Extreme E is Back

EXTREME E 16 EXTREME E

IS BACK

Extreme E’s fleet of electric SUVs are gearing up for battle once again as the series prepares for Rounds 2 and 3 of the World Championship this year after a five-month break. The teams’ and drivers’ will take over the military site in Capo Teulada, located in southwest Sardinia, on the 6th-7th July before repeating all the action on the 9th-10th July. The Island X-Prix was due to be held in May but was rescheduled as a result of the Ukraine crisis, with the Italian military occupying the site for training exercises. The venue was also chosen for a double-header to replace the Ocean X-Prix, that was due to be held in either Senegal or Scotland. Sardinia hosted the Island X-Prix last year, with the venue introduced as a last-minute replacement for the Amazon X-Prix in Brazil, which had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 situation in South America.

ISLAND X-PRIX PREVIEW

After a five-month delay, Extreme E returns in July as it hosts the first of two Island X-Prix’s on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Rosberg X Racing made it three wins from four races at the Island X-Prix last year, helping the team on its way to claiming the very first Extreme E World Championship. RXR drivers Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor managed the rocky, dry terrain the best to claim the win, battling an undulating circuit with hot and humd temperatures throughout the weekend.

THE CIRCUIT

The start of the course provides a unique opportunity for the drivers, with a multi-lane section offering very different approaches before the cars rejoin and resume battle. Doing their homework on the course will form a crucial part of team preparation, as the optimal combination of speed and distance could prove elusive. Having rejoined the main course, the drivers will take a sharp left and traverse a more open, but bumpy plain. Another left followed by a right will take the all-electric SUVs over one of the small inland hills, before a fast, downhill section leads them into the first of two water splashes. Small trees and bushes form the scenery of the next section of the course, which the cars will carve their way through before dipping their Continental tyres in the water for a second time. The course then winds its way through narrow turns and over more inland rises, before heading out to one of the fastest sections. This long, flat run down to a tight ninety-degree left turn will provide a good opportunity to exploit Hyperdrive. More carefully navigated turns bring the drivers to the last section of the lap.

THE TRACK LAYOUT FOR LAST YEAR’S ISLAND X-PRIX

A short, twisting portion is soon followed by a fast trip over the largest inland hill, where the ODYSSEY 21s are likely to go airborne. The drivers will then need to hit the brakes for a short but steep ten metre drop and another ninety-degree left-hander. A fast and flat section leaves just a final right turn to go, finishing off the striking seven-kilometre course of the Island X-Prix. AS IT STANDS

Rosberg X Racing got its title defence off to a perfect start when the second season kicked off in February with the Desert X-Prix. The Swedish pair of Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Johan Kristoffersson secured maximum points in Saudi Arabia, holding off stiff competition the Spanish-duo of Laia Sanz and Carlos Sainz of the Acciona | Sainz XE Team. Following the double-header in Sardinia, the series then heads to Chile for the Copper X-Prix in September, before the series finale in Punta Del Este, Uruguay in November.

POSITION/TEAM DRIVERS/NATIONALITY POINTS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

MIKAELA ÅHLIN-KOTTULINSKY JOHAN KRISTOFFERSSON LAIA SANZ CARLOS SAINZ CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ SÉBASTIEN LOEB SARA PRICE KYLE LEDUC EMMA GILMOUR TANNER FOUST TAMARA MOLINARO OLIVER BENNETT CATIE MUNNINGS TIMMY HANSEN JUTTA KLEINSCHMIDT NASSER AL ATTIYAH MOLLY TAYLOR KEVIN HANSEN CHRISTINE GZ LANCE WOOLRIDGE