Ally

Hardeep Puri said that ethanol is used in racing cars as well to defend his stand on E20. This is the Petroleum Minister's understanding of the issue. What can one even say to that! First, race cars are specifically engineered to run on ethanol; therefore, it does not harm them. This is not the same as forcing E20 into regular cars that are not engineered to handle it. In non-compliant vehicles, ethanol will aggressively degrade standard rubber gaskets, plastic parts, and aluminum components over time. Second, a racing engine is built to survive for only a few hundred miles before being stripped down and rebuilt by professional mechanics, who easily manage any fuel-induced wear. An average citizen, however, needs their car to last for over a decade. Running non-compliant engines on E20 will certainly not help achieve that. Third, race teams use ethanol solely for a performance boost due to its high octane rating, not for fuel economy. For regular people, however, fuel economy matters immensely.