1.
CU PULL BACK TO GV driver in self-designed car.
0.11

2.
SV: team working on their car in pits before the start
0.14

3.
SV AND CU: official filling car with regulated amount of fuel (4 shots)
0.26

4.
GV: Contestant cars on course at Mallory. (4 shots)
0.37

5.
CU: Time-keepers board and keeper marking times.
0.40

6.
GV: car on course
0.51

7.
SV: Shell official, Dr. David Blackmore, speaking about contest.
1.20

8.
GV: solar car slowly pulling in and view of solar panels on car.
1.47


BLACKMORE:"Well, of today, I think it has implications concerning maintenance. You see, these vehicles that are going past us here are running on racing tyres, and rolling resistance is very low. They're well streamlined, and that's a design feature that will surely have to improve yet more in the next few years. And also the fellows have taken long nights tuning their engines very precisely, because that's very important part of this business."




Initials RH/


SPORT: MOTOR RACING

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Some of the weirdest motoring machines ever seen, gathered for a race at Mallory Park, Leicestershire, in England on Wednesday (4 July). But, while most such races require large amounts of petrol, this was just the opposite. The aim of the competitors was to achieve two thousand a miles gallon (3,200 kilometres per 4.5 litres), to break the world's lowest petrol consumption record.

SYNOPSIS: The contest -- sponsored annually by Shell -- attracts engineers, students, and motoring enthusiastic from many parts of the country and this year the energy crisis heightened the interest.

There's no big prize money to be won, but there's a lot of fun attached to the race. And there's the chance that an idea for lowering petrol consumption seen here could have more serious applications.

The motoring industry would obviously welcome anything that could make standard cars run on the mere thimbles full of fuel used by these special race competitors.

The industry is hardly likely to consider coasting with the motor engine off as a big breakthrough. But research scientist, Dr. David Blackmore says the ordinary car owner could learn a few tricks from the race.

But it was this machine, which wasn't competition entry, that created the most interest. It doesn't use petrol at all. It's solar-powered -- without batteries. However, it would be totally useless for night driving, as it depends on available light. None of the competitors achieved two thousand miles a gallon (3,200 kilometres per 4.5 litres but one did come within fifty miles -- just beating the previous record.