Fossil-free fuel and electricity
Škoda Motorsport, which operates as a supplier of rally cars and spare parts to private teams, has been making progress towards sustainability for several years. The current Fabia RS Rally2 competition car uses several sustainable solutions. In addition to an engine and fuel system adapted to use fossil-free fuel (the official petrol of the World Championship series), the use of biocomposite for some parts of the car is being tested, as is the use of fossil-free lubricants in the shock absorbers, gearbox and engine.
World Rally has used fossil-free fuels since 2022. Škoda Motorsport is also testing fossil-free lubricants (pictured).
In the 2022 season, in which fossil-free P1 fuel has already been introduced, Škoda racing cars produced 118.8 tonnes of CO2 less than they would have with conventional fuel. In this respect, Škoda Motorsport is following the global trend. By switching to non-fossil fuels, all cars participating in the World Rally Championship saved around 415 tonnes of CO2 in 2022.
The WRC competition promoter is also contributing to a greener planet by limiting the transfers of TV crews to overseas events. Now smaller crews go out to these events, with post-production facilities operating centrally in Europe. In 2019, this saved twenty per cent of the staff from travelling thanks to video processing at the London headquarters. And in 2023, the first time the entire post-production process for overseas ventures was handled in Helsinki, the total weight of transported material fell by more than half, with generators’ fuel consumption down by more than a third.
The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 is a popular rally car.
The Czech team is even implementing electric propulsion for competition cars. Together with Austrian electric drivetrain supplier Kreisel Electric, it developed the fully electric Škoda RE-X1 Kreisel competition car, which made its racing debut in 2021. Škoda Motorsport is currently working on an Enyaq Racing electric rally car concept.