DOWNLOAD INFOGRAPHY
The Repsol Technology Centre designs and produces, year after year, the fuels and lubricants used by the Repsol Honda Team.
The podium one-two taken by Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa at Assen last Saturday capped off an historic Grand Prix, in which Repsol riders were the stars of the show with victories in all three classes. Viñales, Márquez and Stoner were the successful trio at the event, which was the latest in a long line of milestones for the Repsol Honda Team. The team have, since forming in 1995, worked continuously both on and off-track with the aim of providing their riders with the very best fuel and lubricants possible. The scientists and engineers of the Repsol Technology Centre collaborate fully with their Japanese counterparts to find the perfect syncronisation between fuel and engine.
From the oil rigs to the refinery and from the refinery to the Repsol Technology Centre
This is the journey made by the petroleum that is transformed into the blood of the Repsol riders’ MotoGP bikes. 2012 is a year of advances in the premier class, with a big change in cylinder capacity that has put the work carried out in the Repsol laboratories to the test once more. The 1000cc Honda RC213V engines will run a new fuel –made to measure and ensuring peak performance.
The fuels and lubricants used by the Repsol-sponsored teams in the three World Championship roadracing categories and in the Trial World Championship are specifically designed for each competition. In Toni Bou’s trials bike, an explosive response is the goal. Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner’s needs require their Honda racers to run a light fuel, geared towards top power and a progressive response. The regulations put in place for the premier class this season by governing body the FIM have obliged experts at the Repsol Technology Centre to look for new formulas, aiming to obtain top performance from new bikes running the same maximum fuel tank size as last year (21 litres). A maximum of just six engines is permitted for the entire season.
Power, top speed and lower fuel consumption
Following these three basic principles, those at the blending unit of the Repsol Technology Centre have investigated all kinds of solutions in order to create fuel for Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa’s bikes. Following 400 smell-scale computer simulations and trials of almost fifty different fuels in the laboratory engines –all analysed according to 60 different parameters- two or three of the formulas are sent to the Honda Factory in Saitama to determine which is the most efficient.
It is a top secret fuel. Discretion is the order of the day and it is not only the composition of the fuel that is protected by total confidentiality. The Repsol Technology Centre also has one of two exclusive Honda development engines at its disposal.
The move from 800cc to 1000cc has been a great challenge for the Repsol scientists and engineers. It is a change which requires a 20% leap in consumption, whilst maintaining the same tank capacity. Hundredths of a second count in competition and small variations in fuel are subtle, so not all riders are able to tell the differences. Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa are two of those sensitive enough to notice.
40,000 litres of Repsol Power Fuel have already been made to measure for the Repsol Honda Team, with 10,000 of those set to be used over the course of 18 Grands Prix. A bike uses up some 150 litres each race weekend, between practice sessions and the race itself. The rest of the fuel is used in testing.
The Repsol Technology Centre workers are not just waiting to see how their new fuel does in 1000cc competition, however. Fuel for 2013 is being designed already and produced for tests. Both riders and service station clients will be able to benefit from their development.
FIGURES
· 2 – The number of exclusive engines used by Honda for initial tests. One is in Móstoles and the other in Saitama.
· 9 – World Championships earned by Repsol and Honda together.
· 20% – The difference in consumption predicted for the change in cylinder capacity.
· 21 – The capacity in litres of a MotoGP fuel tank.
· A range of around 50 different fuels are analysed in the factory engines.
· 400 – The small scale simulations made by computer to find the most efficient fuel formula.
· 1.000cc – The new MotoGP cylinder capacity.
· 1995 – The year in which the Repsol-Honda partnership began.
· 40.000 – The amount of fuel, in litres, used in competition over the course of a year.
– 30.000 – In tests.
– 10.000– In races.
– 150 – (From these 10.000) Per bike, per Grand Prix.
