The annual Total Economy Run is on its way, and Ford Motor Company of South Africa, along with Lazarus Motor Company, has assembled a team of strong contenders to participate in the challenge.
The annual Total Economy Run is on its way, and Ford Motor Company of South Africa, along with Lazarus Motor Company, has assembled a team of strong contenders to participate in the challenge.
In Ford’s twelfth year of participating in the quest to determine which models, available to ordinary South Africans, offer the lowest fuel consumption figures among their competitors.
The rules have been changed for 2005 and the competition will now cover a 1 000 km route. Controls have been introduced to ensure that the cars used are indeed standard retail models. Special attention will be paid to the participating vehicles’ emissions to guarantee that no adjustments have been made to the engine settings.
Former SA champion racing driver Spotti Woodhead and navigator Greg Pridgeon driving the Ford Fiesta 1,4 will contest in Class B for the FMCSA team. Stuart Greig and Wynand Gerber will race in Class D aboard the Ford Focus 2,0, while veteran driver/navigator team Roger Hills and Gordon Stewart will drive the 2,0-litre TDCi version in Class I.
Last year’s Class E winners, Roger Rouessart and Hennie ter Stege, will compete in Class K aboard the Ford Territory. Powerboat racer Peter Lindenberg and co-driver Hedley Whitehead will contest Class L with the mammoth Ford F250.
The independent Lazarus Motor Company will enter a Ford Mondeo 2,0 in Class D under the guidance of Joe Gates and Robin Hall, while André Bonthuys and Johan Rheeder will drive a Land Rover Discovery 3 TD V6 in Class L.
This year’s Total Economy Run will be held in Mpumalanga from July 21 to 23.