Toyota Prius to make motor sport history

29 May 2002: Two rallying amateurs will enter the motor sport record books in June as the crew of the world's first petrol/electric hybrid rally car. Londoners, Nik Berg (32) and Tim Bampton (33) will compete in a Toyota Prius, the world's first mass production petrol/electric hybrid car, on a three week, 5,000 mile marathon rally from the north of Sweden to the shores of the Red Sea in Jordan.

Just as the motor car pioneers of the early 20th Century proved the capabilities of their new fangled machines by competing on inter-city races across Europe, the rally Prius will cover over 5,000 miles (8,000km) through 10 countries in just 20 days. In that time they will tackle over 40 special stages totalling more than 450 miles (720km) on tarmac, gravel and desert.

The event, known as The Midnight Sun to Red Sea Rally, is sanctioned by motor sport's governing body, the FIA, making Prius the first hybrid car ever to enter an officially recognised motor sport event.

The route runs from Ostersund in Sweden to Aqaba in Jordan. Across the Baltic, through remote, seldom seen parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania and then along the Aegean Coast of Turkey and into the Lawrence of Arabia deserts of Syria and Jordan. From the land of the Midnight Sun to the Red Sea.

Prius and the technology within it have won Toyota many awards around the world, but competition was never part of the plan for this most eco friendly of cars until Nik Berg had the idea to enter one in the Midnight Sun to Red Sea Rally.

The aim is reliability and reaching the finish in Jordan.

The rally starts in Ostersund, in northern Sweden on Monday, 3 June. The route then heads through Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Syria before reaching the finish in Jordan on Friday, 21 June.

You can follow the progress of the Prius via the Toyota web site (www.toyota.co.uk). The site will carry live satellite tracking of the car's position throughout the event thanks to sponsor, TRACKER.

May 2002