Malaysia keen to host Eco-marathon
14/8/2008 17:47
Oil giant the Royal Dutch Shell plans to bring its prestigious
Eco-marathon competition to Asia next year, and its local unit Shell Malaysia is
bidding to become the first Asian nation to host the event, Malaysian media
reported today.
Shell Malaysia chairman Saw Choo Boon said the company is
working hard to realize this dream.
"Shell is promoting the goal of fuel
efficiency through our Shell Eco-marathon, which is currently being held
annually only in Europe and North America where teams of university students
compete fiercely to produce a vehicle with the best fuel mileage over a given
distance on the track," he said.
"We, in Shell Malaysia, are preparing
ourselves and trying hard to bring this Eco-marathon to the country. We hope we
are successful. We will know the decision by the end of the fourth quarter," the
New Straits Times quoted Saw as saying.
Given the dynamism of the oil and gas
industry in Asia, Saw said, it is good that Eco-marathon will be held in the
region.
"With world crude oil prices spiraling, probably our Asian university
students would be able to come out with the best solutions on fuel efficiency,"
he said.
During this year's Eco-marathon, the European winner achieved an
incredible 3,382km per liter of fuel, he said.
The Eco-marathon can cultivate
interest, especially among university students, in fuel efficiency, Saw
said.
"It is hoped that university students will be more aware and do more
research and development in fuel efficiency," he added.
The Shell
Eco-marathon began in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the United States
as a friendly wager between scientists to see who could get the most miles per
gallon from their vehicles.
From these humble origins, the organized
competition for fuel economy evolved and moved to Europe. The Shell Eco-marathon
in its current form began in 1985 in France, attracting thousands of young
engineers and scientists from 20 European countries. The Shell Eco-marathon
Americas was first held at the California Speedway in 2007.
The principle of
the Shell Eco-marathon is simple: to design and build a vehicle that uses the
least amount of fuel to travel the farthest distance.
At all events, teams
can enter futuristic prototypes: streamlined vehicles where the only design
consideration is reducing drag and maximizing efficiency.
Xinhua
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