About a year ago, we told you BMW was working on a new synthetic fuel program, to be used in World Superbike. Now, we see an an announcement from the company, saying that fuel recipe is ready for use this year. Its first use was at the opening races in Australia
Officially, this blend will be known by the not-easily-remembered name of RacE-Fuel WSBK R40-A. It certainly doesn’t slip off the tongue like “av gas” or “nitromethane,” does it? But no worries about that—it’s unlikely you’ll be using this at your local racetrack anytime soon.
BMW did not develop this fuel all by themselves; officially, it’s a collaboration between NORDOEL and BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Although they’ve been working on the formula for months, it seems that testing ramped up this winter as the World Superbike team was in the off-season, and they had a looming commitment to start using the fuel in this racing season.
BMW had on-track tests with the new e-fuel in Jerez and Portimao this winter, after months in the engine test lab in Munich. Their PR says:
During the tests in southern europe, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, and BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team optimised the efficiency and performance of the alternative fuel for motorsports. The competitiveness and readiness for use of the regenerative fuel RacE-Fuel WSBK R40-A, with a minimum of 40% “non-fossil” content as mandated by the FIM regulations for 2024, were confirmed. Thus, the RacE-Fuel WSBK R40-A becomes the first regenerative fuel based on MtG (Methanol-to-Gasoline).
Methanol to gasoline, eh? Sounds futuristic, but this alchemistic idea has been around since the 1970s, when Mobil pioneered the process, and it’s actually in use for other fuel applications around the world—find out more here.
BMW says “Development work continues to deepen the insights from previous experiments and identify potential areas for optimisation,” so again, this stuff is very much under development right now—no need to worry if it’ll run in your GS, without a fuel re-map dongle.
