Initially established in the 1930s, the rally was revived in 2011 by Albert II, Prince of Monaco and the Honorary Consul of Monaco in Estonia, Jüri Tamm, with a decisive shift: only electric vehicles were allowed to participate. The idea was to raise awareness of the modern electric vehicles in order to promote innovative and sustainable solutions against climate change.
This year’s marathon that will pass through ten countries with stops in 37 cities was kicked off today from Tallinn and will end with an award ceremony on the square in front of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco on September 29. Mr. Jüri Ratas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, stressed in a speech held at the start of the rally that although there will be winners in the end, all the participants will be richer by a valuable experience.
At the ceremonial start of the rally, Estonian Investment Agency’s car was piloted by the Ambassador of Germany to Estonia, H. E Mr. Christoph Eichhorn.
The event is organized by Estonia – the first country to implement a statewide quick charging network of electric cars (currently the densest national charging network in Europe with a charging point after every 60 km). According to Mrs. Riina Leminsky, the Head of Estonian Economic Promotion in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the rally is a great opportunity for Estonia to demonstrate its position as a European leader in digital innovations and new technologies, particularly in terms of climate and environment protection.
“We, Estonians, are very innovative, but also environment-conscious,” Mrs. Leminsky said. “This is for example shown by electrically powered robotic delivery vehicles from Starship Technologies and the ultracapacitors produced by Skeleton Technologies, offering high power and high voltage solutions to save energy.”
The Estonian team from Estonian Investment Agency is participating in the race in cooperation with Volkswagen Financial Services AG, driving a Volkswagen e-Golf.
