Alex Thomson Racing Inks Nokia Deal
British sailing team Alex Thomson Racing has agreed a new partnership with Nokia Bell Labs, it has been announced.
Thomson is seeking to become the first British sailor ever to win the iconic Vendée Globe race, which will next be held in 2020.
The new, three-year deal will see Nokia become the Thomson team’s first Technology Partner.
As part of the agreement, Nokia Bell Labs will work alongside Thomson – and his IMOCA 60 race boat – to develop and test both existing and new on-board and shore-based technologies in a bid to enhance the performance capabilities of the sailing team.
Areas of focus are expected to include augmented intelligence and wearable technology through to networks and communications capabilities.
The agreement will see Nokia branding appear on the new, multi-million-pound race boat set to unveiled in June next year.
In addition, the Nokia brand will be added to Alex Thomson Racing’s current boat, HUGO BOSS, alongside that of the team’s longstanding headline partner.
Commenting on the appointment, Stewart Hosford, CEO of Alex Thomson Racing, said: “It was clear from the moment we met Nokia Bell Labs that ambition and innovation are also at the heart of everything they do and so we could not have found a partner more suited to us.
“Technology, analytics and data are now more crucial to our performance than ever before.
“Today’s IMOCA boats are some of the most technically advanced machines in the world of sport… This is therefore the perfect time for Nokia to enter this space, and to explore the wealth of opportunities that exist for research and development.
“I have no doubt that this partnership will take Alex Thomson Racing into the cutting edge of the technology space and provide a whole new level of performance for our team, as we look to make history in 2021.”
Nokia chief technology officer and Bell Labs president Marcus Weldon added: “We are delighted to be working with Alex Thomson Racing to push the limits of what is possible, and pioneer breakthroughs in human talent and technological performance.
“Alex Thomson Racing represents an important microcosm of the broader industrial IoT and mission critical network focus of Nokia. “
The Vendée Globe is a 24,000-mile solo, non-stop unassisted race around the world, considered to be one of sport’s toughest challenges.
In the last edition of the race in 2016, Thomson slept no more than one hour at a time over the course of 74 days, 19 hours and 35 minutes, single-handedly fulfilling the roles of skipper, navigator, meteorologist, engineer and medic.
The Vendée Globe was first founded in 1989 and has been held every four years since 1992.
