New Record: 4,414 km Set on One Litre of Fuel

LAUSITZ, Germany, May 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Team Polyjule Polytech' Nantes Sets New Record With Prototype Hydrogen Car

- Shell Eco-marathon All-Time Best Record Unseats Previous Standing Since 2005

Day one of the 2010 edition of the Shell Eco-marathon certainly has proved nothing less than eventful, with an all-time record set during the very first day of racing. Team Polyjule Polytech Nantes from France pushed the boundaries of fuel efficiency by clocking up the equivalent of a massive 4,414km on a single litre of fuel.

The team's hydrogen-powered Prototype vehicle has at last unseated the previous record holders, ETH Zurich of Switzerland, whose record of 3,836 kilometres on a single litre of fuel has stood since 2005-again, set with a hydrogen Prototype vehicle.

Commenting on the new record, Pauline Tranchard, team leader, said: "Believe it or not, the car broke down yesterday on the fifth trial run, so we're ecstatic to have been able to pull together the combined efforts of all of the team members not only to get the car back up and running but to smash the previous record so emphatically!".

The team's secret, it says, is perfection. The team has focused this year specifically on enhancing the vehicle's electronics monitoring system which minimises energy loss, a key contribution to setting the new record. The team is made up of students from both the Polytechnique de Nantes, a third-level engineering school, and Lycée La Joliverie, a second-level institution in the same town.

Racing at the Shell Eco-marathon 2010 kicked off a day earlier than anticipated. The wet and windy weather forecast for today has arrived with a vengeance, and in anticipation of the bad weather, race organisers invited the teams to go on track yesterday, Wednesday 05 May, in order to allow all the maximum number of attempts possible. Race organisers are monitoring the situation constantly and racing has been postponed until further notice. The good news is that sun is forecast for tomorrow so all teams should be back on track at the latest by tomorrow morning. Due to the bad weather the media challenge has also been suspended.

    Pictures are available to download at
http://www.shell.com/ecomarathon/europe or from the Media Centre on site.

SOURCE Shell Eco-marathon