Joel Bergström, a well-known SECC veteran with five starts under his belt, will participate in the FLTP (Finlandwide Light Vehicles Test Procedure) for the first time, starting from Mäntsälä in southern Finland at 07:00 Finnish time on January 29. FLTP is shorter than SECC, the distance is 1000 km and the finish line is in Kuusamo, a few kilometers south of the Arctic Circle.
This is the third year the event has been running and has grown significantly and is now considered the world's largest winter test for electric cars. Last year, 46 cars participated and this year 70 cars have been registered. Most of the participants are, just like in SECC, private individuals, but several journalists and car importers have also registered.
There is a wide range of car makes and models. Among the more unusual cars participating we find a Kia PV5 Cargo, a Tesla Model S with 70,000 km on the clock and an old Hyundai IONIC with a 28 kWh battery. Luckily for them, two mobile chargers are reportedly included during the test.
Just like in SECC, participants measure travel time, charging time, energy consumption, etc. and must adhere to all speed limits. Unlike SECC, all participants drive exactly the same predefined route.
Participants share their positions with Glympse where you can also follow all participants. You can follow Joel Bergström in two other ways, he broadcasts live on his YouTube channel and he shares his position and speed on SECC's Traccar server (see links below).
Joel's YouTube broadcast will be a slightly simpler format than the one he treated us to in SECC, and he also warns that there may be interruptions due to lack of mobile coverage.