Always controversial and likely to‘ fuel’ many lounge room discussions is the good old fossil fuel debate. Well folks, the new owners of MotoGP have a busy year coming up in 2027 when a few things are going to change. Lots of things. Almost everything in fact. For starters, the MotoGP bikes will be 850cc with a minimum stroke, to avoid the evil temperament of the 800cc fiasco. Aerodynamic‘ wings’ will be trimmed with a maximum width rule coming into effect. And now, out goes the fuel that the teams know so well and in comes the fuel that nobody uses in the real world, the non-fossil variety. For better or worse, irrespective of what it will actually do to improve the planet by having the bikes swap over and teams learn about the characteristics( and range) of the new combustible, it is a case of coming ready or not( not to mention the fuel used to get between rounds). The perplexing part is it does not just apply for the prototype MotoGP teams, it is a blanket ruling for all classes in MotoGP. Here is the official word … Fuel specification – MotoGP Class From 2027, fuel in all Grand Prix classes will be 100 % nonfossil. It has now been agreed that the 100 % nonfossil nature of these fuels will be assessed via the C14 test. The C14 test comprises measuring the fraction of C14, which is the shorter-lived carbon isotope missing in fossil substances due to its decay over a long time, over total carbon, and comparing it to the standard levels found in the atmosphere. In the case of 2027 MotoGP fuels, these figures should be the same minus a tolerance, meaning the C14 content of the fuel sample shall be the measured to be same as the atmosphere, ruling out the possibility of the fuel being of fossil origin. MotoGP fuels will therefore no longer be obtained by means of crude oil refinement and they may in principle be: either bio-fuels i. e. fuels obtained from bio sources, e-fuels obtained by direct atmosphere CO2-capturing The combustion of non-fossil fuels releases the same amount of carbon that has before been captured. MotoGP took a major step in this direction in 2024 by mandating that fuels contain at least 40 % non-fossil content. This transition will now continue with a fully mandated shift to 100 % non-fossil fuels by 2027, marking a significant departure from current fuels, which are predominantly derived from crude oil refinement. So there you go. Now you know. For those still lamenting the demise of the sweet-smelling two-strokes, this may furrow your brow further. We feel your pain.