Shell and Ducati prepare for MotoGP’s new era of sustainable fuels

Shell announced a multi-year extension of its technical partnership with Ducati Corse factory racing team, up to 2027. The technical partnership between Shell and Ducati Corse has seen great success on the racetrack, including the most recent campaign which saw Ducati win the 2022 MotoGP Constructors’ Championship and Riders’ title with the Italian Francesco Bagnaia.

The partnership, which originally began in 1999 when Ducati was racing in the FIM Superbike World Championship, marks 24 years of collaboration and 20 years in the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship, since the Italian team joined in 2003.

Today, the Desmosedici GP racing bikes of Ducati Corse use a bespoke Shell V-Power race fuel formulation as well as a bespoke blend of Shell Advance Engine Oil with Shell’s PurePlus Technology. Designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the MotoGP racetracks, Shell Advance is formulated to help extract the maximum performance while maintaining reliability for the bike’s four-stroke V4 engine over the duration of a race season.

As part of the partnership renewal announced on March 21, 2023, Shell and Ducati will be continuing to work hand-in-hand in preparation for MotoGP’s new era of more sustainable fuels, which begins in 2024. Development for these fuels, which must be 40% non-fossil origin from 2024 and aim at an ambitious 100% by 2027, will be a key area of focus for the Shell and Ducati teams. They will also continue to explore ways in which the collaboration can further the development of electric drivetrains in electric motorcycles for future use, both on and off the racetrack.

Throughout this 24-year partnership, the learnings and innovations from the racetrack have been used to develop better road-going products for Shell customers around the world. What’s more, the relationship extends to Ducati road bike, with new motorbike Shell Advance formulations being developed and tested for road bike applications.

“The extension of our technical partnership with Ducati until 2027 signals our commitment to the Ducati Corse team to provide them with technical support as MotoGP moves towards a more sustainable future,” said Sabrina Qu, vice president, Global Lubricants Marketing at Shell. “Motorsport is the ultimate testbed for our technology, providing Shell with valuable insights into the performance of our products, whilst allowing them to test formulations to match the future sustainability ambitions of both Shell and Ducati. This in turn will continue to benefit Shell Advance and Ducati customers around the world, both on the track and on the road, as the Technical Partnership continues to develop.”

“Last year was the most successful season ever for Ducati Corse since the start of our fuels and lubricants technical partnership with Shell in 1999, and we are delighted to be able to enter a third decade of collaboration with them. It is also thanks to the vital contribution of technically advanced partners like Shell that Ducati is able to achieve success in such a technically challenging championships like MotoGP and WorldSBK, where every little performance detail counts,” said Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti.