After delivering back-to-back improvements in gas grades, Indian Oil Company (IOC) has now set sight on the Grand Prix and can in subsequent three months begin producing gas utilized in adrenaline-pumping Formulation One or F1, motor racing. The agency’s refinery at Paradip in Odisha will in three months produce the petrol utilized in F1 automotive racing, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya stated.
IOC, the nation’s largest oil agency controlling roughly 40 per cent of gas market share, would be the first Indian firm and solely a handful globally that may produce gas utilized in F1 racing.
Vaidya stated the corporate expects to get its Formulation 1 gas licensed in round three months, after which it can begin competing with different world majors like Shell to produce it to the F1 groups.
F1 gas is actually high-octane petrol and the requirements are closely regulated by world motor sport governing physique Federation Internationale de l’Vehicle (FIA) on varied counts, together with permissible components and mixing brokers.
IOC had in October final yr helped India be a part of a choose league of countries when it started producing extremely specialised ‘reference’ petrol and diesel which can be 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 related high quality diesel.
Previous to this, Indian vehicle producers had to make use of imported reference gas for testing automobiles and bikes. Now, IOC is supplying them the identical grade gas at less expensive value.
Gas retailers like IOC promote petrol and diesel of primarily two sorts – common and premium, by way of their gas station community. The most important distinction between the conventional and premium gas lies within the octane quantity. The common gas has an octane variety of 87, however premium gas has an octane variety of 91. Reference grade gas 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 excessive efficiency XtraGreen diesel that gives larger gas economic system, diminished noise and emits lesser particulate matter, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.
“XtraGreen diesel is an actual sport changer gas. It’s catching up quick 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 bike racing.
The corporate would be the official gas companion for the Federation Internationale De Motocyclisme (FIM) Asia Street Racing Championship (ARRC) for 3 years — 2024 to 2026, supplying ‘Storm’ petrol throughout all ARRC race rounds.
IOC will provide gas for all of the motorcyclists from 15 nations that may take part within the FIM Asia Street Racing Championship.
“Our R&D (analysis and growth) in two months will have the ability to produce Class-1 gas and in three months Formulation 1 gas,” he stated. “Until we go to F1, the journey is just not full.”
He stated the ‘Storm’ gas 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 gas containing 10 per cent renewable ethanol. The share gas coming from non-fossil sources, comparable to alcohol, algae or waste protecting, is to go as much as 40 per cent this yr and 100 per cent sustainable gas from 2026.
IOC would additionally begin manufacturing related grade gas and thereafter pitch to vehicle makers racing in F1, he stated.
Not like FIM Asia Street Racing Championship the place there’s one single gas provider for all of the bikes racing, F1 permits groups to pick their very own gas provider. For example, Shell is the gas provider to Ferrari.
“That is just the start,” Vaidya stated.
‘Storm – Final Racing Gas’ offers quicker acceleration, extra energy, smoother drivability, decrease engine deposits and decrease exhaust emissions.
It’s appropriate to be used in all racing championships (enduro, trial, circuit racing, motocross and supermoto, cross-country, e-bike, and observe racing) in all courses of motorbikes requiring FIM Class 2 race fuels.
F1 gas might be a notch larger. It will fall underneath excessive octane premium highway gas with octane thresholds of 95 to 102.
 has now set sight on the Grand Prix and will in next three months start producing fuel used in adrenaline-pumping Formula One or F1, motor racing. The firm's refinery at Paradip in Odisha will in three months produce the petrol used in F1 car racing, its chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said.){kind=link}