TomTom will be providing the eight students with its flagship products to help them propel this year's car, Nuna8s, towards victory. The team, who won last year's World Solar Challenge, is based at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
The Sasol Solar Challenge is held in South Africa every two years and is an impressive demonstration of leading technology and the sophistication and performance of solar powered vehicles. The Challenge starts on 24 September in Pretoria and draws to a close in Cape Town on 1 October covering up to 4,500km in eight days on solar power alone.
TomTom is providing the Nuon Solar team with its technical, product and data expertise. With the event taking place on public roads, TomTom’s says its data and routing devices will help the team gain a competitive edge. The company's Telematics Webfleet fleet management solution will track and connect all the support vehicles in real time and TomTom’s sport watch and action cameras are also assisting the team with valuable data and support during the race.
Corinne Vigreux, co-founder of TomTom and managing director, Consumer, said: “Supporting the team last year was very rewarding for TomTom and the experience also showed us we could do so much more. The bright young minds have such ambition and are innovating in cutting edge technology that will impact the future of driving. We’re proud that our support can keep them focused on important innovation and we wish them the best of luck in the race.”
Bouwe Bekking, team coach of the Nuon Solar Team, said: “[Tom Tom's] action camera saved us a time penalty last year that could have cost us the race! TomTom is this year providing even more data and technical support to help the team make the right decisions on the road and help it stay focused on innovation and winning the race.”
