Test Of Human Being Together With Machine: Ford Focus Endurance Challenge

Photos past times Mikko David

It just piques your involvement when y'all have an invitation from Ford labeled ‘Top Secret’; after all, it ever implies something exciting. So with the giddiness of a 10-year onetime kid, I clicked ‘open’ together with lo together with behold: it’s an invitation to race—to race for 12 non-stop hours behind the cycle of a Ford Focus TDCi. With thoughts of the glitz together with glamour of the 24 Heures du Mans (‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ for the non-French speakers out there), I instantly did my best impression of Steve McQueen, replied yeah together with encircled my June 4-5 with a big, vivid ruddy circle.

Of course, this isn’t your ordinary endurance race. If this were, it would live a walk inward the green since I was teamed with veteran drivers extraordinaire: Eggay Quesada (Stoplight TV), Brian Afuang (The Manila Times) together with Ira Panganiban (Business Mirror). The rules for the Ford Focus TDCi Challenge are simple: create the most publish of laps piece sipping the to the lowest degree amount of fuel. There are some fine prints inward the rules such every bit mandatory pit stops, driver changes together with designated overtaking spots, but I won’t bore y'all with those details. What’s of import is that in that place are 4 teams inward identical Ford Focuses. And speaking nigh the Focus, we’re running bone-stock TDCi cars with thirty PSI loaded on all 4 corners. In other words, this is just what you’ll instruct at whatsoever Ford showroom. And if you’ve got the coin for a brand-new Focus (it’s a steal at just P 1,099,000) together with to rent the Clark International Speedway for 12 hours, to a greater extent than or less, y'all tin replicate these results on your own.

The objective of this do is simple: to highlight the dissimilar capabilities together with attributes of the Focus TDCi. Everyone knows it’s got world-class driving dynamics, after all it’s won the Philippine Touring Car Championship (PTCC) a brace of times already). Everyone also knows it’s thirty pct to a greater extent than fuel efficient than other compact cars past times achieving 21 km/L inward the Department of Energy Economy Run together with doing 1,423 kilometers on a unmarried tank inward the Coast-to-Coast challenge. But what if y'all assay putting the treatment together with fuel economic scheme tests together? Now, there’s a challenge every bit the dynamics completely change. Remarkably, no 1 has attempted this earlier together with thence all sixteen participants volition live guinea pigs of some sort.

Thankfully, the conditions cooperated at the Clark International Speedway on the hateful solar daytime of the endurance challenge. It was the commencement calendar week of June, but it didn’t experience similar rainy flavor at all every bit it was blistering hot on the race track. The 2 sedans together with 2 hatchbacks were prepared the black earlier to permit all the fluids together with tire pull per unit of measurement area settle properly. After a quick inspection of the vehicles together with a lastly topping off, the race was off. And it’s going to instruct on for the adjacent 12 hours.

Our team’s approach to this race was fairly simple: knowing quite good that each 1 of us had his ain strength; nosotros decided to capitalize on that past times doing a sprint, conserve, balance, sprint combination.

With Eggay in all likelihood having the most circuit driving experience alongside us, nosotros elected for him to start off past times putting inward some competitive lap times together with putting fuel economic scheme on the backburner. Thanks to his ultra-smooth manner of driving, our squad was inward the Pb past times the terminate of the commencement hour. Putting inward around 23 laps, Eggay eked out 15.38 km/L. Being non together with thence familiar with circuit racing, I decided to concentrate on producing fuel-efficient laps. Going at a steady 45-80 km/h around the circuit, in that place was fiddling demand to press downwards on the middle pedal. Simply using the mechanical travelling pocket provided past times the Focus’s all-around independent suspension, the fuel economic scheme meter read 17.54 km/L an threescore minutes later. Though nosotros dropped 2 laps over the leaders on the 3rd hour, nosotros were doing extremely well. Come Brian’s turn, he was able to convey downwards the consumption farther to 18.18 km/L when problems struck our Focus TDCi. Brian all of a abrupt lost drive at the corkscrew department of the speedway together with had to telephone telephone inward for assistance. Apparently, something came unloose inward the transmission. After a brace of twisty ties nosotros were cook to go, but nosotros lost 26 minutes together with were at nowadays eleven laps down. We could have got quit the race together with elected to banking concern jibe into the hotel early, but nosotros decided to grapple on. After all, nosotros didn’t aid nigh the prize—our prides were at stake here. The commencement circular of drivers ended with Ira behind the wheel. With something even together with thence non quite correct with the transmission (according to Ira, it was revving uncontrollably through some corners), our consumption dropped to 11.76 km/L.

As the hateful solar daytime wore on, some of the other teams were clearly losing their patience together with composure. Some were doing pretty manic lap times at the consummate expense of fuel economy. There were already some ‘dirty’ overtaking moves on the far side of the traffic. Some corners were cut, some cones were hitting together with some tempers flared. Despite losing both the Pb inward damage of laps completed together with fuel consumed, nosotros didn’t waiver from our strategy at all. We were determined to goal the entire 12 hours, inward the same sprint, conserve, balanced, sprint strategy. Concentrating merely on the labor at hand, Eggay 1 time once to a greater extent than provided some sprinting laps together with every bit a result, recovered 2 laps past times 2 inward the afternoon. His average fuel consumption of 14.92 km/L was bettered past times me to 16.94 km/L past times the terminate of my stint. By the terminate of our 2d stints behind the wheel, it was clear: nosotros were even together with thence inward the running. As long every bit nosotros raced against ourselves together with to our strategy, nosotros tin even together with thence live inward the hunt. However, with 3 hours to go, nosotros opted to build upward for lost laps. Figuring that the setting Sun may hamper the other teams, nosotros pushed our Focus. At the terminate of the 12 hours, most, if non all the teams had tanks running almost dry out together with completed to a greater extent than than 600 kilometers or nigh 175 laps.

So did our strategy work? At the terminate of the 12 hours, our squad completed 728.2 kilometers, that’s compared to the leading team’s 758.3 or seven laps down. We truly made upward 4 laps, no bad at all. As for fuel consumption, because of nosotros pushed towards the latter piece of employment of the day, our overall mileage was a relatively adept 14.61 km/L. Compared to eventual winners, Team 1, they did 17.31 km/L. Suffice to say, nosotros didn’t fare likewise well; ending upward 4th inward a grid of 4 cars. Still, the battle was closer than anyone thought. The reason? Thanks to our smoother driving, nosotros knocked downwards just 1 traffic cone inward the entire 12 hours, compared to Team 3’s xiii cones!

Though nosotros didn’t win the commencement Ford Focus TDCi, what’s to a greater extent than of import is the squad camaraderie that our squad showed. After the long day’s racing, flowing nutrient together with drinkable followed. Despite non lifting the trophy, what’s to a greater extent than of import is nosotros all had a nail together with a adept fourth dimension driving Ford’s oft overlooked compact automobile offering.