V8 Thunder Cars will introduce a new Aspen fuel mixture that consists of 20% renewable components for the 2024 season, with Julia Eliasson set to test it in the pre-season test at Falkenberg.
Aspen, the long-time fuel supplier for V8 Thunder Cars, will introduce a new fuel mixture consisting of 20% renewable components starting from 20-21 April’s pre-season tests at Falkenbergs Motorbana – the date of the writing of this article.
“Aspen has been a faithful partner to our class over the years and we have always had a very good collaboration,” said V8TC boss Anders Conradzon.
“Our class has evolved tremendously in recent years and we felt our platform was ready to elevate the collaboration further with a new, greener fuel.”
Julia Eliasson, V8TC’s sole female driver, will be given the responsibility to test V8TC’s new fuel after she received the permit from Svenska Bilsportförbundet (Swedish Automobile Sports Federation) to use the newer mixture for the Falkenberg pre-season test.
“It is very exciting to be part of the development, even if I will not experience any difference in performance,” said Eliasson on the opportunity that she was given.
“However, it will make a difference to my sponsors who will feel that they are involved and contributing to a cleaner environment.”
“This fuel is based on the Aspen Plus to maintain the same performance and combustion characteristics, but with twenty percent renewable components,” adds Marcus Vestergren from Aspen in regards to the new fuel mixture.
“The fuel is performance equivalent to Aspen Plus and requires no remapping of the engines. All the benefits of alkylate petrol, which contains fewer harmful substances for the local environment, will be retained.”
The move to a more environmentally friendly fuel in V8TC follows an ongoing trend to push for the development of greener powertrains in the Swedish motorsport scene.
The Swedish Touring Car Championship, for instance, has introduced biogas and ethanol-based machinery in the past and will go fully electric in 2024.
“Motorsport functions as a test bench for the development of environmental technology,” says Mikael Norén, the environmental coordinator at Svenska Bilsportförbundet.
“What works on the racetrack also works in everyday life and the collaboration between Aspen and V8 Thunder Cars will benefit ordinary consumers and the environment in the future.”
Tomas Stenlund, the owner of Ultra Motors that regularly services the Howe Racing-built cars used in V8TC, believes that this new Aspen fuel will not differ much from what they’ve been running before.
“We don’t expect any differences compared to Aspen Plus, but we will still evaluate how the fuel works over time,” said Stenlund.
“This is partly so that Aspen can get an answer as to whether any adjustments in the mixture are needed or if we need to adjust something regarding the combustion in the engine. With Aspen’s high competence in the field, I’m fully convinced that this will work very well.”
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