Specialist learning and development agency RTS Group has helped more than 170 volunteers get to know the vehicles they will use to drive athletes around at the IAAF World Championships in London.
Japanese car giant Toyota, which has supplied the cars for the Championships, called in the firm, based at Notton, near Chippenham, to help the volunteers – called runners – with their vehicles.
The Championships start this evening at the London Stadium – the iconic venue used for the 2012 Olympics. Hundreds of athletes from across the world are taking part – including Jamaican sprint great Usain Bolt, who will be competing in his last 100metres, and British 10,000metres legend Mo Farrah, who also makes his last track appearance. A record number of tickets have been sold for the meeting.
As an official partner, Toyota is providing its Mirai fuel cell vehicle as the lead timing car for the Marathon along with more than 130 largely petrol-electric hybrid vehicles for athlete transportation. It did the same during last month’s Para Athletics Championships, also staged in London.
The fleet of liveried cars is exclusively hybrid powered, supporting the ‘green Earth’ and ‘green management’ ideals of the IAAF.
A team of eight trainers from RTS, which works with car manufacturers to develop dealership staff, spent two days in London helping runners with hands-on driving training, vehicle familiarisation and safety.
The runners got the chance to ask all the types of questions, and learn about all the features, that everybody wants to find out about when they collect a new vehicle.
The aim was to leave the runners feeling confident with their cars and free to focus on delivering their passengers safely.
RTS managing director Malcolm Miller said: “We are delighted to be supporting our client in this way and are confident that the volunteers will be able to contribute to the success of the Championships.”
The IAAF World Championships, London’s biggest sporting event since the 2012 Olympics, end on August 13.
RTS Group, founded in 1989, provides learning and development services to the automotive industry across Europe, the Middle East, China and South Africa. It works with manufacturers and brands, such as Mercedes-Benz, Mazda and Nissan.
Pictured: Matt Onslow and Fran MacKay of RTS with an IAAF runner’s car
