Manolo Plaza and his daughter Mónica will pilot the renewed version in the next edition in January in Saudi Arabia
MADRID, 21 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The vehicle manufacturer Sodicars has signed a collaboration agreement with Nebrija University for the redesign and technological improvement of a vehicle that will contest the next edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia from January 1 to 15, reports the academic institution.
The agreement focuses on the redesign and technological improvements that will be applied to the BV2 vehicle of the Sodicars brand. Nebrija University leads the technological development and technical management part of the project with a team made up of undergraduate and master’s students from Nebrija Polytechnic.
For its part, Sodicars will be in charge of the operational management of the team and will make its experience and sports infrastructure available to the project.
Manolo Plaza, with more than 14 participations as a pilot in the most prestigious raid on the calendar, and his daughter Mónica Plaza will pilot an improved version of the BV2, from the Sodicars brand.
This is the starting point for all the improvements planned for the car, where the Nebrija University student team has led the development and research tasks in three lines: weight reduction, improved aerodynamics and a new distribution of components.
As part of this alliance, Sodicars and Nebrija University will work together with the aim of offering undergraduate and master’s students at Nebrija University the opportunity to grow professionally in the world of automobiles and engineering in real projects and team activities and in workshops.
The ‘Nebrija to Dakar’ project was born to take this sporting challenge to a training and technological aspect, in which students are the protagonists, valuing the ‘learn by doing’ philosophy as an academic format to prepare future automotive professionals .
For Sergio Corbera, director of the Automobile and Mechanics Area at Nebrija University, ‘Nebrija to Dakar’ is a long-term project that extends beyond the 2023 Dakar Rally. “It is an initiative with a clear roadmap on which to evolve and gradually integrate new technological advances developed by university students in this type of vehicle”, said Corbera.
According to the pilot Manolo Plaza, participating in the Dakar with Nebrija University is “another incentive” that gives him hope to face the race. “This alliance involves new people full of desire and enthusiasm and with values that are aligned with ours, people who want to learn and innovate every year,” he said.