Hagerty Radical Cup Racer Takes to the Track with Sustainable Fuel

History was made at Britain’s Oulton Park circuit on June 24 as Gavin McAlpine became the first Hagerty Radical Cup driver to run his car on an eco-friendly fuel.

McAlpine’s appropriately green number 17 SR3 XXR was powered by Sustain Super 80, developed by Coryton (the same fuel we ran in the rather slower Hagerty-liveried EnduroKA in 2023).

Sustain Super 80 is a so-called “drop-in” fuel which means it’s a direct replacement for normal pump gasoline and no engine modifications are needed. As the name suggests, it is made from 80 percent biofuels, which are manufactured from agricultural waste including straw and crops unfit for consumption. These plants have captured CO2 from the atmosphere as they grew, so the resulting emissions from the fuel are effectively carbon neutral.

Racing with Sustain was a no-brainer for McAlpine who is Chairman of Renewable Energy Systems, the world’s largest independent renewable energy company. “I have been exploring sustainable fuels for some years now,” he said. “Two of the passions in my life are the natural world and the automotive world. And I believe that technological developments are the solution to many of the world environmental issues so being able to indulge now one of my passions and contribute to a sustainable low carbon future is a great step forward for me personally, for the racing community and of course the future of transportation.”

Radical put Sustain through a thorough test program before the race to ensure that it would not give any advantage or disadvantage compared to the rest of the grid.

“It didn’t feel any different; the power and speed are the same,” said McAlpine.

“The recent developments in sustainable fuel are an exciting step forward for motorsport, offering an alternative solution that can be enjoyed by owners of older cars without the need to make any modifications, and without any impact on performance,” added Radical Motorsport’s Global Head of Marketing, Jon Roach. “Seeing one Radical on the grid here in the U.K. is a small step, but a step in the right direction and hopefully will provide the catalyst to start the right conversations.”

Motorsport is a natural test bed for renewable fuel solutions and efforts to create carbon-neutral fuel. Formula 1 is striving toward a drop-in, 100% renewable fuel source by 2026, while Porsche has invested heavily in a facility to create its own synthetic fuel, and its one-make Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series has begun using it this year. Extreme E, formerly an electric off-road racing series, has recently announced a switch to hydrogen power in 2025—a different path than the synthetic fuels used in the other series, but a similar demonstration of how racing can help hone use cases for how we power our vehicles in the future.

The Hagerty Radical Cup heads to Paul Ricard in France next, before returning to the U.K. on July 27-28 where drivers from other national championships including the U.A.E. and U.S.A. will also join the grid.

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