‘1 team, 2 wheels, 80 days to remember’ – it’s the succinct summary for STORM’s participation in the 80DR. Initiators are Automotive master students Texas van Leeuwenstein and Wilco Pesselse, who previously worked together in team TU/ecomotive.

Professor Maarten Steinbuch (Control Systems Technology) told them about the 80 Day Race, a prestigious international race, and a Dutch initiative at that. The competition challenges participants to travel the world in eighty days. Teams can use a vehicle of their choice, as long as it isn’t powered by fossil fuels of uses a combustion engine.

The race consists of eight laps, each taking the teams from one metropolis to another. The exact route is up to each team itself. The winning team is the one that’s the fastest overall in the end, when each team will have traveled about 40,000 kilometers.

Not only does STORM want to stand out with their choice for a two-wheeled vehicle, but there’s a good chance the Eindhoven group is the only student team as well. The TU/e team has set the bar high: “We just want to win, really”, says team member Tim Gerth. Van Leeuwenstein: “We at least want to meet all conditions that make winning a possibility”.

The team officially started on September 1, after a year of preparations and recruiting team members. STORM counts 29 students, mostly from master programs.