Australia Wins Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Championship
Melbourne, 07 November 2012 – The 2012 Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Championship final, held in Geelong, was won by Australian trucker Chris Sanders. Hotly contested, the field comprised 11 drivers from 8 countries- each of the contestants were already champions in their respective countries, having been through a series of elimination rounds in each of their respective countries.
At the finals in Geelong, it was about finding out who is the most fuel efficient Volvo Truck driver in Asia Pacific.at the end, it was Chris Sanders who was awarded the title- he competed directly against the best of the rest, Liu Jinqiang, the Chinese champion who had earlier won the competition against the other Asia Pacific contestants.
Participants from the region were from China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, in addition to Australia, who sent their best drivers – the competition was very intense, with minute differences in the fuel consumption at the very top. The test track was at the AARC (Australian Automotive Research Centre) to the southwest of Geelong. The final eleven were picked from a total of 2,500 contestants in the region.
Another competition for off-road trucks was won by Sanki Kim from Korea. For the off-road championship, the truck used was a Volvo FMX 6×4, while the on-road contest utilised a Volvo FH540. The on-road contest covered 19 kilometres of test track whilst the off-road contest covered 6 kilometres.
APAC Champion Chris Sanders mastered the course with the least amount of fuel used, accounting for a consumption of up to 20 percent less than his defeated colleagues, demonstrating the profound impact that a driver has on the fuel consumption of a truck.
“I am feeling delighted. I came over here intending to win, but I was not expecting it,” Chris Sanders said. Chris’ father bought the family’s business’ first Volvo truck in1968. “Being also an owner, I obviously want to watch my fuel costs, and as a driver I have so much influence on that. I had been working for the Fuelwatch competition for half a year, and all the preparation really paid off!”
“Fuelwatch is a fantastic concept,” stated Joachim Rosenberg, President of Volvo Group Trucks, Sales and Marketing and JVs APAC. “Many people think of Fuelwatch only as a competition, but it is more than that. Fuelwatch is in fact most importantly a competence development effort. It helps us, the drivers, and their companies, to think more about how to save fuel, how to care for the environment. In addition, Fuelwatch is also Volvo Trucks’ way of addressing the society, making sure that we impact the industry, to drive progress in terms of fuel efficiency.”
Given the importance of Fuelwatch, Joachim Rosenberg also expressed his confidence about the future of the competition: “I can promise, we will continue with Fuelwatch in Asia Pacific. And with the years, it will also become a global event.”
This year’s event marks the third anniversary of the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch contest. Both Chris Sanders and Asia road champion Liu Jinqiang will be invited to the headquarters of Volvo Trucks in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The purpose of Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch competition is to encourage and inculcate fuel efficient driving skills and techniques. Fuelwatch aims to educate on how to achieve maximum performance at minimal cost, by acknowledging the vital role drivers play in this process, which allows for a decreased fuel consumption of up to 30 percent with proper training in place.
