Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) announced its intent to continue supporting the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) as a title sponsor at a ceremony held on October 20th. The partnership is based on an agreement with the Tourism Bureau of the South Australian Government that hosts the BWSC, and will last for 10 more years.
The BWSC is the world’s foremost solar car race which travels a total of 3,000km (1,860miles) from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia. It started in 1987 with the purpose to contribute to the development of solar cars, support young engineers, and contribute to the environment while using a new power source: solar light. Participants are challenged to design, build and develop the world’s most efficient vehicles. This year, BWSC celebrated its 15 edition.
“It is our great pleasure working with so many Talented, Creative and Inspiring teams and individuals, who stand ready to develop the next generation of mobility solution. Bridgestone just signed a ten-year extension of sponsorship agreement today. For another decade, we will continue our journey of “Dream Bigger” and “Go Farther”. Let’s keep on dreaming bigger, going farther and developing next mobility solution for our own Future.” said Masaaki Tsuya, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation.
South Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, David Ridgway, welcomed the long-term investment, thanking Bridgestone as a global industry leader, for its environmental leadership and embracing its responsibility to future generations.
“A partnership like this, not only secures the future of the world’s largest, most respected solar challenge, it provides a proving ground for renewable technology and sustainable innovation, here in South Australia and around the world. The BWSC delivers millions of dollars into Australia’s visitor economy, with more than $11.9 million injected nationally and the equivalent of 102 full-time jobs created in 2017,” said Minister Ridgway. This partnership embodies the three Priority Areas of the Bridgestone global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, Our Way to Serve: Mobility, People and Environment while employing innovation to improve the way people move, live, work and play. In addition to supporting the competition as a title sponsor, Bridgestone will continue to supply “ECOPIA with ologic” tires to participating teams, contributing to the mobility of society and the reducing environment impacts, while supporting young engineers.
