Global Green Challenge 2009

The Global Green Challenge has evolved from almost invisible to become a major event on the Australian automotive calendar in the space of just 12 months. This year the Carsales Network will be there -- driving two very different cars at either ends of the performance spectrum.

Driving from Darwin to Adelaide (the full event distance) Joshua Dowling will be attempting to prove V8s can be frugal too -- at the wheel of a E2 Series HSV Maloo, all 6.2-litres of it. Later in the event, Feann Torr jumps into Suzuki Australia's pint-sized Alto to see how the other half sips. Feann will compete from the Red Centre to Adelaide.

Look out for their updates over the next few days, and follow the trip on our Twitter page @carsalesnetwork

Feann's Blog: GGC Final Day Friday October 30, Adelaide
You beauty! We finally finished the Global Green Challenge that winds it way 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide, using less than $200 worth of petrol.

And I think it's time for a nice cold brewsky and perhaps an afternoon kip.

Yep, the Global Green Challenge has been run and won, with big surprises left, right and centre.

The solar-powered Tokai Challenger from Japan broke the Dutch-based Nuon Solar Team's four consecutive wins in the Solar Car Challenge by racing into Adelaide first, using only the power of the sun for fuel.

Meanwhile the HSV Maloo ute was the shock winner of the Eco Challenge 'production' car class, beating an array of highly fancied petrol and diesel cars, including Australia's most efficient car, the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

Run every two years, the previous winner of the Eco Challenge was the Hyundai i30, a small car with a compact 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine. So, for the thirstiest and most powerful car to win the 2009 event caused surprise and even elicited anger.

At the finish line tempers flared and heated conversations took place as rival teams sought clarification of fuelling techniques, engine calibrations and other aspects of the how the cars were run.

Starting with the highest fuel consumption rating in the field, 15.1L/100km, the HSV Maloo finished the event with an average fuel use of 7.7L/100. The high performance ute had the largest overall reduction compared to its official economy rating, with a 48.76 per cent reduction earning it first prize over Ford's turbocharged Falcon with a 39.81 per cent reduction.

It is interesting to note that while the Maloo won the event, it used the highest amount of fuel and emitted the most CO2 out of any vehicle (the Ford Fiesta emitted the least CO2 and the Suzuki Alto was not far behind with the second-lowest emissions).

And what about the hard-working Suzuki Alto? We managed to win two classes, light car and small car, thanks to a brilliant final city cycle, where we recorded the lowest fuel consumption for any single day's run -- 2.0L/100km.

Based on the overall percentage reduction scoring method -- which could be overhauled in future Eco Challenges -- the Alto stood in ninth place, out of sixteen cars. Our final figure was an 18.55 per cent reduction in fuel consumption -- using 3.9L/100km over the 3000km journey -- compared to the officially stated 4.8L/100km.

The Alto was the best performing hatchback, beating three MINI Cooper Ds, a Hybrid Holden Viva and direct rival the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

The Suzuki Alto's city run proved to be the lowest recorded run of any day, and though it wasn't enough to catch the big Aussie sports cars, it lowered our overall fuel consumption rate by a handy amount.

Clearly the urban environment is the Suzuki Alto's natural habitat; its 880kg weight giving it a significant edge in the stop start traffic.

Indeed, the final day of competition was an almost 100km city run through Adelaide's CBD and surrounding suburbs, and though we knew we did well -- the fuel gauge barely quivered -- we didn't realise just how well. I'd like to take the credit as driver, but the team, supported by Suzuki and Kangan Batman TAFE, deserve the kudos.

The overall winner was the HSV Maloo followed by the Ford Falcon but the Skoda Superb pipped the Holden Sportwagon to take third place -- despite carrying more weight (including fuel for the alcohol-powered Top Gear motorbike and three passengers) than almost every car in the event.

All told, the event was a huge amount of fun as we made our way across Australia. Taxing, exhausting and at times very challenging, the event was also very rewarding. The sense of achievement felt at the finish line was extraordinary and looking back at what we and many other competitors actually achieved, it's astonishing.

We used 123 litres of premium 95 RON fuel to travel more than 3000km, which would cost you around $172 if you paid $1.40 per litre.

Of course you probably would want somewhere to stay as well, because sleeping in the car can be pretty uncomfortable, not to mention potentially illegal. But I digress...

It's true that not everyone was happy with the outcome, and that the 2009 Eco Challenge class of the Global Green Challenge may have had its controversies. But at the end of the day most people were smiling and everyone shook hands and shared in the satisfaction of reaching the end of what was an incredible journey.

Simply finishing the event in itself is a mammoth effort, and the camaraderie and support between rival teams was exemplary. If I was asked back to drive in 2011, I'd be there in a flash. I just hope there's a Humvee available for the event...

Inside the Suzuki Alto
My co-driver Chris Smith, a motorsport student from Kangan Batman TAFE in Victoria, navigated brilliantly as I drove through the early morning peak hour traffic (we left at 8:14 am). Some of the steep hill climbs and red lights hurt us, but we managed to coax the little four-wheeler along at a steady pace.

We got a few toots from other drivers here and there, obviously not too keen on our meandering pace away from the traffic lights, but we were far from the slowest competitors during the run, with some drivers putting along at a snail's pace to try and retain their hard-earned consumption figures from the past 3000 kilometres of competitive driving.

While the Adelaide weather eclipsed 30 degrees, the city was a piece of cake in comfort terms, as we could wind down our windows at red lights to let the breeze cool us – something we hadn't had the luxury to do on previous legs of the event.

Pace notes and other observations
Having spent so much time driving down the arrow-straight Stuart Highway, through some of the most wide open land this scribe has ever seen, there was a curious sense of wonder about returning to the city.

Perhaps the eons-old deserts of the red centre had changed the way we viewed our surroundings, or maybe it was simply seeing such a densely populated area after days of isolation.

Driving economically through the city was a very different proposition when compared to the highway cruising of the previous days. Navigation was important (getting lost would waste time and fuel) and reading the traffic ahead helped a lot. With only 90Nm of torque to get us moving (less than what some motorcycles have) I had to be careful on take-offs when the lights flashed green.

Though we had three and a half hours to complete the run, we arrived with about 55 minutes to spare.

