Case Studies		Team Inzane Laverda
CCM Motorcycles		Jenkins Motorsport Developments
Barwell Motorsport		Ratt Racing
Oaktec

Company

Barwell Motorsport

Additional Participants

Aston Martin Racing

Petrohem Carless Ltd - Petrochem Carless Limited have years of experience both manufacturing and supplying premium racing fuels for motorsports, Hiperflo, all over the world.

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Summary

Barwell Motorsport successfully converted a petrolfuelled Aston Martin DBRS9 to run on bioethanol and challenged for the title of the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Barwell realised that motorsport can make a real difference in changing perceptions and stimulating innovation, as being more environmentally responsible plays an increasingly important part in the future of the sport.

Working with Aston Martin Racing, Barwell developed a new fuel system that performed faultlessly for the whole season - notching up an outright win for the team at Snetterton in June 2007. The bioethanol fuelled car delivered all the sound, performance and excitement of a racing Aston Martin.

Running the Aston Martin on bioethanol has provided Barwell Motorsport with an environmentally responsible talking point when seeking partnerships and alliances with investors. In addition, media interest has been high, allowing the team to positively build their brand and reputation.

Key Facts

• First British GT car to be converted to run on bioethanol
• Gained an historic first by winning a round of the British GT Championship outright at Snetterton in June 2007
• Reliability and performance proved by overall 2nd place in the 2007 Championship
• The car equalled (and showed potential to exceed) the performance of its petrol-fuelled equivalent
• Team achieved the successful development of the fuel system to accommodate the different properties of bioethanol
• Increased media and investor interest due to environmental benefits associated with the conversion

The Challenge

The aim of this project was to explore the possibilities for adapting an Aston Martin DBRS9 to run on a renewable energy source fuel and to be perceived as 'equal to' petrol-fuelled racing cars.

Bioethanol fuelled engines are capable of producing at least the same amount of horsepower as engines using conventional petrol. However, the energy density of bioethanol is lower than petrol and to achieve the performance and the CO2 reductions requires between 35-50% more bioethanol fuel. Barwell negotiated an exception to the usual rules regarding fuel tank capacity to overcome this.

The Solution

With funding from car owner and driver, Paul Drayson, and technical information about fuels from EEMS, Barwell worked with Aston Martin Racing to adapt the car to run on E85 - a blend of 85% bioethanol and 15% petrol.

The car was successfully adapted by increasing the fuel tank capacity to 150 litres, by increasing the size of the fuel lines to cope with the volume of fuel, and by installing an additional fuel pump to raise the working pressure.

Because of the different properties of bioethanol, the team changed all refuelling equipment and devised new specifications for fuel lines, injector sizes, injector rates and fuel pump delivery.

The newly-developed fuel system performed faultlessly for the whole season in the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship - notching up an outright win for the team at Snetterton in June 2007.

Lessons Learnt

Bioethanol is very low in lubricants and those that are present are washed away by the fuel itself. Therefore, the metal injector rails had to be changed from plain steel to stainless steel and some of the engine seals had to be changed to bioethanol resistant materials.

On the refuelling rig, the rubber seals were replaced by 'nitrile' (a synthetic rubber) which is more ethanol tolerant.

Bioethanol is hygrosopic and thus, takes on water. As a result the team had to be vigilant when dealing with the fuel and not expose it to the elements for longer than was absolutely necessary.

As the long-term corrosive properties of bioethanol are relatively unknown, the fuel system was flushed through at the end of each meeting with a small amount of normal race petrol, which contains more lubricants than bioethanol.

Barwell established that the car had the potential for improved performance compared to a petrol-fuelled DBRS9 GT3 car. In order to comply with the regulations for the British GT Championship, it was engineered to produce the same performance as the petrol-fuelled version.

Benefits

Driver, Paul Drayson commented that apart from the fact that it carried a heavier fuel load at the start of races, the engineering development carried out provided the drivers with a car that was 'just the same' in terms of performance and handling as the petrol-fuelled version.

Running an Aston Martin on bioethanol has provided Barwell Motorsport with an environmentally responsible talking point when seeking partnerships and alliances with investors. In addition, media interest was extremely healthy, allowing the team and their sponsors to positively build on its brand and reputation.

The Future

Barwell Motorsport has successfully demonstrated what can be achieved with bioethanol fuel. The team plans to continue to compete and to be at the forefront in showcasing energy efficient technologies. In 2008, Barwell will be the first to compete in a bioethanol fuelled Aston Martin in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). As part of the longer-term goal to run a bioethanol fuelled Aston Martin at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Barwell has formed a joint initiative with Paul Drayson – Drayson-Barwell- to develop emerging energy saving technologies.

Further information

Chris Needell
Barwell Motorsport

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