From 2024, the Goodwood Revival will race exclusively on sustainable fuel, in what will be a landmark moment for historic motorsport.
Competitors will be required to use fuel with a minimum of 70 per cent sustainable components, in what is the latest initiative as part of Goodwood’s Revive & Thrive ethos. This is a major step on the path to ensuring the future of historic motorsport.
It’s a change that has been carefully considered and researched, and cars will require no modifications in order to run on the new fuel. There is also no performance deficit, cars can run exactly as they do on standard fuel. In fact, the first-ever sustainably-fuelled winner at the Revival was the 1925 Bentley Speed Model, which Ben Collings and Gareth Graham drove to victory ahead of other cars running on standard fuel.
A fully sustainable Revival meeting is a logical but ambitious next step following on from the 2023 edition of the Fordwater Trophy, which saw 30 sustainably-fuelled pre-1966 Porsche 911s put on a great show with drivers including Jenson Button, Tom Kristensen and Mark Webber.
Button said: “It was great to be a part of the Fordwater Trophy which brought together classic cars and the very latest in sustainable fuel technology. What’s so exciting about these fuels is that they can guarantee the future of historic racing, enabling us to enjoy combustion engine cars for years to come.”
The integration of sustainable fuels will continue at the 81st Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport in the all-Mustang Ken Miles Cup and the Gordon Spice Trophy, with encouragement for all owners and drivers to use sustainable fuels, before the Revival goes fully sustainable in September.
Sustainable fuels will also be showcased in greater detail at the 2024 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard in Electric Avenue.
Sebastian Vettel, who headlined the Festival in 2023 with his Williams FW14B and McLaren MP4/8, said: “It was clear to me at the Festival of Speed that the team at Goodwood share my love of motor racing. I enjoyed sharing my ‘Race Without Trace’ initiative with the fans at the Festival of Speed and having the opportunity to show that sustainable fuels are a fantastic way to ensure a possible future pathway for the sport that we love. It’s great that Goodwood is leading the way in promoting the use of sustainable fuels at historic racing events.”
The Duke of Richmond, founder of the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, said: “Goodwood has an illustrious motorsport history and one which we are delighted to continue with the announcement that at next year’s Revival, all of our races will run on sustainable fuel. I am proud that we are the first to be mandating the use of sustainable fuels at the event, and would like to thank all of the participating owners, drivers and preparers for their support.”
Report by Simon Ostler
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