Economy Runs Part 1

Before the advent of computerise and laboratory testing, obtaining a vehicles fuel efficiency figures was achieved with economy runs. Event participants followed a very detailed set of route instructions over a set distance. The route, spread over a number of days, had timed controls at the start, finish and rest stops, with marshalled controls around every 30 miles.

The Hants & Berks involvement in economy runs began in the mid-1950s, the Mobil Oil Company, which had been sponsors of American Economy Runs since the 1930s, entered the UK service station market in 1952. Mobil was keen to establish a similar event on UK soil and in 1956 enlisted the organisation skills of the Club.

During its partnership the Hants & Berks developed the Mobil Economy Run into a highly technical event with sophisticated fuel measuring techniques, leading to most car manufacturers using Mobil Economy Run fuel consumption figures in advertising.

After many years of success, in 1967 Mobil decided it would no longer finance the event, which was now costing a small fortune to run. However, the Clubs involvement with economy runs continued as you can read on in Part 2 of the Economy Run archive gallery.

The following shows a selection of images from some of our organised events from 1959 to 1966.