Toyota brings Prius Challenge to Sonoma Raceway

Toyota Research Institute (TRI), with an office in Palo Alto, is bringing the Prius Challenge to Sonoma Raceway for a competitive event designed to engage the startup and tech community. The event will be held March 3, 2017, and will include a team competition where participants strive to optimize their driving using strategies via an app created specifically for the event. The Prius Challenge originated at Toyota's headquarters in Japan, where participants battle it out to see who can achieve the best fuel economy and efficiency rating on a Prius within a target time range. While Toyota employees and dealers have been able to participate in the challenge, this is the first time that members of the public will have the chance to compete. "TRI is excited to host the Prius Challenge and introduce a competition that will allow participants to use machine learning and sophisticated data analysis tools to test out their theories in the real world," said Gill Pratt, CEO at Toyota Research Institute, Inc. "Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are a hotbed for automotive talent and innovation, and this event is the perfect opportunity for TRI to engage with the tech community and have some fun in the process."