The eight-time World Champion undertakes a test at the Madrid Jarama-RACE Circuit, completing 12 laps on a Honda RC213V-S with similar performance to his MotoGP bike, powered by a biofuel produced by Repsol.
Marc Márquez, Repsol and Honda have tested the renewable fuel manufactured by Repsol at its Technology Lab, the multi-energy company’s research centre, with the aim of maintaining the same performance on track whilst significantly reducing net CO2 emissions . The test at the Jarama circuit in Spain served to find out the rider’s first impressions in terms of performance, in order for the company to work on having the best renewable fuel possible in the 2024 MotoGP season.
An advanced biofuel was used, offering the Repsol Honda Team rider the same performance as with a traditional fuel. With this test, the energy company moves one step further to bringing renewable fuels to the world of competition without affecting engine performance. Márquez gave feedback so that the HRC engineers, together with Repsol researchers, can interpret and optimise the performance of this type of renewable fuel. The MotoGP organisers have established a calendar in which the competition must use a minimum of 40% of non-fossil fuel from 2024, until reaching 100% from 2027.
Repsol have been working on the development of biofuels for many years, with the intention of making them a real alternative that complements other ways of decarbonising transport, such as electrification or renewable hydrogen, to reduce emissions in the coming years. In terms of competition biofuels, the multi-energy company has also run extensive development in other competitions such as the Dakar Rally, where the Repsol Rally Team already uses renewable fuel, and the French Formula 4 series, a series for which Repsol has supplied a fuel of 100% non-fossil origin during this year. With this experience, Repsol will make the best renewable fuel available to HRC and its riders from 2024 in MotoGP.
During the first half of 2023, Repsol will start up the first advanced biofuels plant in Spain, in Cartagena, which will produce 250,000 tons of renewable fuels from waste. The company is also making progress on its Bilbao synthetic fuel plant, which will begin production in the demonstration phase in 2024. These plants play a leading role in Repsol’s goal of reaching a production capacity of 1.3 million tons of renewable fuels in 2025 and more than 2 million in 2030, thus leading this market in the Iberian Peninsula and making decisive progress towards net zero emissions in 2050.