KEY POINTS:
V8 Supercar racing needs to lead the way in showing Australian drivers their cars can run just as well on ethanol as conventional petrol, says Team Vodafone boss Roland Dane.
The climate-change debate and the oil crisis, he says, mean the sport has an ideal opportunity to show Australia the way in using alternative fuels.
The sport is considering using 85 per cent ethanol-blended petrol to power its cars from next year. Dane's team has been one of V8 Supercars' ethanol guinea pigs, driver Craig Lowndes using the new blend successfully in his car during a recent test session.
Dane wants the sport to embrace ethanol for 2009, and become a leader in convincing Australian drivers of the merits of using the cheaper, environmentally friendly fuel made from sugar cane.
"It's essential [we move to ethanol in V8s]," he told AAP. "The fact is oil, at some point, will run out.
"What we can show here is a sustainable fuel source that produces a lot less carbon dioxide. It's a lot cleaner, it's made in Australia, it's made from sugar, there's no shortage of it, it doesn't affect the world price of food."
Using ethanol is one of a raft of changes being considered to shake up V8 Supercar racing in 2009.
But potentially the most far-reaching change is adopting ethanol, not just because of its effect on the series, but on the sport's huge numbers of fans and how they power their cars.
Dane said tweaking engines was enough to ensure cars could run as efficiently on ethanol as conventional petrol, in the V8 series and on Australia's roads.
"There's no reason to have any noticeable performance drop-off using ethanol," Dane said. "That's the experience with road cars as well as race cars - we don't lose."
An announcement on which changes will be ratified for 2009 is likely at the Phillip Island round of the championship in September.
But dates for at least one 2009 round have been confirmed, with the new Townsville street race locked in from July 10-12.
- AAP
