NEW DELHI: After delivering back-to-back improvements in fuel grades, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has now set sight on the Grand Prix and can in subsequent three months begin producing fuel utilized in adrenaline-pumping Formula One or F1, motor racing. The agency’s refinery at Paradip in Odisha will in three months produce the petrol utilized in F1 automobile racing, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya stated.
IOC, the nation’s largest oil agency controlling roughly 40 per cent of fuel market share, would be the first Indian firm and solely a handful globally that can produce fuel utilized in F1 racing.
Vaidya stated the corporate expects to get its Formula 1 fuel licensed in round three months, after which it’ll begin competing with different international majors like Shell to provide it to the F1 groups.
F1 fuel is actually high-octane petrol and the requirements are closely regulated by international motor sport governing physique Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on numerous counts, together with permissible components and mixing brokers.
IOC had in October final 12 months helped India join a choose league of nations when it started producing extremely specialised ‘reference’ petrol and diesel which are used for testing vehicles.
There are solely three suppliers of reference fuels globally together with US big Chevron. IOC’s Paradip refinery in Odisha is producing ‘reference’ grade petrol and its Panipat unit in Haryana produces comparable high quality diesel.
Prior to this, Indian vehicle producers had to use imported reference fuel for testing automobiles and bikes. Now, IOC is supplying them the identical grade fuel at less expensive price.
Fuel retailers like IOC promote petrol and diesel of primarily two sorts – common and premium, by way of their fuel station community. The largest distinction between the conventional and premium fuel lies within the octane quantity. The common fuel has an octane quantity of 87, however premium fuel has an octane quantity of 91. Reference grade fuel comes with a 97 octane quantity.
The octane quantity is nothing however a unit to measure the ignition high quality of petrol or diesel.
Vaidya stated his firm has three premium fuels – 95-Octane XP95 petrol and 100-Octane XP100 petrol utilized in high-end luxurious automobiles and bikes. It additionally has high efficiency XtraGreen diesel that provides greater fuel financial system, diminished noise and emits lesser particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
“XtraGreen diesel is a real game changer fuel. It is catching up fast and now makes up for about 8 per cent of all diesel that IOC sells,” he stated.
He stated IOC has entered the racing fuels section with its high-octane ‘Storm’ petrol for motorbike racing.
The firm would be the official fuel associate for the Federation Internationale De Motocyclisme (FIM) Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) for 3 years — 2024 to 2026, supplying ‘Storm’ petrol throughout all ARRC race rounds.
IOC will provide fuel for all of the motorcyclists from 15 international locations that can take part within the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.
“Our R&D (research and development) in two months will be able to produce Category-1 fuel and in three months Formula 1 fuel,” he stated. “Unless we go to F1, the journey is not complete.”
He stated the ‘Storm’ fuel is being manufactured on the firm’s Koyali refinery in Gujarat.
IOC makes XP100 at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh.
F1 at present makes use of E10 fuel containing 10 per cent renewable ethanol. The proportion fuel coming from non-fossil sources, reminiscent of alcohol, algae or waste retaining, is to go up to 40 per cent this 12 months and 100 per cent sustainable fuel from 2026.
IOC would additionally begin manufacturing comparable grade fuel and thereafter pitch to vehicle makers racing in F1, he stated.
Unlike FIM Asia Road Racing Championship the place there’s one single fuel provider for all of the bikes racing, F1 permits groups to choose their very own fuel provider. For occasion, Shell is the fuel provider to Ferrari.
“This is just the beginning,” Vaidya stated.
‘Storm – Ultimate Racing Fuel’ supplies quicker acceleration, extra energy, smoother drivability, decrease engine deposits and decrease exhaust emissions.
It is appropriate to be used in all racing championships (enduro, trial, circuit racing, motocross and supermoto, cross-country, e-bike, and monitor racing) in all courses of motorbikes requiring FIM Category 2 race fuels.
F1 fuel shall be a notch greater. It would fall beneath high octane premium highway fuel with octane thresholds of 95 to 102.
IOC, the nation’s largest oil agency controlling roughly 40 per cent of fuel market share, would be the first Indian firm and solely a handful globally that can produce fuel utilized in F1 racing.
Vaidya stated the corporate expects to get its Formula 1 fuel licensed in round three months, after which it’ll begin competing with different international majors like Shell to provide it to the F1 groups.
F1 fuel is actually high-octane petrol and the requirements are closely regulated by international motor sport governing physique Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on numerous counts, together with permissible components and mixing brokers.
IOC had in October final 12 months helped India join a choose league of nations when it started producing extremely specialised ‘reference’ petrol and diesel which are used for testing vehicles.
There are solely three suppliers of reference fuels globally together with US big Chevron. IOC’s Paradip refinery in Odisha is producing ‘reference’ grade petrol and its Panipat unit in Haryana produces comparable high quality diesel.
Prior to this, Indian vehicle producers had to use imported reference fuel for testing automobiles and bikes. Now, IOC is supplying them the identical grade fuel at less expensive price.
Fuel retailers like IOC promote petrol and diesel of primarily two sorts – common and premium, by way of their fuel station community. The largest distinction between the conventional and premium fuel lies within the octane quantity. The common fuel has an octane quantity of 87, however premium fuel has an octane quantity of 91. Reference grade fuel comes with a 97 octane quantity.
The octane quantity is nothing however a unit to measure the ignition high quality of petrol or diesel.
Vaidya stated his firm has three premium fuels – 95-Octane XP95 petrol and 100-Octane XP100 petrol utilized in high-end luxurious automobiles and bikes. It additionally has high efficiency XtraGreen diesel that provides greater fuel financial system, diminished noise and emits lesser particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
“XtraGreen diesel is a real game changer fuel. It is catching up fast and now makes up for about 8 per cent of all diesel that IOC sells,” he stated.
He stated IOC has entered the racing fuels section with its high-octane ‘Storm’ petrol for motorbike racing.
The firm would be the official fuel associate for the Federation Internationale De Motocyclisme (FIM) Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) for 3 years — 2024 to 2026, supplying ‘Storm’ petrol throughout all ARRC race rounds.
IOC will provide fuel for all of the motorcyclists from 15 international locations that can take part within the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship.
“Our R&D (research and development) in two months will be able to produce Category-1 fuel and in three months Formula 1 fuel,” he stated. “Unless we go to F1, the journey is not complete.”
He stated the ‘Storm’ fuel is being manufactured on the firm’s Koyali refinery in Gujarat.
IOC makes XP100 at its Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh.
F1 at present makes use of E10 fuel containing 10 per cent renewable ethanol. The proportion fuel coming from non-fossil sources, reminiscent of alcohol, algae or waste retaining, is to go up to 40 per cent this 12 months and 100 per cent sustainable fuel from 2026.
IOC would additionally begin manufacturing comparable grade fuel and thereafter pitch to vehicle makers racing in F1, he stated.
Unlike FIM Asia Road Racing Championship the place there’s one single fuel provider for all of the bikes racing, F1 permits groups to choose their very own fuel provider. For occasion, Shell is the fuel provider to Ferrari.
“This is just the beginning,” Vaidya stated.
‘Storm – Ultimate Racing Fuel’ supplies quicker acceleration, extra energy, smoother drivability, decrease engine deposits and decrease exhaust emissions.
It is appropriate to be used in all racing championships (enduro, trial, circuit racing, motocross and supermoto, cross-country, e-bike, and monitor racing) in all courses of motorbikes requiring FIM Category 2 race fuels.
F1 fuel shall be a notch greater. It would fall beneath high octane premium highway fuel with octane thresholds of 95 to 102.
