Driving experts and motorsport legends have supported the use of new sustainable fuels after a major announcement would see an expanded rollout of the cleaner fuel.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed has confirmed that its 2024 Revival celebration will exclusively use sustainable fuel during its races.
It said it was doing this to further extend its “Revive and Thrive” ethos with the use of sustainable fuel in classic combustion engine cars.
Drivers will be required to use a fuel which has a minimum of 70 per cent advanced sustainable components, in line with the FIA.
All races at Goodwood Revival will feature sustainable fuel
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Classic car owners will be pleased to know that no major changes will be needed to the engine system, with the drop-in fuel having no impact on the race performance of the vehicle.
Sustainable fuels have already been used at Goodwood, with a 1925 Bentley Speed Model winning the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, beating out other motorists using standard fuel.
Motoring legends have also weighed in on the new fuel changes, with many having already used sustainable fuels in their career.
Formula One legend Sebastian Vettel, who used sustainable fuel at the 2023 Festival of Speed praised Goodwood for leading the way in the use of cleaner fuels.
Earlier this year, he drove Nigel Mansell’s 1991 Williams FW14B and Ayrton Senna’s 1991 McLaren MP4/8, both of which were powered by e-fuels.
Jenson Button, 2009 Formula One World Champion, also raced at Goodwood earlier this year, taking part in the Fordwater Trophy at the Revival festival.
He 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 Duke of Richmond, who founded the Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival, said he was pleased that all events would take place using sustainable fuels.
He added that he was “proud” to be the first event to mandate the use of sustainable fuels and thanked all participants for their support in making the major changes.
Keen petrolhead Rowan Atkinson has also commented on the use of sustainable fuels, having used it in his racing Jaguar at Goodwood earlier this year.
The Blackadder actor said the sustainable fuel used in his Jaguar was superior to standard unleaded petrol “in every way” in performance terms.
He added: “It’s perhaps unsurprising that if you synthesise a fuel from first principles, you’re going to make a better product than that produced by just applying heat and pressure to some black gunk you dig out of the ground.”
There have been calls for other motorsport events to use sustainable fuels to help reduce the rate of emissions while still allowing for advancements in electric and other fuel technologies.
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Sebastian Vettel at Goodwood earlier this year
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The first barrels of 100 per cent sustainable fuel, made from bio waste and developed to Formula One specifications, were delivered by the FIA in 2020.