Case Studies		Team Inzane Laverda
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Company

Ratt Racing

Click here to see the Ratt Racing page

Summary

Ratt Racing, a small independently owned engine preparation company based in Torquay, is the first team to convert a conventional Mini to compete using E85 bioethanol fuel. The team has successfully competed throughout 2007 in the Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship, the Donington POWERnights and the Extreme Mighty Mini Championship.

Ratt Racing has shown that motorsport can be environmentally responsible and has changed attitudes and perceptions in the paddock by demonstrating that power and spectacle are not compromised by fuelling racing cars on biofuels.

Key Facts

• Trouble free conversion to conventional Mini
• First winner of the Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship to run on bioethanol
• Finished first overall in its first race after conversion - Round One of the Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship 2007 at Lyddon Hill
• The car exceeded the performance of petrol-fuelled peers with gains in horsepower (approximately 3- 4%) and also in torque (approximately 5%). In addition, throttle response was much improved
• 13 race wins and 8 podium finishes during 2007 season racing in Dunlop Motoring News Saloon Car Championship, Donington POWERnights and the Extreme Mighty Mini Championship
• 2007 Extreme Mighty Mini Championship Winner
• Increased business opportunities and directly attracting a 2008 sponsor as a result of the use of sustainable fuels

The Challenge

The aim of this project was to convert a Mini to race successfully on a renewable energy source - E85 bioethanol. As the team was to compete at club level, the conversion had to be achieved within the confines of a tight budget.

The Solution

Ratt Racing found out all it could about the use and availability of bioethanol. In doing so, it received technical information about the fuel and sources of information from the EEMS programme. Ratt Racing also attended EEMS networking meetings and was able to gain from the experiences of others using bioethanol.

In November 2006, Ratt Racing started work on the Mini's 1380 A Series A+ engine and successfully converted it to run on bioethanol. In converting a standard production engine, Ratt Racing has demonstrated that with attention paid to the fuel management system it is possible for many in motorsport to benefit from the use of sustainable fuels. As the equivalent mass of bioethanol produces less energy than petrol to achieve the same power output, more bioethanol fuel is required and thus, the Mini required a larger fuel tank. This was installed with a capacity to hold 30 litres and dyno testing was carried out to optimise the specification of the engine running with different camshafts and compression ratios. The fuel injector size was enlarged to accommodate the increased fuel consumption and a larger fuel pump was installed. The initial set up was worked out to gain the most efficient horsepower output by adjusting the air fuel ratios and ignition timing settings.

The conversion work was carried out over three months and then the Mini was ready to take to the track for an open test day at Castle Coombe in March 2007.

The newly-developed Mini performed faultlessly during the test and even overtook a Nissan Skyline GTR during one session! "The driver of the Skyline was extremely interested in what we had done to the Mini to make it perform so well, and was astonished to discover that we were running it on bioethanol," says Mike Tarr.

Lessons Learnt

Bioethanol is hygroscopic and thus, takes on water. So the team had to be very careful when dealing with the fuel and not expose it to the elements for longer than absolutely necessary.

As the long-term corrosive properties of bioethanol are relatively unknown, the team decided to run a 'rich' mixture at the beginning of the project to counter the possibility of any corrosion and then slightly reduced the mixture before each outing.

As the team was running on a tight budget, the decision was taken to run on 'pump' fuel which was locally available at a supermarket near Ratt Racing's workshop. Ratt Racing benefited from being based in an area where bioethanol is readily available - Somerset and Avon Police Force run a fleet of 'Flex' Ford cars and crops are grown locally to produce the fuel.

Benefits

Converting the Mini to race on bioethanol has provided Ratt Racing with a significant increase of interest from other competitors. Some have gone even on to become customers. The conversion to alternative fuel has also had a significant impact on the sponsorship efforts of the team. In 2006, a potential sponsor decided against investing in the team because it felt that it couldn't be seen to be involved in a sport that was reliant on the use of unsustainable fuels. In 2008, the team has five sponsors already signed up and this is due in no small part to the team's use of bioethanol.

The Future

Ratt Racing and Peter Crewes will continue to run the same Mini, system and fuel in the 2008 Dunlop Motoring News Saloon Car Championship and at the POWERnights at Silverstone on 8th May 2008.

In addition, Ratt Racing will be converting and running three Hillclimb Sprint cars in the Association of South-West Motor Club's HillClimb Championship and the Midlands Speed Championship. Ratt Racing is also hoping to convert its support equipment to run on biodiesel during 2008.

Further information

Mike Tarr
Ratt Racing

www.rattracing.co.uk

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