Josh's Blog: GGC Final Day Friday October 30, Adelaide 
The dust and the tempers have settled and the results are in. The HSV Maloo made by far the biggest reduction in fuel consumption compared to its rating label in the epic seven-day 2009 Global Green Challenge.

The E2 Maloo recorded an impressive 48.76 per cent reduction in consumption, which was comfortably ahead of the nearest rival (39.81 per cent).

What's interesting is that the 6.2-litre V8 Maloo used only 21.88 litres more than the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo which has a much smaller capacity engine (4.0-litres) and fewer cylinders (six instead of eight).

The 21.88 litres amounts to a cost difference of about $26 for the entire journey at current metropolitan fuel prices.

Behind the Holden versus Ford battle at the front of the field were several other battles.

Holden claimed its Omega Sportswagon 3.0-litre V6 was the most efficient locally made car, using an average of just 6.48 litres for the trip.

Having been unfavourably compared to Falcon consumption in a recent 1000km road test around Bathurst, Holden will no doubt be happy with this result.

The all-new Kia Sorrento and updated Hyundai Sante Fe 4WDs were within a few litres of each other by the finish (with the 100kg heavier and bulkier Hyundai scoring a narrow win) with an average consumption of 5.1 litres per 100km from the new 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine.

And in the small car diesel battle, the new Fiesta used the least amount of fuel than any car in the field (98.46 litres compared to the HSV's 243.5), using slightly less than the best of the trio of MINIs.

Interestingly, however, the MINI still won its class because it is in the small car category and the Fiesta is in the Light Car class.

Prior to the last day MINI asked officials to ask Ford to refit the rear wiper to the Fiesta, which had done the bulk of the 3000km journey without the rear wiper attached.

It was removed by Ford so it would not smudge a sponsor sticker on the rear window, but Mini queried if there was an aerodynamic benefit at highway cruising speeds. Ford happily refitted the rear wiper when asked, but the convoy had reached the city stage by then.

The Suzuki Alto made an impressive 18.55 per cent improvement on its rating label figure overall, which in fact was a bigger improvement than what the diesel small and light cars made.

However, Suzuki's claim that the Alto used 2.0-litres per 100km around the final city stage should be viewed carefully because of inconsistent filling techniques and a large disparity in the temperature of the fuel in the morning (before the city cycle) and in the early afternoon (after the city cycle).

There were several anomalies in the fill rates of several cars. For example, the Mini apparently used more fuel than the Falcon XR6 Turbo. This clearly contradicts the previous six day average -- and the likely outcome given the size and weight of the cars.

Officials have already given an undertaking to come up with more consistent refuelling techniques for the next event.

Despite all the hoopla, it turned out every player won a prize.

Feann's blog: Blog: GGC Day Six, Thursday Oct 29

Today we left Port Augusta at the 8:14am as we do every morning, to complete a relatively sedate run our final destination, Adelaide.

With four hours to complete the 300km drive we arrived with some four minutes to spare. Tired, cranky and sweating... But oddly satisfied. We got in noon in good time and then spent another four or so hours of recce doing the city route. Not bad considering we had no stops today.

Again the Suzuki Alto didn't miss a beat and by my reckoning we used around eight litres of fuel to cover the 300km distance, giving us perhaps our best economy and CO2 rate yet. A number of drivers reported personal best figures today, which were helped by a mild tailwind; the Ford boys were even talking about a sub 6L/100km in their beefy Falcon turbo.

Tomorrow (Friday, Oct 30) is the final day of competition with a 100km course that winds its way through Adelaide's CBD and suburbs, and we expect it really level the playing field.

Josh's big and brash HSV Maloo and the Ford XR6 Turbo Falcon are currently placed first and second in the overall standings (which are based on real world fuel consumption improvement percentages), and both could shock the event by becoming the greenest cars in the country -- if they can maintain low consumption figures through the final city stage.

Other surprises thus far are Skoda's quietly achieving Superb, which is sitting pretty in third spot, while one of the trio of MINI Cooper D's is languishing in last place for reasons which remain unclear.

Based on CO2 output, the large Aussie cars are the worst performers in the field, but this has no bearing on the overall winner. Check out the official Global Green Challenge website the full score sheet, which is updated daily.

Inside the Suzuki Alto
My third day behind the wheel of the Indian-made Alto and I'm beginning to really get the hang of it. We expect to record our best figures thus far today and I'm convinced there's more to than just a handy tail wind. Eco driving skills aside, the Alto has consistent surprised me with its easygoing attitude. Spending several hours a day trapped inside the tiny metal cage is not only bearable, it can even be pleasant at times.

We're still not touching the aircon but as we entered Adelaide we opened the windows for slightly longer bursts and tuning into local radio stations -- not to mention seeing more than just road trains -- seemed to lift our spirits.

There was a minor crisis averted when, with 120km to go and our timing calculations whittled down to the wire, it appeared we'd need to make a pitstop as nature knocked on the door. With nerves of steel and diversionary tactics (rock, scissors, paper tournaments) we managed to make the entire 300km journey non-stop.

Pace notes and other observations
While the 300km run was short in comparison, it was also more interesting than previously. After running over a lizard (a very bad omen according to Global Green Challenge veterans) a sombre mood overtook myself and co-driver Chris that seemed to last forever. But with the change in scenery from red sand to greener pastures and trees (and, strangely, the ‘arrival' of power lines) we soon lifted out of our funk.

When we arrived at the finish line with four minutes to spare and less than 10 litres of fuel used we were stoked.

But our work was not over... The final day of competition will be based around a 92km city run during morning peak hour, which we duly reconnoitered as soon as we could get our hands on another Alto from a friendly city Suzuki dealer.

With about 20 minutes to spare, (despite some nasty surprises which may catch some competitors unawares), our recce run was very pleasing. The 'official' instructions for the drive route are about as useful as concrete tyres, so taking our own pace notes and using detailed maps helped us scope the route properly.

The tight-knit Suzuki team is exhausted after putting in very long days for the past week, but we're confident of finishing strongly. Bring it on!

Check out the Alto in action, and hear what Feann has to say, at Suzuki's own Alto Youtube homepage homepage.

Josh's Blog: GGC Day Six, Thursday Oct 29
Phew! That’s all we could say as we rolled into Adelaide today (Thursday 29 October), completely exhausted.

