Extreme E: a guide to motorsport’s newest and most radical series
Join electrica.live for a peek into Extreme E - the all-electric, off-road racing series coming to a remote corner of the globe (not) near you in 2021...
Pretty much every sport worldwide has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the world of motorsport is no different, with everything from Formula One to the World Rally Championship, and MotoGP to Formula E being forced to dramatically reschedule their globetrotting calendars and host races with no fans present.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, and on the motorsports horizon is one of the most ambitious and exciting forms of competition to be introduced to the world for decades - Extreme E.
Extreme E will launch in 2021, and sharing a fair bit of DNA with the illustrious Dakar Rally, will take competitors to some of the world's most inhospitable terrain at the wheel of all-electric-powered, 44kw/550bhp, off-road beasts - and aside from being a hugely exciting prospect, it is a competition with a message.
Founder and CEO of Extreme E, Alejandro Agag has put environmentalism at the forefront of the series by mapping out the championship schedule in areas of the world that are under threat from climate change. From Greenland to Saudi Arabia and the Brazilian rainforests, the five events that make up Extreme E will visit places untouched by conventional motorsport, and to reinforce the green message underpinning the series, teams will use the RMS St. Helena as a floating paddock, transporting the logistics and infrastructure by sea, rather than air.
The Calendar:
Ocean: Lac Rose, Dakar in Senegal on 22-24 January 2021
Desert: Sharaan, Al-‘Ula in Saudi Arabia on 4-6 March 2021
Arctic: Kangerlussuaq in Greenland on 6-8 May 2021
Glacier: Kali Gandaki Valley, Mustang District in Nepal on 27-29 August 2021
Rainforest: Santarém, Pará in Brazil on 29-30 October 2021
The cars, the teams and the race format
Extreme E machinery is manufactured by Spark Racing Technology, the same people behind the SRT05e Gen2 chassis that is used in Formula E. They have produced a four-wheel-drive, all-terrain SUV, delivering 400 kW (550 hp) of power, weighing 1650-kilogram and the 2.3m-wide machine can reach 0-62 mph in 4.5 seconds at gradients of up to 130%, powered by Spark Racing Technology's powertrain with a battery pack from Williams Advanced Engineering.
Eight teams will take part in Extreme E’s inaugural season, each featuring two drivers - one male and one female, and so far ABT Sportline, Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, HWA Team, Venturi, Veloce Racing, and QEV Technologies have signed up to take on Extreme E.
Continental will supply tyres for the series and they will be bolted onto a Niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular, wrapped with a rather eye-catching design and races will take place in the form of an X Prix - a two lap dash around a 20 mile course. Four teams with two drivers will complete a lap each over a two day schedule, with qualifying taking place on the first day of racing to determine the top four runners.
The top four will progress through into Semi-Final 1 with the bottom four competitors battling it out in Semi-Final 2 with only the quickest able to progress onto the final. The overall winner of the X Prix will be the fastest combination of team, drivers, car and engineers over the two-day event.
Follow @ExtremeELive for updates on Extreme E and Velocity Experience, who will be working with the series to develop an engaging and involving perspective for fans keen to follow this exciting new form of motorsport.
