Nurburgring gives green light for a comprehensive digitization measure of the world-famous Nordschleife JCN Newswire

Nurburgring gives green light for a comprehensive digitization measure of the world-famous Nordschleife

TOKYO, Jan 23, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - With the support of Fujitsu, the operators of the legendary Nurburgring are showing how history, the present and the future can be optimally combined - for greater safety using advanced AI technology. Especially on the one of the world's most challenging race tracks: the Nordschleife. There, the unique tourist drives in particular can become even safer.The first installations as well as tests and analyses for this groundbreaking project have already been underway for one year. HD cameras were installed along a 2.8-kilometer section and connected with fiberglass. Fujitsu developed an AI system that immediately registers safety-relevant incidents and forwards them to operations management. At future races, track days, tourist drives and test drives by the automotive industry, drivers can be warned immediately of dangers via LED displays on the track, so that everyone involved can assess the situation more quickly and react accordingly.After a year of successful test installations, the partners involved are now drawing a thoroughly positive balance, so that in the next two years the entire Nordschleife can be equipped with the AI-based system without any gaps. The new system is scheduled to be fully operational as early as the 2025 season and will then monitor around 21 kilometers of the Nordschleife."The project is of outstanding importance to us. It equips the world-renowned Nordschleife for the future in terms of safety. For us, it is one of the most extensive innovation measures in the soon-to-be 100-year history of the Nurburgring. Artificial intelligence is the best solution here, because no one would be able to monitor and evaluate the images from so many cameras in real time and take appropriate action. With Fujitsu, we have a partner that not only offers the necessary expertise and suitable solutions, but also shares our passion for this historic track," the managing directors of Nurburgring 1927 GmbH & Co. KG, Christian Stephani and Ingo Boder, explain.The Nordschleife is probably the best-known and longest permanent racetrack in the world. No fewer than 73 curves and particularly challenging sections make the almost 21-kilometer-long track so appealing. For racing drivers, but especially for private drivers who want to test their driving skills apart from the race dates, this is a real challenge. It is not without reason that the "Green Hell," as it was named by racing legend Jackie Steward, enjoys a very special reputation worldwide.In order to ensure the safety of drivers and the public, dangers and incidents are currently reported by radio announcements from so-called track marshals and signaled by waving flags. Naturally, valuable time passes until help is actually on the way and the track is closed if necessary. In the future, with help of the equipment with cameras and artificial intelligence, the aim is to support and accelerate these processes significantly and to lay the foundations for irregularities to be automatically detected and lead to appropriate measures in real time."Especially at the Nurburgring, where racing enthusiasm and tradition come together, safety is the top priority in the interest of professional and private drivers, as well as in the interest of the race track and the organizers. Perfect organization and well-rehearsed processes are already an important basis here. The use of smart technology makes the Nurburgring even safer and innovates the working environment of the employees in the area of track safety. This according to the well-known motto: "Everyone praises what Nurburgring tests", which not only applies to the automotive industry, but can now also be applied to the digital transformation and innovation of the track. Based on this solution, we are already discussing the application of the technology e.g. in public road traffic or other scenarios," Jorn Nitschmann, Head of Digital Transformation Unit DACH at Fujitsu Services GmbH sums up.For this solution, Fujitsu has taken an on-premises approach to ensure minimal system latency and uses a combination of AI methods to meet the specific requirements of the Nurburgring. The software includes AI object recognition to identify vehicles or people on the track. Through image segmentation, it can also distinguish between the race track, gravel and grass surfaces, as well as guardrails and safety fences. In the event of a safety issue, a downstream system alerts incident command and can trigger additional traffic light warnings and initial messages via LED displays at the track. Thanks to its modular design, the system is highly scalable and can be easily extended to new sections of track.About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$32 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: www.fujitsu.com. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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ROOKIE Racing and TOYOTA announce participation in 25-hour endurance race in Thailand JCN Newswire

ROOKIE Racing and TOYOTA announce participation in 25-hour endurance race in Thailand

TOKYO, Dec 12, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - ROOKIE Racing Co., Ltd. (ROOKIE Racing) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced their competition in the IDEMITSU 1500 SUPER ENDURANCE 2022 (Thailand 25H Endurance Race) at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand from December 17 to 18, 2022, with the ORC ROOKIE GR Corolla H2 concept, a hydrogen engine vehicle, and the ORC ROOKIE GR86 CNF Concept, a carbon-neutral (CN) fuel vehicle. The participation will not be for the entire 25-hours but will be for the first and last few hours of the race. This will be the first time for both vehicles to compete in a race outside of Japan. In addition, one of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team Thailand's vehicles is also scheduled to run on CN fuel. Starting with our participation in the Thailand 25H Endurance Race, we strive to increase CN options in Asia, through motorsports.ROOKIE Racing and Toyota participated in the Super Taikyu series in Japan midway through the 2021 season with a hydrogen-powered Corolla and accelerated efforts of "producing," "transporting," and "using" hydrogen together with like-minded partners inside and outside the industry in the interest of helping to achieve a CN society. From the 2022 season, in addition to the hydrogen engine Corolla, we are racing the CN fuel GR86 and continuing to approach the challenge of expanding fuel options using internal combustion engines.In addition, during the ninth round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Ypres in August and the 13th round of the WRC Rally Japan in November, we ran a demonstration of the GR Yaris H2 hydrogen engine vehicle under test development to show European and Japanese rally fans the potential of hydrogen as an option for achieving CN.The Chang International Circuit venue is a major international circuit in Thailand and hosts the Thailand MotoGP, the world's most prestigious motorcycle race. Since its opening in 2014, Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd. has been the circuit's main sponsor and has promoted the development of motorsports in Thailand by holding one-make races there. ROOKIE Racing won the 10-hour IDEMITSU 600 SUPER ENDURANCE 2019, its first entry in a race held at the circuit. In this race, our first entry in three years, we will train our car in an environment different from Japan to accelerate efforts to expand fuel options toward creating a CN society. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Heading Home to Fuji JCN Newswire

