OSLO, NORWAY - (April 27, 2009) Race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter is headed to Norway to participate in the EVS Viking Rally 2009. The competition is a road rally from Oslo to Stavanger for zero emission vehicles only, and will take place May 11-13, 2009.
Vehicles available from commercial vendors, demonstration vehicles, and research projects will participate in the EVS Viking Rally. The rally finishes at the opening of EVS24 Towards Zero Emission (
evs24.org), a world congress and exhibition for electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, with participants from 40 countries. EVS24 takes place in Stavanger Forum on May 13-16.
Among the participants in the rally are Mitsubishi (electric), Ford (hydrogen), Think (electric and hydrogen), Lampo (electric), Elbil Norge (electric), Tesla (electric) and a modified Toyota Prius (hydrogen).
Leilani will be driving a Ford Focus hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Leilani's co-driver is Suzanne Hunt, President of Hunt Green LLC in Washington, D.C.
Click here for Suzanne Hunt biography. Also participating in the rally with a Ford Focus hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon, the Crown Prince of Norway.
EVS Viking Rally also marks the opening of two new hydrogen fueling stations in Norway. Four hydrogen stations have been opened in Norway this far. This is the beginning of a nation-wide hydrogen infrastructure, says Ulf Hafseld, manager for hydrogen business development in StatoilHydro.
"To limit climate change fossil fuels must be replaced by climate friendly fuels, such as electricity and hydrogen. This rally will demonstrate that electric and hydrogen fuelled vehicles can be used on long distances and under rough conditions. Also, we want to show that environmentalism can be fun," says Bjørnar Kruse from the Norwegian environmental organisation ZERO.
About the EVS Viking Rally
The rally starts on May 11 at the new hydrogen station in Oslo. The station will be opened by Norwegian Minister for Transportation Liv Signe Navarsete before the start of the competition. The minister will also open the new hydrogen station in Drammen as the race passes through the town.
There are several special stage en route: auto slalom in Kristansand and Klepp, a hill climb outside Porsgrunn and a drag-race in Lyngdal. Parts of the route follows the 1931 route of Rally Monte Carlo, which started in Stavanger that year. There will also be regularity tests along the route. For cars that lack the capacity to complete the full race, a non-competitive mini rally is staged from Egersund to Stavanger.
ZERO, KNA, the Norwegian Automobile-Sport Federation, Norstart and HyNor are the organisers of the rally.
Some of the best and most experienced motors sports organisers in Norway organise the competition. For more information please visit
VikingRally.no.
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VG Norway:
Female Race Car Driver Joins Climate Rally
About Leilani Münter
Leilani holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego. While attending college she worked as a volunteer at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. She started racing cars in 2001 and quickly began making a name for herself in the racing world. In 2006 she set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth. In 2007 Leilani became the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the developmental league of IndyCar. She qualified 5th for her open wheel debut in August 2007 and earned praise from many in the IndyCar community including four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears.
Her racing accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, Glamour, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Men's Journal, the Washington Post and ESPN. Esquire Magazine has called her "A Woman We Love" and Sports Illustrated named her in their list of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.
Leilani adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs to offset her carbon footprint and has been a long time vegetarian and eco activist. She is also active politically in the legislative fight for the environment. She has twice made the journey to Capitol Hill to speak with members on Congress on behalf of the Climate Security Act. In June 2008 she spoke at a climate action rally in Washington DC alongside Senators Barbara Boxer, Joe Lieberman, and John Kerry.
In fall 2008, Leilani became an Ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation and landed a national ad campaign as a Lucky Jeans model, her caption read: "Leilani Münter, Race Car Driver and Environmentalist - Saving rainforests one race at a time." Her ads appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, In Style, W Magazine and Lucky Jeans stores across the country.
She is currently putting together a race program she calls her "Eco Dream Team" that will be a vehicle (pun intended) to reach out to millions of US race fans to make eco minded changes to their lives. "Changing out light bulbs, recycling, and using canvas grocery bags may seem like small things," says Münter, "but small changes, when multiplied by millions, can make a big difference."
"I realize that being a race car driver, I am not in an environmentally friendly sport. That is why I am doing everything I can to reduce my carbon footprint such as using renewable energy, recycling, and adopting tropical rainforest for every race I run. As citizens of Earth, we all need to work together to take care of our world. So far, we have not been doing a very good job of that. The situation is dire and requires our urgent attention. Now is the time to make a change. We need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, commit ourselves to renewable energy sources, and conserve the biodiversity that we have on Earth before it is lost forever. Together we can make enough noise to get the attention of the decision makers in our local and national governments. Let's all do our part to help save our Earth for future generations to enjoy as much as we have. It is our responsibility -- and our privilege -- to do so. "
