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Giving a jumpstart to fuel efficiency
Teams on the track prepare to travel the equivalent of thousands of kilometres on one litre of fuel. Just back from a 1,000 km tour of The Netherlands on 40 litres of Shell FuelSave fuel, two record-breaking fuel-efficiency drivers discuss driving strategies with students.
John and Helen Taylor hold 92 world records for fuel efficiency – and have arrived at Shell Eco-marathon after driving 1,020 km around The Netherlands sharing tips. “The atmosphere here is electric,” says Helen. “The students inspire us too – the future of driving lies with them.”
Top tips to save fuel
Team from Université de Technologie de Troyes
As cars take practice loops around circuit before the Prototype class competition starts later in the afternoon, teams talk tactics to save fuel. One car accelerates round a bend and beeps his horn to warn other competitors:
“He’s mad!” says Hubert Labalette from l’Université de Technologie de Troyes. Then a sleek black vehicle silently rolls into view: “That’s our driver – he has cut the engine and should keep it off round the turns to improve efficiency.”
Team spirit
Each team has its own individual strategy, but they also support each other. The Boğaziçi team from Turkey, for example, ran into trouble on the first day when their hydrogen fuel cell refused to recharge. A Dutch team lent them electrical equipment to charge the cell – thanks to which today they were ready for technical inspection. “We were so grateful we took them a box of Turkish delights!” says Hasan Cihad Bayram.
One team from Morocco had problems bringing its car into the country and could not speak Dutch. “A 15-year old student, Tom, made the call to customs to explain,” says John Taylor. “The students don’t speak each others’ language and have very different cultures – but they help each other out.”
By early afternoon 152 teams had passed their technical inspections and were ready to compete.
See how students get ready for technical inspection
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