The competitors of certain cross country rallies must rent the Sentinel, Irritrack, etc. Marc Lajara, the creator of the Sentinel system, takes pleasure in answering my questions:
What is a Sentinel ?
ML : It is a visual and sound electronic system which permits transmission between a vehicle wishing to overtake another. The person, who will be overtaked, knows 200 m in advance that he will be passed by another vehicle. The second function of the Sentinel is a warning system in the case of an accident. When you push it, an alarm goes off covering a distance of 500 m indicating that a competitor is stopped. All of the participants in the perimeter must slow down and be careful. This avoids a pile up.
What's the origin of this idea ?
ML : Working for quite a while in the cross country discipline, I originally thought about a system which could protect the bikers. When the cars wish to overtake the bikes, it is not simple to indicate they are behind. It has now been 3 years that we have installed the system in all of the race vehicles. We are present on all of the World Cup events and certain Bajas.
What were the first priorities when you created this system?
ML : Basically I wished for a system which could be affordable by all ! The Sentinel is rented for under 100 euros per competitor. We supply the Sentinel system and technical assistance for the full duration of the rally. On every stage, we inspect each Sentinel before the competitors take the starting line..
Why did you name it Sentinel ?
ML : I wished to find a protective symbol. Sentinel means : "The one who keeps watch while the others sleep!" For example : When Nani Roma rolled his car, the next day he departed in the middle of the pack. The Sentinel indicated that his navigator pushed on the button 350 times to overtake other competitors during the special. The horns are not enough as the competitors do not often hear it.
Why are you talking to me about VALEO ?
ML : Well, the Sentinel system benefited from the VALEO expertise when created. I had met on a rally, Mr. Xavier Verret, who I believe is the Financial Director, and he took interest in my project. He introduced me to Mr. Devauchelle, the Research and Development Director at VALEO. After a 1 hour meeting with this man and other VALEO experts, they were able to help me finalize this box. It's just a little anecdote, yet to this day, I still thank them for their time and help.
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