The Australian Rally Championship has announced a new partnership with International Motorsport Solutions, suppliers of Shell Racing Fuel, who will join the highly contested national Championship as the official fuel supplier for the Elite Category in 2008.
In a boost to the Championship, Shell Racing will provide teams with 102 Octane Control Fuel at $5.17 per litre, which is a reduction in price of 83 cents per litre from last season. In an environment of rising fuel prices, this is a significant achievement for Australian Rally Championship organisers.
Use of Shell Racing – WR will ensure all elite competitors are using the same specification fuel as the teams currently battling it out in the World Rally Championship. The fuel meets the same technical specifications as fuels previously used in the ARC and also the specifications set down by the Federation de l’Automobile (FIA)*.
Rallycorp Chairman Steve Ashton was pleased to announce the new partnership. “We are happy to welcome Shell Racing Solutions on board as a partner to the ARC fuel technology, and the ability to pair that with a good price to competitors is terrific,” Ashton said.
Also announced today were the new regulations applying to the ‘Level Two’ fuel, to be used by competitors in the Premier League. No acceptable expressions of interest were received for the supply of Level 2 fuel directly to competitors. In 2008 competitors in this category will instead be able to source their own pump fuel.
”Providing it complies with the definition of Pump Fuel in Schedule G of the CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, competitors can use whatever fuel they like,” Australian Rally Commission Chairman, Colin Trinder said.
As defined by CAMS, Pump Fuel is ”A commercial petrol available for sale on demand from a roadside retail bowser outlet at each of at least five separate service stations in each of at least three Australian States. A mixture of Pump Fuels is permitted.”
“Guidance provided by ARCom ensured that fuel tendered for this category should not be significantly more expensive than the same fuel competitors would be able to source at service stations themselves,” said Trinder. “It is a common sense approach that was approved by CAMS’ Fuels Regulation Committee”.
“I am hopeful that for 2009 a fuel sponsor for this category can be found that will enable further reductions in the costs of participating in the ARC,” Trinder added.
Random fuel testing will be carried out across all categories of the Championship to ensure compliance with the regulations.
Rallycorp are also currently in the process of finalising an arrangement that will offer ARC competitors the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions for each event of the 2008 season.
With competitor numbers already predicted to be greater than those seen in the 2007 season, the teams involved are all preparing for the season opener, the QUIT Forest Rally, to be held in WA in April.
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