The engine modification does not take more than a couple of hundred dollars to do and this low-cost and low-tech solution could well be what the future needs, not just in terms of price but in terms of environmental issues as well.

What this race set out to do was to draw people’s attention to the fact that biofuels could be very practical to use and especially so in developing countries.

The race had five participants. No, they were not young kids with a sense of adventure but teams that wanted to make a difference to the world. They were Quest for the Golden Grease, Team ZERO, Greased Lightning, Quantum Heap and The Frying Burrito Brothers.

Two of them were sponsored by the company Grease car who fitted them out with conversion kits and with filtration systems on board. The event was purely for charity. At the end of the race, the vehicles were donated to some of the local groups.

All along the way, the aim was to garner support for alternative fuels especially vegetable oils which were available in plenty and could be filtered and reused.

One of the participants in the race was Suzanne Hunt and she was part of the team Greased Lightning. She happens to be the director of the bioenergy program for the WorldWatch Institute, while her partner Jean-Phillipe Denruyter from Belgium is the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Bioenergy Coordinator.

So not only did the race make a statement for looking at environment-friendly alternative fuels, it did it with a lot of splash and panache.