Economy Car Run Won By Auckland Entrants

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28129, 19 November 1956, Page 17

Economy Car Run Won By Auckland Entrants

(From Our Own Reporter)

AUCKLAND, November 18. S. B. Gibbs and C. G. Cameron, of Auckland, who drove a Sunbeam Mark 111 in the 1956 Mobilgas economy run from Invercargill to Auckland, which ended last evening, won the £ooo sweepstake for the event. No driver could have been more warmly received than Gibbs when the final result was announced. A cripple whose hobby is motoring, Gibbs drove magnificently during the event. The car completed the run with no penalties against it. .. Some of the petrol consumption figures recorded during the event surprised officials. Gibbs and Cameron covered an average of 35.29 miles to a gallon, and established a ton-miles-a-gallon figure of 61.77. The runners-up for the sweepstake were J. K. Hussey and H. C. Doig, driving the M.G. Magnette in which they won last year’s event. Doig is a former racing driver, whose example of driving on the hills was highly praised by all official observers. On one section, Doig found his speedometer reading two miles short, and it was later discovered that his method of taking corners with only inches to spare on the left-hand side was responsible. The lowest figure was recorded by a Humber Super Snipe. Over the whole journey, it averaged only 18.46 miles a gallon. Final Stage of Run

Yesterday the cars completed the 156-mile stage frpm Rotorua to Auckland. This was a relatively easy section, and all cars recorded very low petrol consumption. Through Cambridge and Hamilton, the route led along the new motorway into the middle of Auckland. It was in the latter portion of the run that the M.G. Magnette of J. K. Hussey and H. C. Doig (Wanganui) lost valuable time when a wrong turning was taken. Hussey and Doig won last year’s event, and until yesterday looked the likely winners this year. The first car to reach the finishing line at Auckland was the Humber 80 driven by M. J. Ellis and M. F. Stanton, of Christchurch. Eight traffic in-

spectors were engaged in keeping the traffic moving as the cars pulled into an Ellerslie service station for the final checking. The Wolseley 6-90 of C. W. Barrett and G. D. Malcolme, of Pahiatua, was disqualified after it had been inspected at the conclusion of the event. This car led in Class C and was second in the sweepstake on Friday. The disqualification was imposed because the engine did not conform to standard specifications. All other major placed cars passed the final inspection. Official Observer’s Praise There were few .drivers who could travel a total of 31,000 miles without being involved in some minor accident on the roads, said the Transport Department’s official observer (Mr A. J. Edwards) last evening. It was significant that |n the total of 31.000 miles travelled by the cars, not a scratch had been put on the paintwork of the competing vehicles. The techniques by which the drivers achieved low fuel consumption were many and varied. Almost all drivers shifted into top gear by 15 miles an hour, after a slow but steady start. As little use as possible was made of the gears and brakes. Tanks were filled often, as it has been proved overseas that air mixes with the petrol and moisture accumulates. The choke control was scorned by all competitors, and in their opinion was the most wasteful of all controls. Results were:— £5OO sweepstake: Sunbeam Mark 111, S. B. Gibbs and C. G. Cameron (Auckland) 1: M.G. Magnette. H. C. Doig and J. K. Hussey (Wanganui) 2; Morris Cowley, G. M. Townsend and A. I. Mathews (Wellington) 3. Class A: Morris Cowley. Townsend and Mathews 1, Standard 10. D. D. Kilkelly and W. I. Brown (Invercargill) 2; Morris Minor. D. C. Bridgeman and B. J. O’Rourke (Hastings) 3.

Class B: Sunbeam Mark 111, Gibbs and Cameron. 1; M.G. Magnette, Doig and Hussey. 2; Borgward Isabella. Mesdames M. H. Horton and B. Duncan (Dunedin) 3. Class C: Austin A9O. A. V. Laurent and H. G. Rutherford (Wellington) 1; Austin AlO5, E. R. McMahon and W. T. Hudson (Levin) 2; Jaguar Mark VII. C. V. Neale and D. A. King (Nelson). 3. Petrol Consumption Detailed figures of the cars’ average petrol consumption are:— Austin A3O. 49.87 miles a gallon; Morris Minor, 50.61; Renault 1062, 54.56; Morris Cowley. 41.14; Ford Prefect. 38.40: Standard 10, 51.61; Standard 8 49.76: Volkswagen. 48.09; M.G. Magnette, 40.99; Austin A5O. 39.42; Peugeot, 403. 38.30; Humber 80. 39.25. Humber Ilawk, 29.59; Mercedes Benz 220 S 29.76; Vauxhall Wyvern. 35.51; Borgward Isabella, 41.42; Vauxhall Velox, 31.70; Ford Consul, 35.93; Holden, 33.68; Morris Oxford, 38.85; Standard Vanguard, 31.43; Singer Hunter. 35.09; Sunbeam Mark 111. 35.29; Citroen, 31.13. Austin AlO5. 33.34; Jaguar Mark VII. 25.05; Ford Zephyr. 32.09; Rover 90. 29.54; Chevrolet, 25.85; Humber Super Snipe. 18.46; Austin A9O. 32.44; Nash Rambler, 30.36; Studebaker Champion. 26.09.