An Ottawa high-tech company and an Ottawa-area wheat farmer are celebrating their part in Italy's Ferrari team victory in Sunday's Grand Prix race in the middle eastern Kingdom of Bahrain.

Iogen Corporation produces a type of ethanol in Ottawa, using straw from a farm in Mountain, Ont., just 60 kilometres south of Ottawa. It's that ethanol that was used in the Ferrari cars.

Shell is an investor in Iogen and a sponsor of the Ferrari team. Last year, Shell asked Iogen to ship some of its fuel to Europe. Ferrari has now been testing it for several months.

Ferrari plans to use the fuel for the whole 19-race season, according to Jeff Passmore, executive vice-president of Iogen. He said he just found that out last week.

"It's a great affirmation once again. Here's a Canadian company that's a tech leader in its field. Eastern Ontario straw converted into renewable fuel by an eastern Ontario, Ottawa-based company has made its way to Bahrain for use in these high performance race vehicles. We're just thrilled," Passmore said.

It's also exciting for Ruth McLaren at Double Diamond Farms in Mountain. She provides straw — wheat stalks — for Iogen to make this type of the ethanol fuel.

"All I can say is it's amazing. It's amazing what they can do from an agricultural product and turning it into ethanol. I'm amazed with that," McLaren said Monday.

Bahrain would be long way to go to see Ottawa fuel used in a high-performance racing car, but wait until June 13 when Ferrari will be racing in the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.