Zero, the leading producer of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel made from just air and water, will showcase its breakthrough energy solution at the 2024 Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival by fuelling a Honda CB1100R, one of the most exotic motorbikes in its class. Daryl Beattie, a grand-prix-winning motorcycle racer, and Damon Hill, the 1996 Formula 1 world champion, will ride the bike, demonstrating the ability of synthetic fuel to drop into even the rarest of high-performance vehicles without any alterations to the engine.
Motorsport is hardwired into Zero’s DNA, with CEO Paddy Lowe and much of the company’s engineering team coming from the world of Formula 1. Lowe’s F1 career spans 32 years, playing a major role in 12 world championships, 158 race wins and leading one of the most successful seasons in F1 history. Zero recently announced a partnership with Stake F1® Team Kick Sauber, marking a historic moment as Formula 1’s first official partner that makes synthetic fuel. The team has applied the same mindset that led to success on the track into the creation of 100% fossil-free, drop-in synthetic fuels that deliver superior performance in motorbikes, cars and beyond.
Beginning with just air and water, every molecule of Zero’s fuel is engineered from scratch, allowing incredible levels of precision and configurability for any existing engine. The Honda CB1100R motorbike provides the perfect case study for Zero’s versatile synthetic fuel, proving that no vehicle is too exotic or vintage to join the energy revolution. Produced in limited numbers from 1980 to 1983, the bike was Honda's first homologation special, racing in production class events across Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The fuelling demonstrations will occur over the course of two days at the 2024 Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival, with Beattie riding the historic Honda CB1100R on Saturday 16 March and Hill on Sunday 17 March. Both racers are highly accomplished in their respective sports – Beattie raced in the grand prix motorcycle world championship (now known as MotoGP) between 1992 and 1997, winning three 500cc grand prix races and finishing runner-up in the championship in 1995. Meanwhile, Hill was the last winner of the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide in 1995 and won the Formula 1 world championship in 1996, starting his career on two wheels before switching to four. The British star made 115 grand prix starts for Brabham, Williams, Arrows and Jordan in Formula 1 from 1992 to 1999, winning 22 races and the world championship with Williams in 1996. More recently, Hill teamed up with Zero and became the first person to drive a go-kart powered by fully synthetic fuel in 2023.
Event director Tim Possingham states: “We are incredibly excited to see this activation unfold here in South Australia, as the state now produces more renewable energy than any other gigawatt grid in the world and with a hydrogen electrolyser that is ten times bigger than anything currently in existence, South Australia has become a place of incredible significance for alternative fuels and renewables. This activity has relevance to where the state is headed in respect to sustainability, but it also celebrates our motorsport heritage we possess here. It’s a perfect demonstration of the old-meets-new that the Adelaide Motorsport Festival showcases so well.”
Zero CEO and founder Paddy Lowe says: “The Government of South Australia has made the region an incredibly attractive destination for energy innovation, and events like the Adelaide Motorsport Festival do an excellent job of bridging the gap between treasured motorsport heritage and the future of fuel. Fuelling a motorbike as unique and classic as the Honda CB1100R shows that the rich history of racing will be alive and well as we transition to fossil-free solutions, and Zero will be working closely with South Australia to bring this vision to life.”
Held the week prior to the Australian Grand Prix, the Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival is a museum in motion, displaying historic, rare and significant racing vehicles on the Victoria Park section of the Adelaide Street Circuit. Categories featuring Formula 1, V8 Supercars, Group C and A touring cars, sportscars and more will feature over the course of the Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival, in addition to on-track demonstrations, off-track displays, villas and more.
The Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival celebrates all forms of motoring and motorsport, bringing together the latest electric and hybrid vehicles, electric race and rally cars, electric bicycles, scooters and motorbikes and more in the E-Motion Zone presented by the City of Adelaide, alongside the Zero demonstration.