Extreme E: Tailwind for eco racing series 🎥
ENGAGED PROMINENCE From 2021, off-road races will be held with purely electric SUVs. World champion Lewis Hamilton commits to Extreme E as a team owner, Cupra gets in on the action with ABT Sportsline. Lewis Hamilton explains in English why he is involved in Extreme E and what it is all about. There will be plenty of action, as the scenes from [...]
Lewis Hamilton explains in English why he's involved in Extreme E and what it's all about. There will be plenty of action, as the scenes from test drives show.
A few months before the start of the spectacular Extreme E off-road racing series in January 2021, the organizers are gradually revealing the secret of which teams will be bringing professional motorsport with electric SUVs to the remotest corners of the earth. Now none other than Lewis Hamilton announced his entry with his newly founded Team X44. Its name is derived from Hamilton's starting number in Formula 1.
Climate neutral
The soon-to-be seven-time world champion justifies his commitment with the special environmental orientation of the new racing series. A special trademark of Extreme E is the choice of routes. The aim is to draw attention to climate change and the challenges facing the respective ecosystems.
The teams' equipment travels by converted freighter to get to the venues in the most climate-friendly way possible. By the end of its first season, Extreme E aims to be completely climate neutral.
Who will sit in the cockpit for Lewis Hamilton's team has not yet been confirmed. The driver names - with one exception - are also not yet known from other confirmed teams such as Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing from the USA.
Cupra with ABT Sportsline...
Cupra will be the first car manufacturer to enter Extreme E. For this purpose, the Spaniards are teaming up with ABT Sportsline. Cupra and ABT have already been close and successful partners for years in the refinement of various road models.
The company from Kempten in the Allgäu region also brings great experience from electric motorsport: Since the start of Formula E in 2014, ABT has been represented in the racing series with the Audi brand.
Wayne Griffiths, CEO Cupra: "Cupra and ABT Sportsline are long-standing partners. We both want to bring the passion of the race track to the road and we have great experience in the world of electric racing. Now we are cementing our partnership with our joint participation in Extreme E. For Cupra, the series fits perfectly with the brand's attitude to take on challenges in racing and its ambition to explore new worlds of motorsport."
... and Mattias Ekström as driver
A unit race car of the Odyssey 21 type will be used for the start of Extreme E in 2021. Each team will consist of one woman and one man, who will take turns at the wheel.
The official male driver of the German-Spanish team is Cupra brand ambassador Mattias Ekström. The Swede will also drive for Cupra in the new ETCR with electric touring cars.
Racing against time: Cupra is focusing its efforts on electric racing and breaking new ground in the process.
Five exceptional destinations
Each of the five events involves driving through an approximately eight-kilometer off-road course on which several gates have to be passed. The driver and rider each complete one lap.
The five regions of the Arctic, desert, rainforest, glacier and ocean are being raced. First at Lac Rose in Senegal, then in the Al-Ula desert in Saudi Arabia, in the Kali Gandaki Valley in Nepal, in Kangerlussuaq on Greenland and in the Amazon region of Pará in Brazil.
Each event consists of two race days. On Saturday, the qualifying races are held, and on Sunday the semi-finals and finals are held.