After six days and 3000km it actually feels a bit claustrophobic to be back in a big city. We were lucky to see a single traffic light on most of the journey (Alice Springs and Port Augusta were about it). So imagine how frustrating it felt for us as we encountered dozens of traffic lights to make it to today’s finish line in the centre of Adelaide.

With 306km to cover, today was a short leg but it was one of the most challenging. We had to travel at a higher average speed in less time than in days before because we had to factor in the traffic going into town. So instead of cruising along at 75km/h or so, we stayed closer to the speed limit, sitting on between 90 and 100km/h in 110km/h zones.

The route also had a gradual climb in it at the start, so we were really focusing on our consumption just as we had been the whole week. As luck would have it, however, after a week of strong headwinds, a tailwind picked up off the coast mid morning and we were able to build up a good time buffer and come into town with some minutes up our sleeve. It was lucky we did because, apart from almost getting lost, we hit a 1km section of roadworks that had a 25km/h limit, about 26km north of Adelaide. It nearly cost some of the other teams penalty points.

As it turned out, we arrived to today’s finish line about 10 minutes early. The higher average speed cost us a fraction more fuel but it was worth it so we didn’t get stressed rolling into town.

Both Gerry Bechet and I haven’t been to Adelaide for ages, and are unfamiliar with the roads and traffic conditions. I can tell you we breathed a big sigh of relief when we made the timing marker.

The battle isn’t over yet, however. The toughest test is still to come: the city cycle. The HSV V8 has been doing us proud for the past week, so tomorrow will be the time to test how efficiently we can drive the Maloo in commuter traffic.

Tomorrow (Friday 30 October) is three hours of city driving, and then the cars are filled to the brim to check final fuel consumption numbers. After that, we will know the winner. We also get a police escort into the main street of town for an official greeting by the local big wigs. If you’re a HSV supporter, be in town between 2-4pm to watch the convoy.

In the meantime, most teams are checking the final route tonight in their support cars because this week has shown that the directions can be ambiguous at times. Wish us luck!

Gerry and I are just excited to be getting into a car with air-conditioning. The LPG Senator never looked so good.

Inside the HSV Maloo
Gerry and I have again found new ways to dispense with flies in an efficient and pain free manner. I favour the rolled up folder technique but Gerry swears blind a quick flick with the chamois works best. The only problem with his theory is that you then end up with a fly on your detailing cloth.

Gerry was out polishing the Maloo again this morning. He was so proud he was convinced that was why the Maloo was running so well today (higher speed, not much higher consumption). Then I helpfully pointed out that we had a tailwind. Ahem.

We passed the Falcon XR6 Turbo within 25 minutes today (much earlier than previous days) because we wanted to build a time buffer in case we got lost in Adelaide. As it turned out, our friends in the blue car made it with 30 seconds spare. It was a close contest.

When we arrived we emptied all our food and drink supplies from the Maloo because we hopefully won’t need them in the city stage tomorrow. Gerry and I also walked back to the hotel in Adelaide. Our support crew, HSV engineers Rob Davis and Leigh Russell thought we were mad for walking in the Adelaide heat.

But you know what? After six days straight in a hot car, it was good to stretch the legs. Funnily enough, with all the traffic, we almost beat them to the hotel. Not that we’re competitive or anything… If Gerry and I are feeling really energetic we might even walk to the cars in parc ferme in the morning.

Pace notes and other observations
Most of the tensions and sledging have eased now that the group has made it to the big smoke. The organisers put on a fancy dinner last night, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. We shared the table with the Holden team, who have done an amazing job in the Commodore Omega V6 SIDI car, averaging about 6.1L/100km according to their provisional figures.

They’ve been really supportive of us through the event. We also both realized that we would likely have the most efficient support crew. While other teams have fleets of cars following their entrants, the HSV Maloo has been followed by the LPG Senator, while the Omega wagon has been followed all week by a diesel-powered Cruze sedan.

Maybe next time there should be competition for support vehicles, too.

Feann's blog: GCC Day Five, Wednesday Oct 28
Having put the longest leg of the Global Green Challenge behind us, Team Suzuki Alto had a relatively mild 541km run today, between Coober Pedy and Port Augusta.

There have been some interesting fuel consumption readings from the competitors and with the map distance versus odometer reading controversy behind us, it's back to business.

With about seven hours in which to complete the Wednesday run, my co-driver Chris Smith and I arrived at the finish line with two minutes to spare. A little less scary than yesterday's seven seconds leeway... Timing is everything in this event and getting your calculations perfect is proving to be the key. We had one stop today which was ideal, as yesterday's close call may have come down to an unplanned pitstop.

Today the driving seemed sweatier (but not really hotter), yet the 500km-plus drive felt easier and less exhausting. We used up about 60 per cent of our fuel -- the fuel tank is a tiny 35 litres -- so we're expecting a tip top result.

Looking at today's journey from a real world perspective, the almost 550km trip cost us around $30. Not bad I reckon.

Inside the Suzuki Alto
Having come to grips with the way the Alto drives, my second day in the saddle was seamless, with nary a hitch or a timing issue to speak of.

We stuck to the plan of opening the windows a crack every 30 minutes or so for a brief cooldown, to keep our drag co-efficient as low as possible and drinking several litres of water.

Learning the precise nature of the Alto's beastly 1.0-litre engine is working in our favour but I must say, keeping the speedo needle in the right place for prolonged periods across undulating terrain is easier said than done... And while 50kW is not a lot of power compared to most of our rivals, keeping the car at an average of around 78km/h gets easier with practice. However, driving an 880kg runabout through a giant willie willie is not recommended. Talk about taking endurance driving to the limit -- I almost overcorrected into a ti-tree!

On top of mini tornadoes, slight inclines are the Alto's enemy and we had to gear down once or twice during the drive today. Overall, the Alto has performed very reliably and though it does get hot in the cabin, generally speaking life inside the Suzuki isn't too bad.

Pace notes and other observations
Compared to the long run yesterday today felt like a walk in the park. "Only 541km? Piece of cake," laughed my co-driver and engineer, Chris Smith.

Despite heading south, the heat felt more draining today, but having put the longest leg of the event behind us the objective seemed almost within reach. Only two days to go now...

Our timing today was impeccable, arriving with two minutes to spare thanks to some handy calculations along the way. We saw many more imposing Wedge-tailed eagles along the way, protective of their roadkill, and we even had to hit the anchors as an Emu sprinted across the road in front of us.