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Heading Home to Fuji

TOKYO, Sep 5, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's GR010 HYBRID Hypercar will make its home debut when the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) returns to Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji after a three-year absence.The penultimate round of the 2022 WEC season sees the series return to Fuji Speedway, located 100km west of Tokyo, for the first time since October 2019 and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing targets a fifth consecutive victory on its home track. Close competition over the first four races of the season sees TOYOTA GAZOO Racing lead the manufacturers' standings by 15 points from Alpine following a dramatic 6 Hours of Monza in July. The 2022 Le Mans winners Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, were runners-up in Italy and are second in the drivers' championship, 10 points behind the leading Alpine crew. Reigning champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez finished third at Monza after having contact with another car whilst leading the race, and they aim for a second win of the year in their #7 GR010 HYBRID. Both Kamui and Ryo have already raced at Fuji Speedway this year, in Super Formula. Ryo won the season-opening race there in April to add to his Super GT victory there in 2020. The GR010 HYBRID will race for the first time in front of Japanese fans and partners this weekend, although the 2021 Le Mans-winning example has been exhibited around the country since it made history by becoming the first Hypercar to win at La Sarthe. Fuji Speedway is more than a home race for the team. The hybrid powertrain in the GR010 HYBRID is designed, developed and built just a few kilometres from the track and, for many colleagues from Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, this weekend's race is their first chance to see the car in action. The 4.563km track, which is the shortest on the WEC calendar despite its 1.5km start-finish straight, is also the most successful circuit for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, which has won seven of the eight WEC races, missing out on the top step of the podium only in a difficult 2015 season. Historically, Fuji Speedway played a significant role in Toyota's endurance racing development. The iconic 2000GT sportscar showed its speed with wins in the 1967 24-hour and 1000km races, whilst the Toyota 7 wrote itself into legend with fearsome performances there, including victories in the Fuji 1000km in 1968 and 1969. The All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, a national series for Le Mans-style cars, brought Toyota back into front-line sportscar competition in the 1980s and it became a regular winner at Fuji Speedway, which also hosted Japan's first World Sportscar Championship race in 1982. The circuit, on the foothills of Mount Fuji, was upgraded in 2005 and, while the track lay-out remains unchanged since the first modern WEC race there in 2012, the surroundings will look different thanks to the development of a new motorsport resort, including museum, driving centre, visitor entertainment and hotel. The always-enthusiastic Japanese fans get their first chance to see the Hypercars at Fuji Speedway on Friday, when two 90-minute practice sessions are scheduled. Final practice on Saturday prepares the teams for an early afternoon qualifying, while the race begins at 11am local time on Sunday, 4am CEST.For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wec/release/2022/rd05-preview/. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announces team setup for Nurburgring Endurance Series JCN Newswire

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announces team setup for Nurburgring Endurance Series

TOKYO, Jun 23, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) will compete in Rounds 4 and 6 of the N?rburgring Endurance Series (NLS(1)). Although TGR has decided not to participate in this year?s 24 Hours of N?rburgring Endurance Race(2), it will refine people and cars, and continue its pursuit of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars through domestic testing and participation in the NLS with a view toward next year and beyond.N?rburgring is a demanding course that is 25km in length, has a maximum altitude difference of 300m, and features 172 corners. The N?rburgring 24 Hours Race, which TGR competed in from 2007 to 2021, with the aim of "refining people, refining cars," represents the roots of TGR. The mechanics and engineers, who are Toyota employees, aim to test the cars to their limits and learn how to make them better than ever by gaining experience under even harsher conditions than testing and evaluations conducted on regular test courses. This valuable experience is subsequently fed back into the development of all kinds of vehicles.NLS Round 4 (to be held on June 25) is a 4-hour endurance race and will feature drivers Tatsuya Kataoka, Hiroaki Ishiura, Masahiro Sasaki, and Takamitsu Matsui. NLS Round 6 (to be held on September 10-11) is a 6-hour endurance race held over two days for a total of 12 hours of racing(3).TGR will compete with the LEXUS LC and the new GR86. The LC will be refined through the investment of a significant amount of advanced technology that will be used in future production vehicles, centered around body rigidity, aerodynamic development, and suspension technology. The new GR86 is competing for the first time at N?rburgring. It is equipped with a 2.4-liter engine that is more powerful than the previous model and will take on the challenges of the world?s most demanding course.(1) Nurburgring Langstrecken Series(2) Event dates (May 28-29, 2022) conflict with major races in Japan, which would hinder the team preparation and setup(3) Drivers for NLS Round 6 will be decided at a later date(4) A member of Toyota Motor Corporation Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)
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