The race was held to promote awareness of the benefits of ecodriving to the public: it has been estimated that ecodriving can lead to 10-15% fuel reductions, and cost savings of more than 300 Euros per year. But not only does ecodriving reduce emissions, it is also considered to be a less stressful, and safer driving style.

The EU-funded iMobility Challenge project (co-ordinated by the FIA) hosted the competition, in the Yildiz public park in Istanbul. Participating drivers included the recently crowned 9-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb (see notes to the editor for the full list of participating drivers). Among the attendees were FIA Club Presidents, Turkish politicians, and the co-hosts, the Turkish Automobile Club TOSFED.

An ENERFY on-board device monitored the energy efficiency of the drivers’ performance, while LeasePlan supported the FIA by providing the vehicle brands of the different series winners (GT1, WRC, WTCC and WEC).

FIA President Jean Todt said “Today’s ecodriving competition among outstanding champions demonstrates how we can all use intelligent driving behaviour to be both safer and more efficient”.

The key rules of ecodriving are:

• Anticipating the traffic flow;
• Maintaining a steady speed at low RPM;
• Shifting gears up early;
• Checking tyre pressure regularly, and;
• Refraining from using extra energy by using air conditioning and other electrical equipment wisely.

The iMobility Challenge is a European Commission funded project to promote efficient, clean and safe mobility through ICT systems.  Intelligent vehicle systems such as gear shift indicators, tire pressure monitoring systems, and start-stop systems which can improve every day driving efficiency are increasingly becoming available, as are ‘cooperative systems’ which provide vehicles with real time information about traffic disruptions and the most efficient routes available.

At the end of the afternoon’s race, the GT champions Marc Basseng and Marcus Winkelhock were declared the 2012 iMobility Challenge ecodriving winners.

The winners of this year’s GT1, WEC, WRC, and WTCC competitions took part

For further information: www.iMobilityChallenge.eu