Passing rally champ Ed Ordynski in his Hyundai Santa Fe was a highlight, as was spilling Gatorade all over myself.

Salt flats were a common sight near Woomera and being passed by the solar-powered prototype cars (again) was quite exciting, what with their posse of security cars clearing traffic should a long overtaking manoeuvre be necessary.

With two days of competitive driving left, and the final city run expected to favour our ultra-compact Suzuki Alto, things are looking good. It's still unclear who will be the winner, but we'll certainly record the lowest fuel consumption for any petrol vehicle in the event.

Josh's Blog: GGC Day Five, Wednesday, Oct 28
After a good night's sleep in an underground motel in the old mining town of Coober Pedy, we hit the road an hour earlier than normal today. Having crossed the border into South Australia, we lost an hour because of the time zone change. I much prefer daylight savings when it works the other way -- and you get an hour's extra sleep.

The terrain was like a moonscape most of the day, with rubble either side of the road as far as the eye could see. You could even see the curvature of the earth on some sections. What an amazing country we live in.

We had another compulsory 15 minute pit stop today, which took the total travel time to seven and a half hours for our journey.

The length of time might not sound like much (to those used to nine hour road trips from Melbourne to Sydney or 12 hour road trips from Sydney to Brisbane) but it is slow going when the concentration levels are so high -- and the air-conditioning is so low.

We also had to factor in what affect traffic -- and three sets of lights and a roundabout -- might have on our average travel time once we arrived in the bustling Port Augusta. So most teams tried to keep to a reasonably high average speed, but it was again difficult conditions to maintain economy, with long climbs and strong headwinds.

We also lost a little bit of time having overshot the compulsory stop by one driveway entrance.

There was no event signage pointing out the compulsory stop (although we were told where it was, just not the exact location of the carpark), so we were about to continue until we saw other competitors parked up. Luckily we didn't drive any further down the road!

As we pulled up, the solar cars arrived to get serviced, so it was great to actually to see them up close and with their high-tech solar panel lids off.

I thought driving without air-conditioning switched on was a bit of an inconvenience, but being cooped up in these low slung machines must be completely exhausting. Still, I'd love to drive one. One day…

The results for Day Four were issued as we sat down for dinner on Day Five, after each team refueled their own cars earlier in the morning in Coober Pedy. This was done so the cars could be refueled while they were cooler, so each car could take their maximum fuel load, and there would be less risk of fire if there was an overflow.

The latest results showed that the order of the field and each car's consumption rates generally haven't changed. I guess this shouldn't be a surprise given that we've travelled more than 2500km by now, so the fuel figures have started to average out.

That means the HSV Maloo ute is still leading by a comfortable margin with an improvement on its fuel rating label figure by 49 per cent, ahead of the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan (40 per cent improvement) and the Holden Commodore Omega V6 Sportwagon (31 per cent), according to provisional figures from Darwin to Coober Pedy.

Day six sees the teams head off on the 300km journey from Port Augusta to Adelaide, where they will get a well earned overnight rest and prepare for the final, city driving stage on Friday.

Inside the HSV Maloo
HSV engineer Gerry Bechet started our driving shift again today. He knows the car better than me, and is better at bringing it up to speed and up to temperature gently.

As we've done every day, we caught the XR6 Turbo within the first two hours, swapped road positions a few times before finally getting some distance between us. Over the past week they have tended to keep a constant speed, whereas we tend to ride the hills.

Our makeshift sun shades are going well, although we somehow managed to trap a few flies in the car this morning. I hope there aren't many insect enthusiasts out there because, I regret to report, the flies didn't get to complete the journey with us. We dispatched with them as quickly and humanely as we could, with a quick whack. One of them is still stuck to the inside of the windscreen.

Gerry dislikes flies as much as I do, plus it gave us something to do for a while as we chased them around the cabin with our hands and a rolled up bit of paper. Cabin fever anyone…?

The outside temperature climbed again today. It was pretty comfortable at first but by the end of the day we were back in the low to mid 30s, which is borderline uncomfortable. We've got our eskys well packed these days, largely thanks to the enthusiasm of our support crew. We call them a crew, but it's two guys: HSV engineers Leigh Russell and Rob Davies.

Rob's got an eye for a bargain, and I think Barbeque Shapes must have been on special at the last town we went through because we've got enough of those now to last us until the next Global Green Challenge. To be fair to Rob, the oversupply of salty snacks was my fault. Earlier in the event, when Gerry and I nearly drained all the salt out of our bodies because we were drinking so much water, we actually craved salt.

We put the call out to Rob and he delivered. In spades. Well, boxes.

Gerry and I reckon we've drunk almost as much water as the car has had fuel. Funnily enough, in a weird, self-fulfilling cycle, the more salty snacks we eat, the thirstier we get. Oh dear, when will this merry go round end!

Pace notes and other observations
Some of the manufacturer teams competing in this event have more support vehicles than the organisers. Previous blogs have given examples of this. Our humble outfit has just one support car -- and two very capable HSV engineering chaps.

But the boys have developed new skills, and maybe even a new hobby on the Global Green Challenge. While other teams have film crews and camera crews, the HSV outfit has Rob Davies and Leigh Russell with their happy snap cameras to help record what is hoped will be a historic occasion for HSV.

Rob and Leigh blast ahead of us all day in their LPG Senator, only to pull over at a nice spot further up the road and wait for us to come past so they can take a photo. And once we drive past, they jump back in the LPG Senator and blast past us and do it all again.

Not once have the guys complained (to our faces, at least) and they're getting more and more creative as each day goes by. So, here's an official thanks for the memories (well, photos) and helping us out with snapping some extra pics. Car paparazzi look out!

Following a meeting with all teams, the organisers, and the Confederation of Australian Motorsport, the results for the entire field were recalculated using map distances as opposed to individual vehicle odometer distances, which varied by one or two per cent across all cars. And the net result? Pretty much everyone is in the same position as they were before -- and in the same order.

And that means the V8-powered HSV Maloo ute is leading the field for the third day in a row, ahead of the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan and Holden Commodore Omega V6 wagon in terms of the biggest improvement in fuel economy.

The tiny tots, such as the trio of diesel powered MINI Coopers and the sole diesel Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, still only made marginal improvements. If anything they were upstaged by the petrol-powered Suzuki Alto which has made a bigger improvement compared to the diesel cars.

