On 25 th April, Cirencester Car Club enjoyed perfect weather conditions when they put on their first Touring Assembly and Economy Run. Starting and finishing just east of Cirencester, the run took in the pretty villages and the dry-stone walled majesty of the Cotswolds as it covered 100 miles on a tulip roadbook to visit Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh for lunch. A route check outside the Cotswold Motor Museum in Bourton on the Water provided an opportunity to stop and pose for a photograph that would be printed on the finisher’s certificate recording the crew’s achievements that was presented to each team at the end of the run.

A healthy entry of 35 cars took part, ranging in ages from a six month old Ford Focus TDCi to a 1928 Amilcar. As well as asking participants to nominate the economy figure that they expected to achieve (and calculating the deviation from this target) the organisers resurrected the efficiency formula pioneered by the Mobilgas Economy Runs of the 1960s and 1970s as an incentive to drive as economically as possible. This formula involves the vehicle running weight (including the crew) so the opportunity was taken to call in at Huntsman’s Quarries site near Naunton where the weighbridge was kindly made available.

In the warm sunshine of a surprisingly summer-like day, the cars made a fine spectacle at Batsford Arboretum. Some crews headed for the café, whilst other picnicked on the lawns and discussed their morning’s efforts, before heading south once more to be refueled under the meticulous eyes of the scrutineer.

If any indication of how modern cars (and all their electronic controls and developments) have come on were needed, Jerremy Boaks & Keith Hawkesford in a Vauxhall Cavalier Sri achieved 72.36, two relatively mundane, ten year old, Rover 214s achieved approx 52mpg. The Ford Focus TDCi of Malcolm Middleton-Salt and Dave Cooper 62.04mpg but, amazingly, they were shaded on the fuel consumption by an 1800cc PETROL(!) Toyota Avensis of Michael Stevens and Chris Gregory that managed 63.64mpg (Cirencester Efficiency Number 32.26) and under 6 pence per mile – cheap sport indeed! The latter crew had experience of the Mobilgas Economy Runs of old and had obviously not forgotten any of their skills. Click here to see the results.

The event rounded off with refreshments at the Crown at Crucis and crews all went home with their certificates awarded to them by Colin Hilton, Chief Executive of the MSA who had called in for the day to look at the event. It had been a tremendous first event of this type for Cirencester Car Club.

Simon Marks