Racing ahead: Goodwood Revival becomes world’s first historic motorsport event to race exclusively with sustainable fuel
Follows sustainably-fuelled Fordwater Trophy at this year’s event
Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel says: “It’s great that Goodwood is leading the way in promoting the use of sustainable fuels at historic racing events.”
Goodwood is proud to announce that the 2024 Revival will serve as a landmark moment in motorsport history, as the entire weekend of historic racing is set to take place exclusively using sustainable fuel.
Already an event that champions second-hand sustainability, today’s announcement sees the Revival further extend its Revive & Thrive ethos with sustainable fuel ensuring the future of classic combustion engine cars.
Goodwood will require competitors to use a fuel which has a minimum of 70% advanced sustainable components, in accordance with the FIA’s current requirements for sustainable fuel. Serving as a drop-in fuel, no modification is required to the cars and there is no compromise on race performance. In fact, Goodwood’s first sustainably-fuelled winner came in the Rudge-Whitworth Cup at the 2023 Revival, as the 1925 Bentley Speed Model with the driver pairing of Ben Collings and Gareth Graham crossed the line ahead of competitors running on standard fuel.
As well as its first sustainably-fuelled winner, this year’s Goodwood Revival also hosted its first sustainably-fuelled race, as a grid of pre-1966 Porsche 911s took to the track to compete in the Fordwater Trophy. Drivers included 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, Goodwood hillclimb record-holder Max Chilton, and nine-time Formula 1 winner Mark Webber.
We were also delighted to welcome preparer Richard Tuthill, sustainable fuel developer Anders Hildebrand and driver Emanuele Pirro for a panel discussion on the role of alternative fuels at the Revival. Those looking to find out more about the technology can access the full panel discussion available to view here and the transcription available to download.
Goodwood is firmly committed to supporting the transition to a carbon neutral future. Prior to the Revival, at the 81st Members’ Meeting (Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 April 2024) the use of sustainable fuels will be mandated for the Ken Miles Cup and Gordon Spice Trophy, and drivers and owners will be encouraged to use sustainable fuels across the event. Electric Avenue will return to the 2024 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard (Thursday 11 - Sunday 14 July), championing not just electric motoring, but a variety of alternative fuels.
Sebastian Vettel, who drove his ex-Nigel Mansell 1992 Williams FW14B and ex-Ayrton Senna 1993 McLaren MP4/8 on sustainable fuel at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, 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.”
Karun Chandhok, former Formula 1 and Formula E driver, and friend of Goodwood, said: “The Duke of Richmond and his team have done a brilliant job at bringing motor racing to a new audience whilst celebrating the history of our beloved sport. I've been a very vocal supporter of sustainable fuels alongside electrification of motorsport and I think it's hugely important to show the public that older high performance cars can run successfully on new fuels. This is an exciting and innovative step to ensure that we can all still enjoy these fantastic cars in a socially responsible way for the future”.
Jenson Button, 2009 Formula 1 World Champion who raced in the Fordwater Trophy at the 2023 Goodwood Revival, 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.”
Rowan Atkinson, regular competitor and avid supporter of Goodwood, said: “I used synthetic fuel in my racing Jaguar at Goodwood this year and found it to be not just as good as the pump petrol used previously but in performance terms, superior to it in every way. 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.”
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.”