With a few of the rules and regulations sorted, the tensions eased -- and so did the temperature. Alice Springs was an entirely comfortable 19 degrees when we hit the road in the morning and the temperature climbed to a maximum of 28 degrees on the whole route.

This was a significant relief for what was the longest day of the journey, at 689km, and a maximum allotted travel time of 9 hours and 15 minutes. Officials introduced a compulsory 15 minute pit stop at Marla, a little over half way through the trip, to ensure drivers and co-drivers weren't fatigued. This brought total travel time to nine-and-a-half hours.

It was a long day, but the going was relatively easy, almost comfortable, for most competitors. However, the terrain was deceivingly hilly, even though there is a gradual descent from Alice Springs to the opal mining town of Coober Pedy.

We won't know until tomorrow how each team went today because, following concerns about short-filling, organisers deemed it safer and fairer to refuel the cars in the cool of the morning. But even then we won't really know how well each car is travelling because it is now up to individual teams to decide how much fuel they want to take onboard.

They still need to fill the cars until the bowser nozzle 'clicks' twice, and the refueling will be done under supervision of the technical director, but they won't be brimmed until the last day. This change was made after some fuel was accidentally spilt during a refill on one of the cars in Alice Springs on Monday.

We saw the solar cars in full flight for the first time today, and the top three teams were absolutely flying, averaging at least 100km/h by the looks of them. They really were amazing.

There was some confusion, however, about our compulsory stop point. The compulsory stop for solar cars was earlier than the cars in the Eco Challenge, and a number of Eco Challenge production cars slowed and lost valuable momentum until they realised that the stop was not for them.

In the tough terrain, most teams made the timing cut off by seconds, as the directions into town were a little ambiguous. But everyone made it safe, including the brave entrant wearing the Evil Knievel suit and riding a postie bike. Yes, he's still going.

Everyone seems in better spirits today; no doubt the cooler weather and the rule changes helped.

Inside the HSV Maloo
Back onboard today, I let HSV engineer Gerry Bechet start this time. Last time I started the car too early, and used too much fuel early on as the car warmed up. Gerry on the other hand is very professional.

As we have done on the previous days, we caught the XR6 Turbo (which left two minutes ahead of us) within the first two hours (in this case it was about 90 minutes into the leg) and then we did our usual, slow paced overtaking manoeuvres for the next few hours.

The cars and the drivers clearly use different techniques to get the best economy. Somehow, we still end up within sight of each other by the end of the day.

Unfortunately we had to burn some fuel today because I had to do a phone interview with a radio station; the only phone coverage on the route was at Marla.

To make the deadline, we travelled at higher speed (but below the speed limit, of course) and used more fuel than we would have liked (Gerry wasn't entirely happy), and we also ate into a bit of our driving time once I used up the 15-minute stop. We were stopped for at least 20 minutes all told, but only five minutes affected our driving time.

It might not sound like much, but every bit counts. So our leg from Marla to Coober Pedy was particularly challenging for two reasons: we were trying to make up time while I made us sit at Marla to take a call, and the terrain was hillier than we were expecting. The crosswinds and headwinds that have been with us all week were also doing their best to slow the field down.

Gerry and I felt more relaxed today, we swapped driving duties more times to stay fresh, and we really are starting to feel as though we are part of the car now.

The passenger can tell if the driver has moved the accelerator too much simply by the ever-so-subtle sound of the engine under all the road noise.

Our make-shift sun shades made from a roll of bath mat material worked a treat and we regret having stuck them to the glass on day two (we just poke them in the closed window now, but there's yukky tape residue on the glass). We're trying to get it clean before the guys at HSV head office see the mess. Wish us luck.

Pace notes and other observations
The poor old Tesla electric car has copped a bit of a rough time over the whole event because it has a truck following it with a diesel-powered generator, so it can be recharged. So it's only fair to point out how many cars are in the support crew for each solar car team.

The leading Japanese team seemed to have the entire NT rental fleet of Kia Carnivals booked out, while Michigan University had a fleet of Fords. Others had Taragos and Camrys. There were dozens of support vehicles, all told, to get a handful of solar cars from Darwin to Adelaide without, ahem, using a drop of fuel.

There's some big money being left behind in the desert. Hyundai has a fleet of 4WDs and a documentary crew, Ford has a fleet of cars following its two entrants. The humble HSV outfit, meanwhile, is two blokes in a ute, and another two blokes in an LPG Senator packed to the rafters. At least the company's good... And professional...

Feann's blog: GCC Day Four, Tuesday, Oct 27.
Joining the Global Green Challenge at the effective halfway point, I was excited at the prospect of getting in the saddle.

After a grueling drive of more than nine hours and 685km from Alice Spring to the SA opal mining town of Coober Pedy we just scraped in. Just seconds to spare from our allotted time, but our Suzuki Alto didn't miss a beat.

Almost every competitor had a close finish today after traffic was slowed due to a semi-trailer rolling about 40km outside of Coober Pedy. Fueling is due to take place early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, so unfortunately we won't know our economy figures until then.

Inside the Suzuki Alto
Driving the Alto is like riding a bike: so easy you could almost do it no-handed. It's one of the few petrol-powered light cars in the event and in a race where driving slowly can sometimes yield the best results, we're all feeling positive about the next three days of competition.

Of course you can't drive too slowly, otherwise you'll go over your allotted time, so finding the right combination of speed and constantly updating your distance and time calculations is key.

The car itself is small, but not unworkable and far from cramped -- at least two-up. The stereo has been given a good workout with some Hilltop Hoods and Carnival, and vision from the driver's seat is very good, making overtaking hassle-free (but laborious) despite its meagre 1.0-litre 50kW/90Nm engine.

Pace notes and other observations
As I sit here and punch keys on my miniature laptop, after spending a smidge more than nine hours in the saddle driving almost 700km through central Australia, with one 15 minute stop and no air conditioning, I'm tired but very happy with the results.

One of the most challenging aspects of the drive today has been finding the mental stamina to withstand the heat and monotony of the Stuart Highway. I've been in saunas that aren't quite as punishing as the atmosphere inside the little Alto I drove today -- though most agree it was even worse in the days leading up to my start... These drivers are made of stern stuff.

Every half an hour or so, we opened the front windows slightly for a few seconds, giving us fleeting respite. At least the further south we drive, the easier it will get.

