Guardian Mobility, Waypoint Information Technology and Globalstar to Support Baja Challenge with Satellite Tracking.
GPS tracking technology will allow fans and supporters to follow their drivers in near real time on a web map. Both fans and contestants will be able to rerun the race and peform post-race analysis using Waypoint's animated Trip Viewer.
Ottawa, Ontario – November 15, 2005 – Guardian Mobility Corporation and Waypoint Information Technology Inc. are pleased to announce their sponsorship of the Baja Challenge desert race taking place on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula November 17-20. The 709 mile race is considered by many to be the premiere off-road endurance event in the world. The timing of the race coincides with a full moon to aid the drivers who will race continuously from Ensenada to La Paz, Mexico over the 3-day event. The near real time tracking of the unique Baja Challenge race can be seen beginning on Friday morning, November 18, 2005 at www.wideopenbaja.com/racetracking.
Guardian will equip each of the two-seat, open wheel cars with a satellite tracking unit that computes the latitude and longitude of each vehicle at regular intervals using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. Every 5 minutes, a new position is transmitted to the Guardian network server that is integrated with the Globalstar satellite communications network. The positions are then digitally plotted on a detailed topographic map of the route using technology developed by Waypoint, and can be viewed in a browser window by logging onto the web site www.wideopentracking.com. With location coordinates of each team acquired and transmitted every 5 minutes, a near-real time view of the teams' progress will be shown throughout duration of the race. Globalstar is providing the satellite communications "airtime" while Guardian partner Spirit Wireless of Portland, Oregon, will be providing 30 Globalstar satellite phones for drivers and race organizers.
Race fans will be able to track some of the sport’s biggest drivers, for as it has in past years, the Baja Challenge has attracted a remarkable field of racing talent for this year’s event, including newly crowned Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, fellow Champ Car series driver Oriol Servia, NASCAR driver Boris Said, and Pike’s Peak record holder Rod Millen. In addition to the sparkling list of motorsports celebrities at this year’s event, the 2005 Wide Open Baja Challenge will also be hosting famed hot rod designer and television star Chip Foose and ABC Television star Patrick Dempsey from the new hit series "Grey’s Anatomy."
"For Wide Open Baja and our annual Baja Challenge event to be chosen as the focal point for such a diverse grouping of technology speaks volumes about how far our event, and the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, have come over the past five years," explained Todd Clement, managing partner for Wide Open Baja Adventures. "The race has now truly regained its rightful place on the international motorsports calendar, and this incredible project with Guardian Mobility and its corporate partners is the ideal way for race enthusiasts everywhere to watch our teams' progress as it happens. The thought of that is very exciting for all of us."
"Being chosen for an event as prestigious as the Baja 1000 is an honour" said Jean Carr, President and CEO of Guardian Mobility. "The Guardian Tracer helps provide timely location information, it will do well tracking this scale of major cross-country motor race in near-real time. And since television coverage will be impossible to maintain for the entire race, the fact that the race can be followed by logging onto a web site makes it even more unique. I wish all the participants good luck, good time, a safe journey, and to the spectators, great entertainment!"
About Wide Open Baja Challenge
A unique Pro-Am race which pits professional drivers, media, celebrities and adventure seekers against each other in identical cars, the annual Centrix Financial Wide Open Baja Challenge presented by BFGoodrich has become an integral part of the most prestigious desert competition on the international motorsports calendar. Created and executed by Wide Open Baja, a support team of nearly 250 mechanics and service crew will be supervising the preparation, leasing and race support of 16 (a Baja Challenge record) identical two-seat, open wheel cars. Created as a truly turn-key event, the Wide Open organization provides complete vehicle preparation, entry fees, fuel, tires, driver training, SCORE licensing, hotel accommodations and hospitality.
Race fans will be able to track some of the sport’s biggest drivers, for as it has in past years, the Baja Challenge has attracted a remarkable field of racing talent for this year’s version, including newly crowned Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais; fellow Champ Car series driver Oriol Servia, NASCAR driver Boris Said, Pike’s Peak record holder Rod Millen and son Rhys (a highly acclaimed star in the motor sport of drifting), the highly popular Jourdain family of Mexico who won this event last year and 2005 Baja 500 overall winner and motorcycle legend Mike "Mouse" McCoy, star of this year’s theatrically released documentary "Dust to Glory."
In addition to the sparkling list of motorsports celebrities at this year’s event, the 2005 Wide Open Baja Challenge will also be hosting famed hot rod designer and television star Chip Foose and ABC Television star Patrick Dempsey from the new hit series "Grey’s Anatomy."
About Guardian Mobility Corporation
Guardian Mobility Corporation is a leading developer of location-enabled wireless platforms that enable organizations to locate and monitor assets on land, sea and in the air. Guardian Mobility solutions integrate satellite-based communications and GPS positioning technologies to deliver mission-critical and life-saving information from remote locations where wireline or terrestrial wireless networks are not readily available. Guardian Mobility data devices are integrated with web-enabled monitoring and event response systems to provide complete end-to-end solutions for remote resource management. More information about the company and its products can be found at www.guardianmobility.com.
Waypoint develops powerful mapping software, and provides reliable and secure web-based services for tracking and monitoring remote assets in near real time, virtually anywhere in the world. Our fast and scalable online map serving system is optimized to work with satellite-based wireless tracking devices. Waypoint tracking service solutions can be configured to meet the particular needs of any organization. We can help to get our customers up and running quickly and cost-effectively. More information about Waypoint is available at www.waypointinfo.com.
Globalstar is the world's most widely used handheld satellite phone network, providing high quality, low cost, voice and data solutions, from virtually anywhere in over 120 countries around the globe. Using the Globalstar network of low earth orbiting satellites, the company primarily provides business and recreational communications to industries and individuals located in remote areas throughout the world.
For more information contact John Dark, Senior Marketing Manager. Email: john.dark@globalstar.com
About Spirit Wireless
Spirit Wireless, one of the nations leading Globalstar Star Dealers is proud to be the official satellite communications provider for Wide Open Baja in the 2005 Baja 1000. In addition to supplying nearly 30 Globalstar satellite phones and related accessories, Spirit Wireless is working with one of their strategic partners, Guardian Mobility to install an asset tracking solution that will allow individuals to track Guardian equipped vehicles over the entire course via the internet.
