NextGenCup is an innovative racing competition that combines high-performance motorsport with sustainability by featuring fully electric Mini Coopers. Reliable, high-speed connectivity is crucial for real-time telemetry, live video streaming, and seamless team operations during the races. This project was carried out in partnership with Nathiko B.V, specialists in advanced connectivity solutions.
Each racing car required a stable and high-speed internet connection to transmit telemetry and video footage in real-time. Given the high-speed and dynamic conditions of the races, maintaining uninterrupted data transmission was essential.
Additionally, the paddock faced network congestion issues due to thousands of spectators connecting to nearby cell towers. This competition for bandwidth posed a risk to critical team operations and decision-making, as slow or unstable connectivity could impact live data analysis and communication.
To address these challenges, POYNTING Antennas provided a dual-solution approach:
Each of the 21 electric Mini Coopers was equipped with a PUCK-2 and PUCK-5 antenna, paired with a Teltonika RUTX12 router. This setup ensured consistent 4G/5G connectivity, allowing real-time telemetry and live video streaming even under extreme racing conditions.
To resolve network congestion in the paddock, a POYNTING WaveHunter antenna was deployed on land. Originally designed as a maritime dome antenna, the WaveHunter features 24 directional antennas with four polarizations. This advanced design improved signal reception and allowed connections to distant, less congested cell towers.
Inside the WaveHunter, the following components were installed:
A hybrid connectivity model was used, combining 5G cellular networks from three different providers with Starlink satellite internet. This approach maximized reliability and speed, ensuring a stable connection for the paddock operations.
The solution significantly improved connectivity for both the racing cars and paddock operations.
The electric Mini Coopers achieved stable, high-speed connectivity throughout the races. Real-time telemetry and video streaming remained uninterrupted, allowing teams to monitor performance and make data-driven decisions instantly.
The WaveHunter setup provided a stable and high-speed connection, supporting essential team operations. Initial speed tests showed 237 Mbps download and 236 Mbps upload speeds. After optimizing the bonding configurations, speeds improved to 700 Mbps download and 300 Mbps upload, providing a seamless experience for race engineers and support staff.
The hybrid connectivity model ensured uninterrupted operations, allowing the team to adapt to fluctuating network conditions with minimal disruption.
"Connectivity is great, just like working direct with the home office NAS unit."
"The speed and quality of the onboards in combination with the data telemetry is of high value. In racing it’s more about thousands of a second rather than improving big amounts of time at once. That’s why the data and onboards are so important."
"It was great for me as a content creator You have the instant access to the onboards, to the live stream. You have actual live stream with cameras from 2024, it is fantastic, I was blown away”.
"Our collaboration with POYNTING has been a tremendous success in terms of connectivity as we have proven for the last two seasons that everything is always connected.
Thanks to the excellent connectivity, our operation can remain location-independent and relies on remote connectivity even at tracks where most teams do not trust the local network availability.
We are using our POYNTING antennas for general internet connectivity in our hospitality area, but the key areas are with live telemetry of our e-safety platform that monitors every cell’s temperature - covering all batteries in all cars – both when stationary and racing. Key personnel get instant mobile alerts if any threshold values are exceeded.
Our live telemetry also sends information about push-to-pass to the TV production so that our viewers can see live which drivers are preparing to make an attempt to pass.
Video is the heaviest network load, which is sent both live from all cars to TV production during the race and made available in recorded video files to engineering and race control as the cars leave the track.
My organization has learned that all data is available at all times – something we were told would be impossible. Using POYNTING antennas is a huge part of having a full field of 21 cars always online and for everyone to trust the data."
This project demonstrated the effectiveness of POYNTING Antennas in addressing connectivity challenges in high-performance environments.
By ensuring stable, high-speed connectivity, this project highlighted how POYNTING’s innovative solutions can integrate with advanced technology and sustainable practices in motorsport.
