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| Official Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Contest Map 1982-5 Big Sur California: The toughest and most beautiful road in America Where Fuel Economy History was made | ||||||||
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| This was a serious course. It included city driving which forced the designers to deal with putting their feet down. Most of it was 55 miles per hour. As the riders approached the Big Sur area, the road became a series of hairpin curves. At Hurricane Point, the wind would suddenly shift directions. Even if you knew it was coming, it was scary. This is where we learned that rounded sides are necessary in side winds. I rode the course many times on many different vehicles, all rides at posted speed limits. I determined that the official time would be 2 hours, 43 minutes. I cannot emphasize how hard this was to ride. There was no room for mistakes. I do not believe a motor home could do it in 2 hours, 43 minutes. The entrants began at San Luis Obispo, were gassed up to a common level and the tanks sealed with a band of hot melt glue. At Carmel, the glue seal was checked for integrity and the tank carefully topped of to original level. In 1983, 84 and 85, we scheduled the Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Contest to coincide with the Laguna Seca Race. The best finishing winners on Saturday were invited to compete on the race track the next day, Sunday. We had the Final, "Nickel Race" where everybody got five cents worth of fuel. After a LeMans start, I led the pack around the race track at 55 miles per hour. One by one, contestants ran out of fuel and rolled to a stop. Tha last one running was the winner. For the last two years of the contest, that man was Matsu Matsuzawa. Craig Vetter | ||||||||
| This page updated June 27, 2006 | ||||||||
