Global Green Challenge results on hold

The dust storm may have passed but a new storm was soon brewing on the Global Green Challenge yesterday.

Late last night (Monday 26 October ), event organisers were re-calculating the economy figures for the entire field for the previous three days, and the updated results aren't likely to be known for another 24 hours.

At a meeting in Alice Springs with all team managers, organisers agreed to measure economy based on map distance, rather than the distance travelled according to each car's odometer, as has been the case from day one.

As is the industry norm, car odometers can vary by one or two per cent. But when each team is trying to save fractions of a per cent, every discrepancy counts.

The revised measurements are unlikely to see a dramatic change in the overall results.

At the end of day three, the two fastest and thirstiest cars in the field -- the HSV Maloo ute and Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan -- continued to lead the pack with the biggest reduction in consumption compared to their official fuel rating labels, while the smaller diesel and petrol cars made modest improvements in economy because they are already so frugal in the first place.

Other issues raised included more consistent refueling. All cars are refueled by the technical director but some cars have had a tendency to take on less fuel in hot conditions than others, and this has in some cases led to wildly unrealistic examples of fuel consumption.

All will be worked out once the cars are brimmed on the final day, however, some teams wanted more consistent fueling each day.

The changes mean the cars won't be refueled until each morning when conditions are cooler and therefore safer.

The trade-off is that provisional economy results for each day will now be published the following day, instead of the same day as each leg, making it difficult for media to get up to date information.

On leg four today (Tuesday 27 October), for safety reasons, organisers have introduced a compulsory 15 minute 'pit stop' to allow crews to regroup, relax, and get some cool air and water.

With temperatures of 40 degrees plus, and with all teams electing not to use their air-conditioning systems, fluid loss is a major factor for drivers.

That said, teams were treated to cooler conditions on the run yesterday (Monday 26 October) from Tennant Creek to Alice Springs, with a maximum of 32 degrees Celsius.

Day four departs from Alice Spring at 8am this morning (Tuesday 27 October) and is due in Coober Pedy in the late afternoon.

The event finishes in Adelaide on Friday.

Find out more, read our Global Green Challenge blogs.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi