CENTO MIGLIA CLASSIC CAR ECONOMY RUN ? Sunday 17th April

Ten classic car teams with three moderns contested this year?s Cento Miglia Economy Run. The route ran from Warragul to Nilma North, along the Old Sale Rd to Westbury, northwards to Erica and onward to the Thompson Dam before returning to Traralgon via Rawson and Tyers ? a total distance of 153km. Kevin Riley with Glenn Campbell as navigator in the supercharged 5.5-litre V8 Merc set fastest time arriving at the BP service station in Traralgon almost 25 minutes before the next team. Unfortunately their pace was at the expense of economy with the big V8 being the thirstiest in the field returning only 20.7mpg or 13.5 L/100km.

Ian Maud proved once again that a supercharged engine is not necessarily a thirsty one. The MR2 when driven on a light throttle is amazingly frugal and returned a winning 5.78 L/100km or 48.9mpg. In second place by not more than a cupful of fuel were Ian and Carol Mallows in the twin-Weber equipped Lotus Elan; an amazing effort for a car designed with fuel economy as no more than an afterthought. Third place outright was Mal Collins in the 1300cc Mini Deluxe aided no doubt by his car?s very tall final drive and 12? wheels.? Graeme Longhurst?s similarly engined Cooper S? drank about 20% more through its twin carbs even though it wasn?t carrying a navigator and shadowed Mal around the whole course.

In Class C, Ian Murray?s 2-litre BMW cabriolet was significantly more economical than the MGBs of Sandra Goddard and Gavan Budge who returned similar results from their iconic English sports cars. The Schreyers and Millers in similar classic, metallic-green, V8 Mustangs had no answer to David Anderson?s MGBGT V8 in the Over 3-Litre class, which returned a very creditable 33mpg. The two classic Mustangs and Robert Coustley?s bright red 2016 model returned between 24 and 26 mpg; surprisingly similar when you consider there?s almost fifty years of development between the models. The modern category was taken out by Phil Barnard driving his silver Porsche Boxster. The normally aspirated 2.7 litre flat-six-engined roadster returned almost 43mpg or 6.6 L/100km.

The event seemed to run smoothly and It was a nice surprise to have a few local Sporting Register members joining us in the park at Traralgon for our lunch and presentations.

Scroll down for the complete results.

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