Some of the more interesting aspects of the run today were being passed by two solar cars from the Solar Challenge (accompanied by a phalanx of safety cars to keep traffic at bay). They looked incredible and absolutely flew down the highway like silent missiles.

Encountering a family of majestic Wedge-Tailed eagles eyeing us suspiciously from the side of the road and watching countless self-perpetuating willie-willies wend their way across the arid flats of central Oz was memorable, as was being cut off by a MINI D trying to slipstream a car overtaking us... We thought there were rules against drafting!

All things considered, we're on track to post one of the lowest overall fuel consumptions in the field, and the lowest figure for a petrol-powered production car. Tomorrow is a much shorter run, and with the remarkably capable Alto running nicely we're looking forward to reaching Port Augusta on Wednesday night and examining our (and our rivals') current form.

STOP PRESS
Further to this morning's news story, revised results published this morning (Tuesday, Oct 27) by the organisers of the Global Green Challenge economy run show that the HSV Maloo ute still leads the field.

Official figures, now calculated on map distance instead of each vehicle's odometer reading, show the Maloo has made a reduction in fuel consumption of 51 per cent compared to its official fuel rating label.

After three days and 1519km of driving, the Maloo has averaged 7.35L/100km. Its Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo opposition has averaged 7.09L/100km. However the figures are likely to be more accurate after all cars are brimmed tomorrow morning ahead of the final day.

Some cars took on less fuel on day one because of extremely hot conditions and this gave wildly unrealistic consumption numbers. The revised tables also closed the gap with the Hyundai versus Kia 4WD contest but other cars such as the diesel MINIs, diesel Ford Fiesta ECOnetic and petrol Suzuki Alto were adversely affected by the changes.

>>> Josh's Blog: GCC Day Three, Monday Oct 26
There was a big dust up on the Global Green Challenge yesterday, which completed leg three from Tennant Creek to Alice Springs. We woke to an eerie light haze from a massive dust storm, and it didn't lift until well into the afternoon. This meant that conditions were much cooler (max 32 degrees) as the particles took the sting out of the sun.

As was the case on previous days, the battle up the front was between the HSV Maloo ute and Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan (results postponed). And, as was also the case on the previous days, even though the cars were started at two minute intervals, the Maloo caught the XR6 Turbo within two hours.

This is because both cars have slightly different optimum speeds, in part because the Ford is an auto and the Maloo is a manual, and both their engines are at their most efficient at different engine revs. However, both cars swapped the lead four times today, as all teams struggled to match their economy from previous days, thanks to a gentle uphill climb to Alice Springs from the north, and a strong and gusty headwind all the way.

It was likely the world's slowest Holden versus Ford battle, as the average speed was about 75km/h.

Inside the HSV Maloo
My turn to drive in the support vehicle today. Well, not my turn as such, I asked if I could be in the Senator so we could drive ahead and get some photos of the Maloo at various spots along the way.

I wasn't sure what the reaction would be among the support drivers: HSV engineers Leigh Russell and Rob Davis. They have enjoyed air-conditioned comfort while Gerry Bechet and I in the Maloo sweated it out with the aircon switched off over the past couple of days. Thankfully, both guys were keen and were about to flip a coin at breakfast to decide who the lucky winner was, when Leigh jumped in and said "I'll do it".

It was Leigh's lucky day, that's for sure. The temperature had dropped, so the going wasn't as tough as yesterday.

"I don't know what you blokes are complaining about," he said with a grin.

It must have been a frustrating day for Leigh, who usually spends his days doing performance testing of HSV vehicles. He's known by his engineering colleagues as The Stig because he is the only one who can crack a 4.9 second 0-100km/h time out of a HSV Clubsport like clockwork.

"It's a bit different to what I'm used to, but the competitive spirit keeps you going."

Rob was enjoying himself in the Senator too.

"I've passed an Australian Rally Champion and a 24 Hour LeMans winner today," he said, referring to Neal Bates who was in one of the support vehicles in the event, and Vern Schuppan who is driving a diesel MINI.

"Actually, I've passed a LeMans winner a few times today. I'm feeling pretty good," he laughed.

Pace notes and other observations
We stopped at Ti Tree for fuel (in the Senator!) and happened across the Tesla roadster electric car being recharged.

We bumped into the owner, Simon Hackett, who has been enjoying the event, but not the long days (he has to stop twice for 3.5 hours to recharge). He told us that he towed the Tesla from Adelaide to Darwin on a car trailer behind his diesel-powered Volvo XC90 4WD and it used 12L/100km. With the empty trailer behind, the Volvo has been using 18 litres per 100km.

"That trailer is like a parachute, it's a good lesson in aerodynamics," he said. Anyone want a free tow from Alice Springs to Adelaide today? You might save someone some fuel...

>>> Feann's pre-start blog: Monday, Oct 26
When I arrived in Alice Springs this arvo, I took a quick stroll through town. It was a fairly average Monday in the Alice -- families having picnics in the park and a plenty of tourists milling around. But at about 5:30pm the Global Green Challenge rolled into town, bringing with it a palpable sense of excitement.

As I met up with team Suzuki to check out the vehicle, supported by engineers from Kangan TAFE, I was given a briefing on how the next four days of driving the tiny 880kg Alto would go.

"No air conditioning during the event, so you'll be sweating like a horse" was the first order. Luckily I packed my ultra absorbent chamois lederhosen then...

I've got a solid nine and half hours of driving tomorrow (it'll be today when you read this) and, to be honest, I'm keen to get out there and drive as smoothly and economically as possible and size up the opposition. Word is the Hyundai Santa Fe team is setting a good pace.

Further intel I've gleaned from weary travellers thus far suggests that the competition is heated, with accusations of drafting, fuel tampering, and other such rumours adding spice to proceedings.

My fellow Carsales Network colleague Joshua Dowling is currently leading the A class in the Eco Challenge, driving a green HSV Maloo ute with its impressive support car in tow (an HSV Senator). The winner of the event will be the car that records the biggest fuel economy improvement, percentage wise, and after three days of competing, the Maloo has improved almost 50 per cent!

