wave of racing safety inventions, but as the flow of traditional safety products made of metal, composites, or electronics have come to a crawl, a shift to safety on a chemical and molecular level has been broken wide open.


Click Here To Read More About Molecule Labs' Fire Protector

Click Here To View Molecule Labs' Fire Protector In Action