The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship has moved ever-closer to a sustainable fuel future after running an extensive trial in a fully competitive environment at the Home of British Motor Racing, Silverstone, last weekend (September 21/22).

Working closely with long-term partners Haltermann Carless on this ground-braking project, the UK’s premier motorsport series is aiming for all cars entered into the championship to run 100% sustainable fuel.

Silverstone marked the latest milestone in the development process as the Duckhams Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport car of Daryl DeLeon ran the latest 100% sustainable fuel for the full duration of the race weekend with support from Haltermann Carless, M-Sport and Aero Tec Laboratories Ltd (ATL).

DeLeon contested every session with absolutely no fuel issues reported, and critically the pace and performance results were recorded to be equal of those cars running the regular controlled championship fuel.

The Hiperflo ECO102 R100 is a fully sustainable fuel, which meets FIA criteria as an advanced sustainable fuel. The fuel is a pure drop-in solution, it requires no hardware modifications to existing engines and crucially delivers no loss in performance compared to the current control fuel used in the championship. 

The fuel itself achieves a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of approximately 55% on a well-to-wheel (WtW) basis compared to the fossil fuel baseline. If the full BTCC grid adopted this fully sustainable fuel for the entire season, it would result in a CO2 reduction of approximately 50,000 kg, equivalent to the combined weight of around 37 BTCC cars.

Series Organiser – TOCA – will continue to work closely alongside Haltermann Carless over the coming weeks and months with the plan to move fully to a 100% sustainable fuel as the championship’s chosen controlled fuel. The DeLeon car is expected to continue running the fuel at the Brands Hatch season finale next weekend (5/6 October).

“We are delighted with the significant progress we have made with regard to 100% sustainable fuel – working closely alongside Haltermann Carless and our teams – with last weekend’s results representing a significant milestone in the project,” said BTCC Chief Executive Alan Gow.

“The development work doesn’t stop here, however, as we actively strive to even further improve the efficiency and performance of the sustainable fuel going forward.

“This is an important and essential step for the BTCC as we continue to look to maintain the competitiveness and excitement synonymous with our championship, but in a more sustainable way.”

Adrian Stuart, Haltermann Carless Head of Performance Fuels Sales UK, added: “In recent years, the focus in motorsport has shifted toward sustainable fuels, a challenge we have embraced with the same dedication that has fuelled our success with the BTCC over the past 30 years.

“At Silverstone we were able to showcase a fully sustainable fuel during a championship weekend and we would like to thank to Daryl DeLeon and Duckhams Racing for supporting this trial. This is just the beginning, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the BTCC and engine partners to bring even more sustainable, high-performance fuels to the racetrack in the future.

“This is a significant development and enforces our commitment to driving low-carbon solutions through our motorsport brands, Carless Racing Fuels and ETS Racing Fuels. More breakthroughs are on the horizon as we continue to innovate and refine our fuel formulations.”