MotoGP has embarked on their sustainability journey with the adoption of a 40% synthetic fuel mixture in 2024. This week I have the details on how they plan to increase that to 100%. I also have details on an Australian Porsche racer that is offsetting his carbon footprint both on and off the track, sustainability practices at the Dutch Grand Prix and racing old Mustangs on sustainable fuel.
Its all in this week’s edition of the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. Your source for sustainable high performance motorsport news.
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Sustainable Motorsport News
Bayley Hall is contesting the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrer Cup Australia with McElrea Racing in a 922 GT3 Cup Car under the CleanSpeed Racing banner and has partnered with Brisbane-based Environmental business, CarbonHalo to assess his racing careers’ carbon footprint, both on and off track.
“He has invested in the Queensland and Australian-wide Carbon Offset credits as a way to offset the carbon produced by his racing and the elements that surround it. Offsets include vegetation regeneration projects and investment into Solar and Wind farms.”
Caroline Barker of BBC Sport recently talked sports and climate in separate 13-minute interviews with EcoAthletes Champions Oppong Hemeng, a sports-sustainability consultant and Dallas-based fencer who is pushing to qualify for the Olympics for Ghana, and Ellis Spiezia, the groundbreaking 18-year old EV racer. Click here to listen to the Spiezia interview.
The Autodromo do Algarve is set to implement 12 ecological measures during its hosting of MotoGP later this month. The move is to enhance the racetrack’s chances of securing the ISO 20121 standard.
“In recent years, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve has implemented well-known and recognised sustainability practices. We are completely independent in terms of electrical energy, which is obtained entirely from renewable sources. In addition, thanks to our partnership with Repsol, we already use fuel with a high percentage of synthetic compounds.”
Sustainability for the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix is the concern of the race weekend organizers. In that regard, they put the interests of PEOPLE ( “MENSEN”) first:
Mobility
Energy
Nature
Social
Economic sustainability
New initiatives
Based on these six topics, they shape their sustainability policy. Read here per topic which policy Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix uses.
Andretti Global has revealed new site designs and confirmed project progression as the team works toward a 2025 transition from the existing Zionsville Road location to the under-construction headquarters located in Fishers, Indiana. Andretti continues to work with Ridge, and welcomes RATIO and Clark Construction as new, integral partners to the design and development of the 90-acre campus. Through collaboration with Ridge and RATIO, the reimagined structure elevates focus on cutting-edge design, expanding on existing goals for technologically advanced, sustainable practices.
Hypermiling is a type of motorsport you may not be familiar with but the goal is to maximize fuel efficiency.
“We tend to think of motorsport and fuel efficiency as being at odds with one another. A hot lap is just about the worst way to get good gas mileage, for example. But motorsport and mileage aren’t actually at odds; efficiency can be the differentiating factor between a win or loss at Le Mans. In fact, the practice of maximizing fuel efficiency—hypermiling—should be considered a form of motorsport too. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find both share a rich culture of car modification, employing many of the same tricks while turning others on their head.”
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
Autosport looks at the key MotoGP change that has gone under the radar in 2024, the series’ adoption of sustainable fuels.
“That’s why this move to sustainable fuels was never considered to come under the banner of a single supplier. MotoGP has several big-name fuel companies working with manufacturers, from Repsol to BP, while a number of different brands act as sponsorship partners with various satellite teams. This new fuel regulation ultimately has a practical application for those firms, and in turn could invite other fuel makers to invest in MotoGP.”
Preparations for the 81st Goodwood Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport are well and truly underway. Testing has begun in earnest, particularly those working on the Ford Mustangs set to compete in the Ken Miles Cup presented by LGT Wealth Management. They’re busy evaluating the effects of sustainable fuel on their engines, because the Ken Miles Cup is set to be the latest Goodwood race run exclusively on sustainable fuels, ahead of the all-encompassing roll-out at the 2024 Revival.
“Anglo’s S70L is what’s known as a ‘drop in’ fuel, the idea being that you can pour this sustainable fuel straight into your tank and be safe in the knowledge that all should run as expected with no adjustments required. According to official figures, the sustainable fuel is ever so slightly denser (by around 0.014kg/l at 15 degrees celsius) with a higher octane (101.4 compared to 99.0), and this test would help us to understand whether those differences would translate into engine performance.”
Are you ready to dive into the world of electric vehicles and discover the technology driving the future of mobility? Then join Scalar Performance for their EV 101 seminar on Tue, Apr 23, 2024 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT. It will take place at RCLUB, Commercial Road, East York, ON, Canada. It will be a comprehensive day-long course that promises to electrify your understanding of EVs.
Course Highlights Include:
- Anatomy of an EV System: Delve into the core components that power EVs.
- Batteries and Charging: From cell chemistry to charging infrastructure.
- Software and Calibration: Explore how software integrates with hardware and what performance tuning means in this new world.
- Drive Configuration Options: Learn about the different setups that define vehicle behavior.
- Safety and Handling: Not anxious to zap yourself? Learn how to safely work on these high power systems.
- Integration into Existing Vehicles: Certainly we’ll talk about how to rejuvenate classic models with an EV swap but we’ll also talk about integration into modern automotive networks.
You can register for the course here.
Series News
Julius Baer looks at a decade of innovation in e-mobility pioneered by Formula E. “Since making its debut in Beijing in 2014, Formula E has grown into a global entertainment brand with motorsport at its heart. As the drivers got ready to race out of the blocks at the season-opener in Mexico City, we now look in our rear-view mirror at ten years of twists and turns – and consider ten ways the all-electric race car series is driving the energy transition and shaping our future cities.”
Racer looks at what brings the world’s automakers to Formula E. “We decided 10 years ago when we started Formula E that we don’t want to spend any energy on the static parts of the car — the chassis, bodywork, aerodynamics — basically the opposite of Formula 1,” Sylvain Filippi, team principal of Envision Racing, tells RACER. “Here with aerodynamics, we don’t spend any time or resources whatsoever on it with the view that it’s not relevant to what we are trying to achieve, which is to improve electric cars.”
Formula E is considering having a bespoke substitute race that it can call upon if events are cancelled, even at short notice. Speaking to The Race about how Formula E can try to preserve a set number of races in future seasons, CEO Jeff Dodds said that a specific circuit could be allocated reserve status.
“A lot of the conversation we’re having here now is: Do you accept disruption is part and parcel of having street circuits? Or instead, do you say, ‘Look, there’s options, we could pre-book fixed circuits, on certain dates, and pay small holding deposits if something goes wrong’?”
Extreme E has extended its partnership with carbon project developer and sustainability solutions company Allcot. Allcot has partnered with Extreme E since the series’ inception, with the two parties most recently signing an extension in June last year. Part of this extension was a collaboration to offset emissions from the St Helena, the series’ floating headquarters.
The active offsetting process involves collecting daily fuel consumption from St Helena which is converted in Co2e – carbon emission equivalent. Using the daily carbon footprint data, the corresponding precise amount of carbon credits required for compensation will be instantly calculated. These credits are then automatically retired via a blockchain platform, leaving an immutable record of each transaction on the blockchain ledger.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
