Volvo announces Fuel Challenge winner

Volvo has hosted the finals for The Drivers' Fuel Challenge competition in Sweden, with Austrian driver Christian Scheiflinger topping the list of 23 finalists

Austrian truck driver Christian Scheiflinger (pictured) has emerged victorious in the world finals of The Drivers' Fuel Challenge 2014, a global fuel-efficiency competition held by Volvo that culminated on Friday, September 19.

A total of around 11,000 participants scattered across the globe entered the contest, with that vast number eventually whittled down to 23 finalists who battled it out in the finals in Gothenburg, Sweden.

This year's finalists included two Australians – Grant Morice, a Fonterra driver from Tasmania, and Scott Harvey, from NSW's SRH Milk Haulage. Mr Harvey had recently won the Volvo Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Championships while Mr Morice took out that same title last year, but in 2014 it wasn't to be.

The winner was determined by precisely measuring the fuel used over two laps and 6.9km of a test track featuring a variety of gradients and intersections. According to Andrew Low, Driver Development Manager at Volvo Trucks, the course put each of the finalists' skill and knowledge under the microscope.

"All the 23 finalists possess a great skill," he says.

"You have to adapt to traffic and know how to use the enormous power of a fully loaded truck in motion. A knowledgeable driver knows how he or she should use the truck's weight advantageously."

Thirty-year-old Scheiflinger has been driving for eight years, and says knowing your vehicle is crucial when it comes to minimising fuel usage.

"If you have the full understanding of the vehicle – what it's doing and how it reacts – you can improve your driving and improve the fuel efficiency," he says.

The final, which took place in Gothenburg on September 19, is one of many ways for Volvo Trucks to spotlight just how much difference the driver can actually make.

The project manager of The Drivers' Fuel Challenge, Vesna Jovic, says the competition highlights one of the most pressing concerns in road freight today.

"It's about creating an awareness of how much difference each individual driver can actually make," she says.

"The Drivers' Fuel Challenge is one way for us to contribute to this. Fuel-efficient driving is something that all drivers can learn, but it takes time and hard work every day."

Mr Scheiflinger now gets to choose from one of three experiences: a visit to a stop of the Volvo Ocean Race; a trip to the Volvo China Open golf competition; or a stay at the Icehotel at Jukkasjarvi in northern Sweden.

Volvo announces Fuel Challenge winner

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