The top three thus far are all large Aussie cars, but the final day, a 100km loop through Adelaide city, is likely to even the playing field, especially for our little city runabout. Here's the top three thus far:

1. HSV Maloo 8.0L/100km -- 46.99 per cent improvement over 15.1L/100km
2. Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo 7.1L/100km -- 39.41 per cent improvement over 11.7L/100km
3. Holden Sportwagon 6.2L/100km -- 33.43 per cent improvement over 9.3L/100km

Currently, the little 1.0-litre Suzuki Alto that I'll be piloting for the next four days is sitting in the middle of the field with a 19.14 per cent improvement over its 4.8L/100km claimed fuel consumption, and it has the third lowest CO2 output behind a MINI Cooper D and the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic.

Hopefully the efficiency Gods will be smiling on us as we head towards Coober Pedy and I also pray we avoid any mechanical glitches. And hopefully it's not a scorcher. No air conditioning will make it a race of attrition...

The rumble was so active that my bed (on wheels) moved from side to side on the tiled floor of our palatial motel. In my deep sleep, I remember thinking it might have been an earthquake. But then I told myself (clearly incorrectly) that Australia can't have earthquakes because we are the oldest, flattest continent on earth. At breakfast, everyone said "did the earth move for you last night?". And that's when I discovered it was an earthquake for real. Thank goodness it wasn't dangerous. And I was on the top floor.

Luckily we arrived at the start line to find that our GCC vehicles were intact and none had fallen into a crater. There was, however, one less car when we arrived. The Tesla electric sports car had been given special dispensation to leave early (after all teams agreed). It needed the extra time so it didn't arrive at night. Today, from Katherine to Tennant Creek, was the second longest day at 669km, and the Tesla needed about three and a half hours to sit on the side of the road and get recharged -- from the diesel-powered generator on the back of the big diesel-powered truck. So much for electric cars not using a drop of fuel!

As was the case on day one, day two was extremely hot, especially in cars with air-conditioning switched off. We stayed in 40 degree heat for longer periods today and the sun was just as relentless as it was the day before.

MINI Cooper D driver and former LeMans winner, Vern Schuppan, compared economy runs and endurance racing brilliantly: "There's no comparison," he said, "except in both events you get hot and sweaty."

After the kerfuffle of refueling figures yesterday (some cars took on less fuel than others because the pumps were running hot) the figures seemed to have balanced out a bit today. The HSV Maloo took on the most fuel (about 55 litres) but this made up for the fact that it took on less than expected on day one.

The Ford XR6 Turbo took on about 47 litres today. So with the two days combined, the HSV Maloo and Ford XR6 Turbo are separated by just 3 litres of consumption. However, these are provisional figures only until the cars are refueled on the final day.

Among the tiny tots, the petrol-powered Suzuki Alto is giving the diesel city cars a decent run for their money. The Alto took on about 26 litres today, and the diesel MINIs took on about 23 litres. The sole diesel Fiesta ECOnetic took the least amount of fuel, sipping just 21 litres today.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai and Kia softroaders (two each from both brands) continued their argy bargy among themselves, all sipping fuel at a rate of about 5L/100km or so. Both vehicles are powered by the same, new generation 2.2-litre common-rail high pressure injection turbo diesel engine. Even though Kia and Hyundai are related, the teams are definitely divided.

Inside the HSV Maloo
My turn to drive today, with nine hours of driving the second longest day of the event. Unfortunately we got off to a bad start. I started the engine 15 seconds before we were waved off the line. Doh! Luckily HSV engineer and co-driver Gerry Bechet didn't give me too much grief for wasting our precious fuel.

Little did I know there was some consolation around the corner. As we joined the main highway at the start, we noticed the Falcon XR6 Turbo go past the intersection -- even though it should have been two minutes up the road. It turns out they turned right instead of left onto the highway. There but for the grace of God go us, I say.

The first hour or so today was much tougher than I expected, keeping the Maloo down into the high 7s on the instant fuel consumption meter. Even though it's hot at 8am, it still took a little while for all the mechanical fluids to get up to proper operating temperature, plus the terrain was quite hilly at first. So, after a slow start, we started to get into a rhythm after the first hour.

As was the case yesterday, we caught the XR6 Turbo early, at about the two hour mark this time. They seem to average a slightly slower speed than us and build speed later. We tend to run better at a higher average speed.

There is a strict ban on drafting, so it is hard to overtake. Fortunately there was a long straight and no traffic as we got close to each other. We were on the wrong side of the road (broken lines) for almost a minute as we inched past.

All the teams are friendly towards each other, and it's the same with this Holden v Ford battle. With a nod and a wave we were on our way. Slowly.

About an hour or so after that, a local ute fan came out in his black VU Holden SS ute to give us some support. It belonged to Jason Keys, a mechanic at Larrimah, about 500km south of Darwin. He followed us for a while, and then disappeared into the dust.

We saw him up the road a short while later; he'd gone ahead to get some video of us. He'd heard about the new HSV Maloo heading his way at his local, the Pink Panther Pub at Larrimah, and came out to give the HSV and Holden teams a boost. Thanks Jason, hope you get that kangaroo dent in the bonnet fixed one day.

After about four-and-a-half hours (halfway time-wise), it was time to swap drivers. My ankle was sore and my heels were starting to cook on the floor. We took a quick toilet break and refilled the esky. We are each drinking at least five litres of water and electrolytes a day at the moment. It still doesn't feel like enough.

Gerry was fresh and got straight into it. He made the last half look easy, but it wasn't. We had strong headwinds again as the breeze built up and mini tornados swirled across the road in front of us.

We made make-shift sun screens out of rubber gauze you use in bathrooms and stuck them on the glass like you would a baby sun-shade. It's not pretty but it keeps the sun off our necks, hands and arms, and the keeps the cabin a little cooler. We also treated ourselves to three short bursts of air-conditioning today (thanks task master Gerry!). It was awesome, but it only lasted a total of three minutes out of nine hours driving. I'm not sure who's more determined to record good figures: Gerry or me.

We also drove past a guy towing an old, half-cut Suzuki Carry van towed by two camels. We sent the HSV support guys back to snap a shot. It was the most interesting thing we've seen so far on the trip (although the earthquake was the most interesting experience). The guys in the HSV support car, an LPG Senator, are in good spirits. The pair of them, Rob Davis and Leigh Russell, have begun calling Gerry "Gary". For some reason there was a misprint on the entry form and so the organizers keep calling him "Gary". Funnily enough, Gerry says he doesn't mind the name.

