Fuel supply guaranteed for Bathurst 1000

Based in the Victorian capital, RaceFuels has been directly affected by the deadline second wave of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns and border closures as its continued to supply Supercars.

The greatest challenge so far has been preparing for the Bathurst 1000, with the 25-car Supercars field requiring more than 45,000 litres of fuel to get through the week alone, while a total of over 70,000 litres is needed once support categories are factored in.

However, despite the Victoria/New South Wales border still being shut, enough fuel for the event has managed to make the trek north and is now on-site at Mount Panorama.

“RaceFuels services over 40 events a year, but there’s only one Bathurst 1000," said director Mark Tierney.

"It’s the one event that everyone talks about. We think about this all year and we plan 12 months in advance to manage the volumes of fuel that is required.

“It has been a challenging season with COVID-19, and the Bathurst 1000 presents its own list of challenges, being a regional NSW event while we are Melbourne base.

“We have a COVID Safe plan, we have a freight and a staff management operation that is compliant, and we’re very keen to get to the circuit.

“We’ve packed up 70,000 litres of E85 racing fuel. 28,000 litres of that is in bulk, with the rest in 200-litre drums that will be hand-delivered to the teams.

“Each car will need to have at least 800 litres to get each car through practice and qualifying, with the Bathurst 1000 requiring another 800 litres per car to get to the finish.

“We also have all of the support categories to supply to, so it quickly becomes a busy few days.”

The Bathurst 1000 kicks off on Thursday with three hour-long practice sessions.