The challenge

A racing team competing in the Dakar rally needed a clear line of communication to their management and mechanical team, often located in remote areas such as the Atacama desert and the high Andes.

The solution

Inmarsat provided the team with Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro handheld phones and an unlimited voice and data service, as well as portable and vehicular BGAN terminals, to allow them to keep in touch during their tough desert preparations in Morocco, as well as during the 8,000 km rally itself.

Race2Recovery, a team of 28 mainly disabled male and female war veterans, became the first predominantly disabled team to complete the world’s most arduous race, the infamous Dakar Rally. The team relied on the voice and text capability of their IsatPhone Pro to brief their support team on mechanical issues.

“Having access to portable and robust broadband data services and satellite phones as we crossed the mountains and deserts of southern South America was crucial to our safety and performance. It also enabled us to keep family, friends and supporters across the world up-to-date with regular postings on social media sites.”

Captain Tony Harris
Race2Recovery’s team CoDirector and a former Captain in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

The IsatPhone also allowed a secure link for the team to inform each other about very real safety concerns and accidents. This was perhaps never as important as when the crew was involved in a fatal road traffic collision in Peru where two Peruvians were killed and three Race2Recovery team members were seriously injured. The IsatPhones allowed the support team on the ground to coordinate the emergency services as well as being utilised to inform family members in the UK of the incident and to maintain a crucial communications link throughout their hospitalization.