Advert
A Range Rover using biodegradable oil recently won its class in the British Off-road Championships. It’s believed that this is the first time that a biodegradable oil has been used on a production vehicle in a motorsports competition.
The Myerscough College car, using Fuchs Silkolene’s ‘Planto’ oil, competed in class B of the BORC at Castle O’er in Eskdale Muir, Scotland and was driven by Laurie Boyle, navigated by Alison Hurst and supported by Myerscough staff, students and motorsport club members. The car finished first in the class, and 26th overall – and 40% of the starters failed to complete the 100 miles of competition.
Myerscough is testing the Fuchs Silkolene range of biodegradable lubricants and oils in motorsport competition on the College’s fleet of racing and rally cars. Fuchs Silkolene supplies a range of lubricants for use with Myerscough’s Formula Fords, Mk 1 and Mk 2 Escorts and for the British Off-road Championships. Fuchs Silkolene’s biodegradable oil ‘Planto’ is used at the Eden Centre.
Laurie Boyle, a Lecturer in Motorsports at Myerscough College said: “This win is a major step forward to promote the use of renewable technologies in motorsport, and it is a further continuation of the Myerscough philosophy of ‘green’ motorsports. Eskdale Muir is widely recognised as the wettest part of the British Isles and it rained continuously over the 48 hours of the event.
This move continues Myerscough’s push towards using renewable resources in motorsports. The College recently hosted a successful Bio Energy Conference in association with the Institute of Logistics and Transport and the NNFCC to discuss a range of issues of using biofuels which was open to students, industry and other interested parties.
Myerscough College offers a range of courses in Motorsports from entry to degree level and is excellently equipped with 7 motorsport workshops and a fleet of racing cars with the latest motor vehicle technology.
Fuchs Lubricants (UK) plc, part of the worldwide FUCHS PETROLUB AG, has been working on developing the environmentally friendly PLANTO range since the late 1970’s, and many products carry the coveted “Blue Angel” environmental seal of approval.
The range of PLANTO lubricants is based on either natural harvestable raw materials, such as rapeseed and sunflower oil or synthetic ester alternatives. The technical performance of these products are superior to those of conventional mineral oil based lubricants, offering users numerous benefits such longer life at elevated temperatures and reduced power consumption on equipment.
The Eden Project, one of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions, worked with Fuchs Lubricants (UK) on a project that used only PLANTO crop based lubricants for the construction equipment used for its new Education Resource Centre. For the building of the new exhibition area, The Eden Project teamed up with Fuchs Lubricants (UK), and their contractors, such as McAlpine, to convert equipment from mineral oil to the Fuchs PLANTO range of biodegradable lubricants.
FUCHS supply a full range of biodegradable lubricants, including hydraulic, gear and engine oils as well as specialist greases, metalworking fluids and chain bar lubricants. FUCHS UK has just published a comprehensive “Guide to Biodegradable Lubricants”, an invaluable source of product recommendations and application advice, which can be requested from FUCHS UK via the FUCHS UK website
www.fuchslubricants.com
