TomTom has announced support of the Technical University Delft-based team in the Sasol Solar Challenge. TomTom will be providing the 8 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 laying the foundations for the future of driving through its innovation in designing solar powered cars.

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. Starting on 24th September, the global competition will see participants travel from Pretoria to Cape Town covering up to 4 500km in 8 days on solar power alone. 

TomTom is providing the Nuon Solar team with its technical, product and data expertise* in order to ensure that they can plan the perfect race. With the event taking place on public roads, TomTom’s data and routing devices will be critical in helping the team gain a competitive edge. The TomTom 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 helping 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.”

World-famous sailor Bouwe Bekking, team coach of the Nuon Solar Team, said: “We’re very grateful for the support from TomTom. Its 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.”