WORLD EXCLUSIVE by Scottish Energy News
Two Scottish-based companies are sponsoring the first BPV (battery-powered vehicle) in a 10,000km Anglo-Siberian road race to raise money for ‘green’ charities.
Livingston-based Route Monkey is sponsoring Plug-In Adventures of Aberdeenshire and driver Chris Ramsey to take on the Mongol Rally road race to Ulan Ude in eastern Russia in a Nissan LEAF electric car.
Route Monkey – the BPV performance optimisation specialist which is part of the Trakm8 Group – is supporting Chris’s trip in aid of charities Cool Earth and WWF Scotland.
Trakm8 is also donating a dash-cam from its RoadHawk division, so that Chris and his co-driver can record high-quality footage of his epic journey. The RoadHawk HD-2 supplies some of the highest quality footage on the market, and is also one of the best dash cams for recording footage in low light or at night time.
Colin Ferguson, Managing Director, Fleet and Optimisation for Trakm8 Group, said: “Plug In Adventures and Route Monkey share a common goal.
“We both want to remove misconceptions about range anxiety and help people make the switch to BPVs/ electric cars.
“We are therefore proud to sponsor Chris and his co-driver on what will be an incredible journey, while also raising money for two great causes.”
The Mongol Rally is the latest in a series of high-profile, myth-busting BPV journeys undertaken by Plug In Adventures. Their drivers also succeeded in travelling from John O’ Groats to Land’s End and back again in under 24 hours, as well as from Edinburgh to Monte Carlo and back in under 60 hours.
Chris said: “This is undoubtedly our biggest challenge to date, but we can’t wait to get started. We’re very grateful to Route Monkey and the Trakm8 group for both their sponsorship and the RoadHawk dash cam, which will prove invaluable in recording our adventures.”
The 10,000-mile Mongol Rally started in 2004 as a charity drive and has managed to raise £5 million for charity to date. There is no set route and no support; participants have to rely on their wits to reach the finish line.
Route Monkey analyses automative transport fleets to help them identify where BPVs could achieve the biggest environmental and financial impact. Its EVOS software optimises the use of EVs within a fleet, helping to improve the return on investment. It is also the developer of MyRouteMonkey, an innovative EV journey planner.
Route Monkey is also a pioneer in the optimisation of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), energy management solutions and Intelligent Mobility.
Chris added: “This is undoubtedly our biggest challenge to date, but we can’t wait to get started. We’re very grateful to Route Monkey and the Trakm8 group for both their sponsorship and the RoadHawk dash cam, which will prove invaluable in recording our adventures.”.
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