TWO Honda workers from Swindon have 8,500 miles of road between them and a world record which is set to test their employer’s fuel efficiency.

Fergal McGrath, 43, and Julian Warren, 49, who have been colleagues at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) for 18 years, will drive a Honda Civic Tourer for 25 days across Europe as part of a record attempt.

The official Guinness World Records title is Lowest Fuel Consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries, which will require the Highworth Road pair to cover 370 miles every day.

They start in Aalst, Belgium, on Monday June 1 and will navigate the continent in a clockwise direction, with the aim of returning there in 25 days.

“We are very much looking forward to the record attempt, and while we’re excited, we’re both a little nervous about the scale of the task that awaits us,” said Fergal. “A huge amount of planning has gone into taking on this challenge and we look forward to what we hope will be a successful result when we return to Brussels on June 25. But we’ve got more than 170 hours behind the wheel to contend with first.”

Honda wants to test its 1.6 i-DTEC engine, which has outperformed its quoted fuel efficiency in independent tests, by attempting this record for the first time in Europe. Under the rules of the record attempt, the same two drivers must be in the car for every kilometre of the journey, who will drive for approximately seven-and-a-half hours every day.

The fuel consumption will be measured in litres per 100km and miles per gallon across the entire journey. Based on strict and rigorous guidelines, the record attempt requires the car to enter each of the 24 countries specified, collecting a range of evidence including a fuel/mileage logbook, GPS readings, video, photographs and independent witness signatures to prove that it has done so.

Philip Crossman, managing director of Honda UK, said: “Since its launch in 2013 we have seen the 1.6 i-DTEC engine consistently overperform on real-world fuel efficiency in our Civic, Civic Tourer and CR-V models.

“This is our opportunity to put it to the ultimate test on a huge scale. We are very confident of a great result and we wish the team all the very best of luck as they take on the challenge.”

The car which attempts the record must be a standard model in every respect. with no modifications to give an advantage.

This will be judged by an independent witness at the beginning and end of the record attempt. The car can only travel by road, therefore the route does not extend to the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, which make up the remainder of the 28 EU countries. In order To ensure no unfair advantage by reducing weight, the tank of the car must be filled to the maximum at each fuel stop.

The record attempt can be followed at tracker.co.uk/realfuelchallenge or on Twitter with #RealFuelChallenge.