Pace notes and other observations
After pointing out how much fuel the Tesla electric car is using thanks to its diesel powered truck and diesel powered generator that follows it everywhere, we thought it only fair to have a look at the rest of the support vehicles.

The HSV team has one car: an LPG Senator. Holden's Omega wagon team has two cars (a Commodore SV6 wagon and a diesel Cruze sedan) and the tiny Suzuki Alto has a Grand Vitara 4WD following it. The trio of diesel MINIs are being pursued by a 2.0 diesel BMW X3 softroader and Ford has a fleet of two Mondeos, and two Territorys to follow two Eco cars. Hyundai has a pair of identical softroaders following its two entrants, while Kia has a 4WD and a Hino support truck.

We should add up the fuel for all the support vehicles and have a category for them as well. Now that would be interesting...

First stop was Hidden Valley Raceway about 10km south of Darwin city centre.

While the solar cars were put to the test on the track to decide the starting order for their event which starts tomorrow (Sunday), we only got as far as the pits -- for scrutineering.

All the production vehicles in the Eco Challenge were checked to make sure they had the appropriate safety equipment and were in good working order. Then our fuel tanks were brimmed at the BP nearby and the fuel flaps sealed with a self-voiding label.

The field then had to drive back into the city. Some competitors didn't realise that once the tanks were sealed, the Eco Challenge actually started as soon as we left the service station, rather than the starting ceremony in Darwin. There were a few red faces and disappointed people once they realised this.

The 18 production cars competing in the Eco Challenge (which starts one day ahead of the Solar Car Race) left Darwin's centre square from 12.30pm at two minute intervals. The HSV team was lucky; we drew starting place number three at the driver's briefing the night before.

Each team was asked to literally pull a raffle ticket out of a hat. HSV team member Rob Davis was the man with the lucky fingers.

Car two on the road was the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo and car four wasn't a car. It was journalist James Stanford who is very bravely attempting this trek on a postie bike. He was wearing leathers under the white suit and a cape on the start line, but stripped off to more suitable attire once he left town.

Being at the head of the field meant we encountered less traffic. All competitors, where practical, must keep apart and not drive in convoy. After 20km of nerve-wracking city driving (which had a few ambiguous route instructions just to keep us on our toes) we finally hit the open road, bound for our first stop at Katherine, about 320km south of Darwin.

Normally this drive would take less than three hours because the speed limit on the open road is 130km/h. But the Eco Challenge cars typically averaged about 75km/h because the maximum travel time is five hours -- after this penalties are added.

We're not aware of anyone exceeding the time limit as yet, but even as I write this late on Saturday night, it is hard to get results.

All I know is how much fuel the cars around us used.

The diesel-powered MINIs used between 12 and 14 litres for the trip. The petrol powered Suzuki Alto used about 14. And our HSV Maloo ute used about 19 litres. The nearest performance car rival, the Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan, took about 24 when the technical director refueled each car in Katherine.

Inside the HSV Maloo
We did an interview with ABC TV Darwin and it got a run on the nightly news. I told them that people think the only thing that's green about our car is the paint job, but I pointed out that V8s are pretty economical on the open road. Especially if you drive the way we do, averaging between 60km/h and 75km/h depending on conditions.

HSV engineer Gerry Becher and I are getting along well (pictured), especially considering the conditions in which we'reworking. To save fuel, we have switched the air-conditioning off, as most teams have. And with 38 to 40 degree temperatures outside, it get very hot very quickly. We reckon it's about 45 degrees inside.

We only met yesterday afternoon, so I guess we will know each other pretty well after spending the next six days, 10 hours a day, in the confines of a ute. We're both into mountain bikes, so there's plenty to talk about other than cars.

Gerry drove today because he has more experience at driving a V8 in the city. We got caught out by a few red lights and some slow drivers, but it wasn't too bad. At least we didn't make a wrong turn, which would have cost us dearly.

We are both taking in plenty of fluids (water and electrolytes) but we seem to sweat it out straight away. My black Popular Science T-shirt has salt swirls from how much salt my body is losing.

We had the windows down about 1cm each for most of the day. But after closing the windows late in the day we think having the luxury of the windows down a fraction may have cost us some fuel, maybe 0.1L/100km. So we may tough it out with windows up from here on in.

We passed the Tesla electric sportscar as we left Darwin, within the first 20 minutes of the drive. That surprised us, as it left four minutes ahead.

Later, we had a bit of a battle (not that you could really call it that) with the Falcon XR6 Turbo sedan. They left two minutes ahead of us, but we caught them at about two and a half hours into the drive.

They were faster up hills and we were faster down hills. We swapped positions (and gave each other plenty of room, plus a friendly nod and a wave -- it's amazing how much spare time you have at 60km/h) a couple of times before we eventually drifted apart.

We ended up leading the (slow moving) field until about half an hour out of Katherine when one of the diesel MINIs blasted past.

Clearly one of the three Cooper D entered isn't fussy about economy and just wanted to get there. It ended up taking 14 litres whereas the other Minis took on 12 litres. We took on about 19 litres and the XR6T took on about 24 litres.

While our figure looks impressive, we aren't getting too excited yet. For safety reasons, event organisers aren't brimming each car until the last day. If each car is brimmed, the fear is that fuel could spill onto the very hot cars and possibly cause a fire.

It will be much safer to brim all cars at the end of the last day when conditions are cooler. The results will still be accurate because cars that take in less fuel during the challenge will still need to take more on at the end.

We face a bit of a nervous day tomorrow. It is one of the longest stages, travelling 669km from Katherine to Tennant Creek. We hope we have enough fuel to make it on one tank. Fingers crossed, wish us luck!

Pace notes and other observations
The Tesla electric sportscar, the world's quickest EV (it accelerates to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 200km/h) has been given special permission to drive on public roads for this event. Driven by event sponsor Simon Hackett, founder of internet service provider Internode, it will lead the field each day.

However there is some debate about the claim it won't use a drop of fuel. The car itself won't use a drop of fuel, but the truck following it with a generator (allowing it to be recharged along the route) does use quite a bit of fuel and emit quite a bit of C02.

According to the truck driver, it is expected to use 700 litres of diesel driving from Darwin to Adelaide. And the generator (which powers the fast charger, allowing the Tesla to be recharged in three and a half hours) uses between 5 and 10 litres of diesel in that time.

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