IMG, promoter of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, has announced that it is undertaking a technical trial of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) in-car connectivity with Vodafone. The trial will provide an initial step toward making World RX a fully connected FIA World Championship.
Vodafone’s M2M business unit is a market leader in the automotive space of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT), innovation that is revolutionising the automotive industry. The application of connected car technology is expanding rapidly and is expected to grow exponentially in the next five years, with an estimated 250m connected cars on the road by 2020.
The trial, which will run to the end of the current season, will see the MINI Supercars of the JRM Racing team compete with the technology onboard. It will provide data on a number of key elements of the cars’ performance such as acceleration, braking forces and collision analysis. Ultimately the new data will enable greater detailed race analysis for television coverage and could also provide quick and accurate crash reconstruction simulations for informing stewards’ enquiries. The aim is for the technology developed to be rolled out across all the World RX Supercar teams for the 2016 season
“It is an honour to agree terms with Vodafone Automotive with the ambition of becoming the first connected FIA World Championship,” stated Paul Bellamy, World RX managing director for IMG. “Vodafone is pioneering in telematics technology and World RX can offer a unique platform to develop and test future automotive technologies in conjunction with a number of vehicle manufacturers. As for World RX, we are delighted to be involved in the growth of the connected car market, which will benefit not only the teams and regulations within the sport, but also our fans who will have access to unique data for the first time. We look forward to exploring ways of incorporating some of Vodafone’s vast range of technologies into World RX and working with the market leader in the development of connected car technology.”
