Top class motor racing is once again showcasing the way forward for road cars with a bio-ethanol fuelled racing car proving its credentials in the UK's biggest motorsport championship.
Triple Eight's distinctive bright green bio-ethanol fuelled Astra Coupe has competed strongly in the 2005 British Touring Car Championship, successfully demonstrating that the environmentally-sustainable fuel can compete with gasoline in delivering speed, power and reliability.
Funded by the government-backed Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS) initiative, the Astra Coupe was driven by BTCC debutante Fiona Leggate. In addition to being the only non-gasoline car on the grid, the Astra was also trialling a fuel flow sensor which will enable alternative fuels to compete on a level playing field with gasoline in UK motorsport in as little as three years.
Fiona Leggate commented: "It's been great to be a part of a pioneering entry in the BTCC. We've shown that we're as quick with bio-ethanol as with gasoline and that the car has lost none of its spectator appeal. The question is, if we can use environmentally-friendly fuels successfully in the BTCC, surely more road cars can use it?"
EEMS, a Motorsport Development UK initiative, aims to return motorsport to the role it once had in pioneering technological advances that are subsequently transferred to road cars. In recent decades motorsport's role has become almost universally promotional, where once it played a vital part in proving new ideas for road cars.
Steve Bunkhall, EEMS programme director said: "Technologically, motorsport has become somewhat divorced from real world motoring because the regulations aren't necessarily relevant to car makers' priorities. The fact is that the motor industry could benefit greatly from the fast-response and focussed resources of the motorsport industry and of advances that can be proved out first and more quickly on the track. The automotive industry is under huge pressure to reduce emissions and fuel consumption - motorsport, with its commitment to maximising performance and efficiency, can play its part in finding the solutions."
Tech-Speed, the race team behind the Astra Coupe, reports that its on-board datalogging confirms that power levels from the EEMS-backed Astra were maintained even as the bio-ethanol blend was increased from 30% in its early outings to 90% for the final three rounds at Brands Hatch. Leggate's performances also show this to be true; at Silverstone with a 60% bio-ethanol blend, the Astra Coupe was fourth fastest through the speed traps in qualifying, and finished fifth in round 26.
In addition to uniquely running on a sustainable fuel, Leggate's Astra was also used to test a fuel flow sensor implemented by UK based Ricardo Consulting Engineers. Currently a 'proof of concept', the next stage in the device's development is to demonstrate that it can be used to level the playing field for competitors using a variety of fuels with different energy contents.
It is possible that in the near future a competitive starting grid could be made up of cars running on bio-fuels, LPG, gasoline, diesel and alcohol, with fuel flow rates set to ensure each team was allowed identical maximum 'energy flow' to the engine.
EEMS is one of a range of initiatives run by Motorsport Development UK (MDUK), a unique partnership between the public sector, the sport and the industry. MDUK is leading a £16m five-year programme to sustain and develop UK motorsport, unique in that many of the initiatives such as EEMS integrate the motorsport interests of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the four regional development agencies in which the motorsport industry in concentrated. Its board members also include senior representatives from the UK's motorsport and automotive industry.
Notes:
Bio-ethanolBio-ethanol is close to being 'environmentally neutral' as it is produced from the fermentation of sustainable source crops including maize and wheat which absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow. Only the energy actually used in the harvesting and fermentation of the fuel contributes to global warming. Bio-ethanol can be used as a fuel in its pure form or mixed with petrol as a blend.
The Ricardo Fuel Flow SensorIn motorsport, there are two common approaches to limiting engine power. These use either a defined orifice to limit air supplied to the cylinders (air restrictor), or an electronic engine speed limiter (rev limiter). These are both easily applied and the specification is easily defined. If it is to be adopted, a fuel-flow limiter has to offer the same advantages.The solution is a simple flow measuring device mounted in-line with the fuel pipe which records the volume of fuel passing through. A temperature sensor is also used to adjust for fuel density, since it is the mass of fuel (and hence the amount of energy) that is important rather than the volume. This information is fed through to the car's data logger, a tamper-proof 'black box' supplied by TOCA, the race organisers, and fitted to each car. The information can be collected at the end of the race.On Fiona Leggate's Triple Eight Astra Coupe, the fuel flow is measured but not limited. In future series, teams might be given a maximum allowed flow rate, set to give each car the same 'energy flow' to the engine. This allows cars burning different fuels to race against each other, and would reward fuel efficiency. The teams would set up their cars so as not to exceed the flow rate limit, which would then be scrutinised by checking the sensor logs after the race. The same principle is used successfully in a number of race series to limit engine revs, with the data collected and checked on a random basis at the end of each race.
Energy Efficient Motorsport - an initiative of Motorsport Development UK The aim of the EEMS initiative is to establish UK global leadership in energy efficient motorsport through the development of the commercial, entertainment and environmental aspects of energy efficient racing formulae. EEMS has supported a range of other alternative fuelled racing teams:· Team Nasamax - bio-ethanol powered Le Mans 24hours entry in 2004 · Taurus Sport - diesel powered Le Mans 24hours entry in 2004 · Mardi Gras - LPG powered British Touring Car Championship entry in 2004
Motorsport Development UKMDUK is a partnership of public and private sector organisations that is leading a £16m five-year programme to sustain and develop UK motorsport. Its backers include the four regional development agencies at the heart of Motorsport Valley - Advantage West Midlands, East of England Development Agency, East Midlands Development Agency and South East England Development Agency - together with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
The overall objective of MDUK is business and economic development for the motor sport sector. The programme stimulates action in several key areas, by working with and part-funding programmes delivered by motorsport stakeholders. Examples include Energy Efficient Motorsport, support for the training of volunteer officials, programmes aimed at widening participation in the sport and a 'Learning Grid' of education initiatives.
Fiona LeggateFiona Leggate is the first woman to race in the British Touring Car Championship for 6 years. This season she has campaigned an MG ZR in the MG Trophy in preparation for her debut in the bio-ethanol fuelled Astra. She competed in the Britcar series in 2004, finishing 1st in class and 2nd overall.
Her father is a major vegetable grower and wholesaler - so in theory her car could have run on fuel produced from his crops!
The EEMS sponsorship deal has secured the conversion and development of the Astra racer to run on bio-ethanol, with Tech-speed Motorsport and their backers funding the race programme itself.
