Ben Wilson, RAC’s Patrol of the Year, sets his sights on MPG Marathon

Among the 1,500 RAC Patrols covering the length and breadth of the UK, there is one which proudly carries the number plate P1 RAC. Each year the coveted registration is handed to the Patrol of the Year, presented at our annual Ambassador Awards.

This year Ben Wilson, from Manchester, picked up the award and was presented with the keys to his new Patrol van, a Mercedes New Vito. RAC CEO Chris Woodhouse gave him the keys and thanked him for his hard work over the last year.

“It’s been a roller coaster of events and I’ve loved every minute of it,” said Ben. “When Chris Woodhouse handed me the keys to my new van it was like all my Christmases had come at once. I felt really proud and the van is just superb!”

Ben earned the coveted title based on his performance throughout the previous year, taking into consideration his mechanical expertise as well as customer service and willingness to go the extra mile for RAC members.

As well as being an award-winning patrol, Ben also took part in a successful record-breaking attempt to travel as far as possible on one tank of fuel. The RAC supported racing driver Rebecca Jackson and motoring journalist Andrew Frankel, as they drove through 14 countries in Europe in an Audi A6 ultra, covering more than 1,000 miles on just one tank of diesel.

Ben will soon be lining up on the start line of the 2015 MPG Marathon, testing the Vito’s fuel efficiency with a full load of 500 parts and tools, the same as carried by every patrol.

Ben said: “I’m really looking forward to taking part in the 2015 MPG Marathon in September and seeing what we can do in the Vito. It’s a great opportunity to use this as a benchmarking exercise for fuel efficiency which can be applied to the rest of the RAC patrol fleet, so it is really useful operationally for us.

“When we were supporting the Record Road Trip I began to appreciate just how effective it was to adopt those fuel-saving driving techniques, especially in a diesel vehicle, so hopefully that will help over the two days of the MPG Marathon.”

Ben will be supported by his colleagues from the RAC refuelling patrol team who will be on-hand around the course to ensure participants keep on the move and that they are operating within the rules of the challenge.

Jenny Powley, sale director corporate at RAC Business, said: “This is another great opportunity for Ben after being crowned patrol of the year and RAC Business is also pleased to be sponsoring the event once again. At RAC Business we understand how important it is for fleets to run efficient vehicles to keep down costs, and managing fuel costs is a major part of that.

“For example the RAC Fuel Card ensures prices are kept at their lowest as they can only be used at supermarket filling stations, and the increasing use of RAC Telematics is enabling fleets to reduce fuel consumption as well as wear and tear to bring down maintenance costs.”