Trackside Testing from Atol Motorsport Services

When it comes to fuel boosters and additives the alchemists’ potions are, they would have you believe, completely undetectable. This is however not true. Standing between some of the more unscrupulous fuel blenders and your tank are Atol Motorsport Fuel Services, armed with years of experience and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of analytical equipment including the latest Varian high performance Gas Chromatographs.

Additives are legally introduced to fuel mixtures for a variety of reasons but the ultimate aim is to increase an engine’s power output. This can be achieved by using oxygenates, enhancing the oxygen carrying capacity of the fuel by increasing the amount of fuel burnt with each piston stroke. The more fuel burnt the greater the amount of energy released.

The problems occur when these agents are added in a larger proportion than is legal or where the specific chemical itself is outlawed, usually because of its extreme volatility or carcinogenic properties. Atol are licensed by Customs & Excise and come under intense Health & Safety scrutiny. So those mixing up their own fuels with some dubious substances could literally be playing with fire, not to mention their health.