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The incident occurred at the end of the 512km leg between Tennant Creek and Alice Springs on Monday afternoon. The 3000km economy run between Darwin and Adelaide which started life as the World Solar Challenge was expanded two years ago to include production cars as well as electric cars and other alternatives.
This year it has attracted entries from 17 manufacturers including arch rivals Ford and Holden. The event is being run under the supervision of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and the entry fee is $10,000 per car, with some manufacturers entering up to three vehicles.
With big money at stake and plenty of kudos on the line, competition has naturally been fierce.
The fuel tank of each vehicle is filled and sealed before the start of each leg, then refilled and sealed again after the conclusion of each day, with the amount of fuel used and distance travelled recorded. Entrants must also complete each leg within a specified time period which a minimum speed must be maintained.
The overall winner of the event which concludes in Adelaide on Friday will be determined on the basis of which vehicle records the best overall improvement in percentage terms compared with its `stickered' fuel consumption figure.
Organisers of the Eco Challenge section of the event in which the production cars compete had adopted a `two click' rule for refilling the vehicles after each leg. Rather than filling the fuel tank right to the brim where fuel is clearly visible, scrutineers have instead been stopping after two clicks of the fuel filler nozzle.
The practice has been the subject of much comment and criticism among teams because they say it is not an accurate method. Things came to a head shortly after 4pm on Monday when fuel started running down the side of Ford's Fiesta EcoNETIC driven by journalist and motor racing personality Peter McKay.
The turbo diesel Fiesta happens to be Australia's most fuel efficient car with an official fuel economy figure of 3.7 litres/100km. It had been achieving figures as low as 3.15 litres/100km. With such a small margin to play with, every drop counts.
Ford's team manager Justin Lacy refused to comment about the incident, but was clearly unhappy. The company has plenty at stake with nine support crew, as well as support vehicles and accommodation costs to pay for — not to mention its entries: the Fiesta and a turbocharged Falcon.
Officials and team managers met late yesterday afternoon to discuss concerns. It is understood the Ford will have one litre deducted from its total for the Fiesta after yesterday's refuelling fiasco.
Changes will also be made to the rules including having team managers fill cars under supervision of the scrutineers. Teams will also be forced to take a 15 minute break for lunch and the distance used to calculate fuel readings will not vary regardless of odometre readings.
Global Green Challenge boss Ivar Stanelis admitted the event had teething problems, but said the organising committee welcomed feedback. He hoped to see the event grow but pointed out it was run by volunteers. “We all want to make it better,” he said.
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