Extreme E

Extreme E is a proposed class of auto racing that only uses electric vehicles to race off-road in extremely remote parts of the world using electric SUVs. The series was conceived in 2018, and the inaugural championship is planned for 2021.[1] It is the brainchild of the people behind the Formula E racing series, including Formula E founder Alejandro Agag.[2] The project was launched publicly in January 2019 by Agag and former driver Gil de Ferran on board the Extreme E's future base ship RMS St Helena in London.[3]

Extreme E
CountryInternational
Inaugural season2021
Teams7 announced (12 planned)
Official websiteextreme-e.com
Extreme E car.

It has been described by media as an electric version of the Dakar Rally.[4]

Teams and Drivers

The following teams have announced their intention to compete in Extreme E:

Team Country of Origin Drivers
Venturi Automobiles[5] Monaco tbc
tbc
Abt Sportsline[6] Germany tbc
tbc
HWA Team[7] Germany tbc
tbc
Veloce Racing[8] United Kingdom tbc
tbc
QEV Technologies[9] Spain tbc
tbc
Andretti Autosport[10] USA tbc
tbc
Chip Ganassi Racing[11] USA Sara Price [12]
tbc

Race calendar

Extreme E plans to race in locations already damaged by climate change in order to bring awareness to the problems posed by climate change and have consulted ecological experts to keep the impact of their presence to a minimum.[13] The full provisional race schedule was announced on 17 December 2019.[14]

Region Host Nation Location Date
Ocean Senegal Lac Rose 22–24 January 2021
Desert Saudi Arabia Shraan, Al-`Ula 4–6 March 2021
Glacier Nepal Kali Gandaki Gorge 6–8 May 2021
Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq, Russell Glacier 27–29 August 2021
Rainforest Brazil Santarém, Pará, Amazon Rainforest 29–31 October 2021

Drivers

In September 2019, Extreme E released a list of drivers who had registered official interest in driving in the series.[15] In November, a second group of inductees were announced to have joined the programme.[16]

Driver Current Series
Sebastien Ogier WRC
Andreas Bakkerud WRX
Kevin Hansen WRX
Timmy Hansen WRX
Timo Scheider WRX
Jamie Chadwick W Series
Katherine Legge IMSA
Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky TCR Scandinavia
Lucas di Grassi Formula E
Andre Lotterer Formula E
Sacha Prost Andros Trophy
Bruno Senna[17] WEC
Chris Ingram[18] ERC
Daniel Abt[19] Formula E
Loïc Duval[20] DTM
Sam Sunderland Dakar Rally
Karun Chandhok N/A
Billy Monger Euroformula
Jérôme d'Ambrosio Formula E
António Félix da Costa Formula E WEC
Oliver Turvey Formula E
Takuma Aoki Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy
James Rossiter Super GT
Krisztián Szabó WRX
Zoltán Bessenyey ERC
Sam Bird Formula E
Patrik Sandell ARX
Simona de Silvestro Supercars
Catie Munnings J-WRC
Molly Taylor ARC

Vehicles

The Spark ODYSSEY 21 "Extreme E E-SUV" was unveiled as the series competition vehicle at Goodwood Festival of Speed on 5 July 2019. The vehicle is manufactured by Spark Racing Technology, the constructors of Formula E series machines. The vehicle weighs 1,650 kg (3,640 lb), and capable of 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, with 400kW (536bhp) of power.[21]

Promotion

The championship was launched aboard the RMS St Helena on the River Thames in London on 24 January 2019.

Academy Award winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens was hired as the series artistic director and will produce the broadcasts. Gil de Ferran said that the "viewers can expect a completely new way of consuming sport, with each episode telling not just the story of a race, but the wider race of awareness and the need to protect these remote and challenging environments being explored by Extreme E."[22][23]

The series were promoted and Spark ODYSSEY 21 was showcased in action in 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in January 2020. Guerlain Chicherit drove the vehicle during shakedown one day before the race start. Ken Block raced it on final stage 12 between Haradh and Al-Qiddiya as a guest by the invitation of the organizers A.S.O..[24]

Logistics

Event organizers will be using RMS St Helena as their "floating paddock" and operation base. The ship will carry the championship's supplies and equipment, and will transport all racing vehicles from one location to another.

See also

References
  1. Burgt, Alex Kalinauckas and Andrew van de. "New Extreme E electric SUV series to launch with Formula E". Autosport.com.
  2. "Formula E founder launches radical new off-road racing concept Extreme E". FIA Formula E.
  3. Kalinauckas, Alex (31 January 2019). "Extreme E unveils full series concept ahead of 2021 launch". Autosport. Richmond, Surrey. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  4. James Masters. "Extreme E to deliver 'Blue Planet meets Dakar Rally'". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  5. James, Billington (9 May 2019). "Venturi first team to enter Extreme E racing series". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  6. Kalinauckas, Alex (10 July 2019). "Long-time Audi affiliate ABT Sportsline joins Extreme E off-road series". Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. Kalinauckas, Alex (12 July 2019). "HWA becomes latest FE team to join Extreme E". Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  8. Lewis, Niamh (19 September 2019). "Adrian Newey: Formula 1 designer to join Extreme E". Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  9. Coates, Freddie (4 March 2020). "QEV Technologies announces new Extreme E Team". Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  10. "Andretti Autosport Joins Extreme E Team". Extreme E. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  11. "Chip Ganassi Racing Commits to Extreme E". Extreme E. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  12. "First Extreme E Driver is Revealed". Extreme E. 11 Jun 2020. Retrieved 11 Jun 2020.
  13. "Extreme E Locations". Extreme E. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  14. "Extreme E unveils schedule for inaugural season". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  15. "Extreme E reveals world-class Drivers' Programme". Extreme E. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  16. "One year down, one to go..." extreme-e.com. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  17. "Senna Joins Extreme E Drivers' Program". Extreme E. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  18. Extreme E. 27 November 2019 https://www.extreme-e.com/en/news/58_Drivers-Programme-Profiles-Chris-Ingram.html. Retrieved 18 December 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. Extreme E. 27 November 2019 https://www.extreme-e.com/en/news/60_Drivers-Programme-Profiles-Daniel-Abt.html. Retrieved 18 December 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. Extreme E. 30 November 2019 https://www.extreme-e.com/en/news/59_Drivers-Programme-Profiles-Loic-Duval.html. Retrieved 18 December 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. "Guerlain Chicherit to drive Extreme E E-SUV at Dakar Rally". extreme-e.com. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  22. "Extreme E unveils full series concept ahead of 2021 launch". autosport.com. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  23. "An electric future". dakar.com. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  24. "Extreme E E-SUV and Ken Block prepped for maiden Dakar Rally outing". extreme-e.com. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
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