PRESS RELEASE Wednesday 15th September 2010
FIA Foundation supports RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge
The FIA Foundation, an independent UK-registered charity which manages and supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, environmental protection and sustainable mobility is supporting fully The Royal Automobile Club's new RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge on Saturday 6 November.
The RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge is open to the latest electric, hybrid and low emission passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and motorcycles. Around 50 entries are expected with trophies awarded in different categories for vehicles judged to have made the least energy impact during the 60-mile run.
The FIA Foundation is sponsoring the new event under its role in the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) and its 50BY50 campaign to make cars 50 per cent more fuel efficient by 2050 worldwide. A report published by the GFEI stated that a move across the global fleet towards far better fuel economy at a scale which is already technically achievable, could save over 6 billion barrels of oil per year by 2050, and close to half of CO₂ emissions from cars, as well as generate significant local air pollution benefits - and all using existing, cost-effective technologies.
The report went on to say that the Initiative will engage governments, the fuels and vehicles industries, civil society and international organisations to better understand various views on and to work toward improved fuel economy.
As a showcase for low energy use vehicles with an estimated audience of 250,000 at the ceremonial finish and presentation in Regent Street , London , the RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge will be the largest and highest profile event of its kind ever staged in the UK .
Ben Cussons, Chairman of The Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee, says: "The support of the FIA Foundation with its leading role in the 50BY50 campaign rightly puts the RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge on the global stage. Many of the major manufacturers taking part are multi-national companies and, of course, climate change is a challenge facing the whole world."
Notes for editors
The RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge takes place on Saturday 6 November, the day before the Royal Automobile Club’s world famous London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Starting at Madeira Drive , this unique live event will use the traditional 60-mile veteran car run route in reverse.
Provisional Timings:
Start ( Madeira Drive , Brighton ) at 08:30 to 09:00
Halfway stop ( Crawley ) 09:30 to 10:30
Finish (Pall Mall, London ) 11:15 to 12:30
Presentation ( Regent Street , London ) 12:30 to 16:00
The formal finish will be in Pall Mall followed by a special ceremonial finish and presentation in Regent Street . Here, the vehicles will join the display of more than 100 pre-1905 motor cars in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run International Concours in front of an estimated 250,000 audience.
More than 30 vehicles have entered with over 50 expected to participate in this inaugural event. They are coming from manufacturers, institutions, individual motoring pioneers and private owners. The event will be staged, promoted and judged in the three categories – Electric, Hybrid and Internal Combustion Engine. Within each category, entries will be measured in various modes for the energy used during the drive from Madeira Drive to Pall Mall . The challenge will be to complete the event with the least energy impact.
Each of the 25 category winners will receive an engraved Royal Automobile Club trophy and the overall winner will receive the coveted Royal Automobile Club Gold Medal. There will also be an award for the best private entry and each classified finisher will receive a Club medal and certificate.
The RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge will be judged by the event's Technical Panel comprising: Ben Cussons, Chairman (The Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee), Dr David Bizley (Director of Technical RAC), Richard Parry-Jones (industry), John Wood (Institution of Mechanical Engineers), Dr Ricardo Martinez-Botas (Imperial College London) Steve Cropley (Autocar) and John Hilton (Flybrid Systems).
Since its creation in 1897, The Royal Automobile Club has actively supported and promoted the development of motoring in Great Britain including the introduction of the famous 1000 Mile Trial of 1900; the first motor race (the Tourist Trophy) in 1905; the first British Grand Prix in 1926 and, since 1930, the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. This celebrates the Emancipation Run of November 1896, an historic event that promoted and demonstrated the capabilities of the then recently invented horseless carriage at a time when electric and steam power, as well as the internal combustion engine, were competing for mass-production dominance.
In March 2010, The RAC Foundation, one of the sponsors of the event, produced a report on the potential of low carbon vehicle technology entitled Driving Down Emissions. The report concluded: The challenge is not only to stimulate both the supply and demand side of the low carbon vehicle market, but to make sure progress on each happens in tandem. It will not be easy but it must be done.
For more information about the RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge, including regulations and entry form, visit
www.futurecarchallenge.com For further information on the GFEI’s 50 by 50 campaign visit
www.50by50campaign.orgThe RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge is kindly supported by the RAC, Goodyear, the RAC Foundation, the FIA Foundation, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Imperial College London; City of Westminster , Brighton & Hove City Council, Crawley Borough Council, Central Sussex College and the Regent Street Association.
The RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge is organised and promoted on behalf of The Royal Automobile Club by Motion Works – the organising team of the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.
Rebecca Nicholls
Press Officer, Lifestyle Media
Motion Works (LBVCR) Limited
Silverstone Innovation Centre, Silverstone Circuit Northamptonshire NN12 8GX England
Tel: +44(0)1452 260063
Mob: +44(0)7749 852481
Fax: +44(0)1327 856 025
Email:
rebecca@motion-works.co.uk