Challenge Bibendum opens in Rio this weekend

ERJ staff report (DS)

Paris -- The 10th Michelin Challenge Bibendum will be held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Sunday, May 30 to Thursday, June 3. Michelin organises the event to celebrate low-energy and alternative energy sources for transportation. The event was not held in 2009 due to the economic crisis.

The first day of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum features the start of the Rally and the technical tests. The nearly 80 vehicles that will take part are divided into three categories, each to follow its own itinerary. Cars will drive from Rio de Janeiro to Petropolis north of the city, while trucks and buses will travel from Rio to Resende west of the city, and urban vehicles will be driven near the Riocentro. The Rally will also include acceleration, noise and handling tests to demonstrate the very low "well-to-wheel" carbon emissions for vehicles that use certain types of biofuels, such as ethanol made from sugar cane, as well as for EVs.

Initiated by Michelin in 1998, the Challenge Bibendum event brings together car, truck, bus and motorcycle manufacturers, academics, OEMs, energy suppliers, research institutes, government authorities, NGOs and other sustainable mobility stakeholders to discuss the issues involved in the challenges of sustainable mobility. This year, the event is being held for the first time in South America - in Brazil, a country that for more than 20 years has been committed to finding alternatives to fossil fuels.

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Press release from Michelin (Michelin website)

Press release from Michelin (PR Newswire)