Filed under: Biodiesel, Etc., Ethanol, EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Green Culture, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Solar, Vegetable Oil, Carbon Offset, Green Daily
Zero Rally Africa gears up for 2009
Not a heck of a lot of information is available yet on the Zero Rally Africa, but since there's about 14 months to go before the thing kicks off, this isn't really a problem. What we do know about the rally is that it's a 4,000 km, ten-day jaunt up from Cape Town through South Africa, Namibia and then over to Victoria Falls in Zambia. All sorts of alternative technology vehicles can take part (the website says that "electric, solar, hybrid, hydrogen and bio-fuel vehicles" are welcome), and the goal is to make the race carbon neutral. Whether that's through offsets or what is not stated. The organizers say, "The rally will travel through some of the most dramatic landscape in the world including the greatest solar radiation area on earth.
The event will be an endurance challenge, a demonstration of the viability and practicality of planet-friendly vehicles."
Sounds like fun.
[Source: Zero Rally Africa via WorldChanging]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 10:38PM (11/04/2007)
It looks like they're trying to be an eco-alternative to the Dakar Rally. Interesting idea - but hard to take the effort seriously yet, with a single-page web site.
While it's hard to consider the Dakar (or most any racing, for that matter) a green event, the Dakar is one of the few motorsport events that has remained true to its roots over the years. I find it worthwhile to watch for that reason.
Quick Googling didn't turn up much other specific info on the Zero Rally. Anyone familiar with this event?
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why not the LS2LS7? 1:15AM (11/05/2007)
14 months?
In January most of the long-distance roads in these areas are impassible. They're silt roads and in the rainy season they turn into horrible mud.
They'd be far smarter to do it 10 months from now.
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Phil L. 8:47AM (11/05/2007)
January means they benefit from the Dakar's coverage and exposure. http://www.dakar.com
Though it also means that organizations fielding Dakar teams - that might also be interested in this event - will be fully occupied.
The rally's site doesn't directly discuss the roads they plan to use - or any other useful details, for that matter. But if they're serious about attracting EV and solar entrants, they'll have to avoid routes featuring the kind of desperately difficult terrain for which the Dakar is famous.
If they really want to pull this off, they need some big-name sponsors - and commitment from well-known organizations to field entrants. Otherwise this event will be, at best, a footnote mentioned during the Dakar coverage, just before a commercial break.
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