Success for Shepton's Saul in Second 'Start' Showdown!

Having launched into action at Shepton Mallet’s iconic viaduct with speed trials in late June, this time it was Roger Saul (who is renowned for his competitive spirit) who reined victorious in the second round of the 'Start' Eco Car Trials.

Driving small ‘THINK’ electric cars, this time the focus was on economy rather than speed.   The challenge was to see who could get to London, from Brighton, with the smallest possible carbon footprint.  In the challenge, Roger Saul beat TV Presenter Kevin McCloud, and BBC’s Radio 4’s Peter Curran - who has just returned from a month long journey around Europe testing how easy (or difficult) it would be to 'plug in as you go'.  

The challenge formed part of the Bridgestone Eco Car Rally which placed the three THINK City cars alongside exotic machines like a very sexy looking battery powered Ginetta supercar, a flight of three electric 0/60 in under 4 seconds Teslas and a host of serious Eco cars from Tata to Mini E with the legendary Paddy Hopkirk at the wheel, not to mention a host of serious motoring and sustainability celebrities.

Setting out from the heart of motoring speedways, Madeira Drive and arriving at the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park a 'THINK' engineer quickly established that the journey only cost Roger Saul £1.19, while Kevin McCloud spent £1.54 and Peter Curran spent £1.62.  For comparison, a modern salon doing 40mph would on average use £7.69 worth of fuel plus £8 London congestion charge, plus parking costs. The train may well have been faster (though lets not get started on that right now) but it would have cost nearly 20 times as much!

Like all vehicles, being heavy footed won't help the economy figures, and Kevin McCloud's excuse for not winning involves such heavy footed behaviour!  "Kevin just could not resist the chance to show a boy racer that he was having none of it, the red mist came down as his Red Think out dragged the Alfa off the line.  Roger meanwhile hunkered down in the slipstream of the Red Think and his very Blue Think just bided its time."

Start is the creation of HRH The Prince of Wales to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives, aiming to demonstrate what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like and how each individual can make a start.

The Start Festival is taking place in London and running from the 8-19th September 2010. The Start Eco Car Spectacular, which is to be curated by Roger Saul, will be open to the public on Sunday 12 September and will take place on the The Mall, one of the most iconic streets in the world.  This event will showcase an exciting display of the World’s most innovative eco super cars, runabouts and concept cars, with an array of new motoring inventions and environmental motoring solutions.

It is really exciting that Shepton Mallet, once again, has links to pioneering work.  If you check the history books you will find this seems to be a common occurrence for our oft maligned town, one that is probably beyond coincidence.

Do you know of any more shining examples of Shepton or its people playing a part in a brighter environmental or economical future? Let us know!