06 Mar 2023
Extreme E announces Andreas Bakkerud and Tamara Molinaro as 2023 Championship Drivers
6 March 2023, London: Extreme E, the innovative electric off-road racing series, has announced rallycross ace Andreas Bakkerud and previous Extreme E podium finisher Tamara Molinaro, as its Championship Drivers for the 2023 season, which kicks off this weekend (11-12 March) at the Desert X Prix in NEOM, Saudi Arabia.
In their role of Championship Drivers, Bakkerud and Molinaro will perform both an advisory role, testing and helping finalise the race courses, and also being on hand as an all-important back-up driver should any of the teams require a replacement during any of the five X Prix weekends.
Bakkerud has a long and successful career as a rallycross driver, with his first titles coming in 2011 and 2012 when he clinched back-to-back Super1600 (now Euro RX3) crowns. The Norwegian went on to win seven times along the way. In 2014, Bakkerud stepped up to the World Championship stage, and two years later, following a switch to Hoonigan Racing Division, he achieved three wins resulting in third place in the overall standings.
“I was pumped to get the call to be Championship Driver”, says Andreas Bakkerud. “I’ve tested the car before but coming to a race and seeing the craziness of it all blew my mind. It’s absolutely like nothing else I’ve experienced in motorsport before. I think it’s going to be awesome.
“The course is very different for me as I have never raced on sand before. To race on the beach, next to the ocean, is very different. The course here has some complex features and the drivers are going to have to be smart and manage their desire to go flat out, with some tight turns and gates, as the soft sand can rutt up quite a lot. The new Continental tyres have very good side support but if drivers risk too much, we could end up seeing some rolls.
“It’s also great to be working with Tamara, who has extensive experience in Extreme E. I’ve been learning a lot from her and everyone has made me feel very welcome in the paddock. I can’t wait to see it all unfold.”
Italian Molinaro began her racing career at the age of 11. In 2017, she took the Ladies European Rally Champion title, becoming the second-youngest after Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E's Catie Munnings, as she won four of the eight rounds and to top the table. In 2019, Molinaro dovetailed a second season on the WRC support bill with a Titans RX Rallycross Championship campaign, where she was the only female in the series, winning several qualification races and finishing fifth overall.
Last season, Molinaro raced for XITE ENERGY Racing, achieving the team's best result of second place at the NEOM Island X Prix I alongside Timo Scheider.
“It’s always nice to be back with the Extreme E family, of course I’d like to be competing but being Championship Driver is a great role and I’m looking forward to an action packed season”, says Tamara Molinaro. "The course here in NEOM is completely different from last season but I think its super fun and I’ve really enjoyed driving it during the testing. I think it will be very interesting for the drivers.”
James Taylor, Chief Championship Officer Extreme E, said: “We are delighted to welcome Andreas and Tamara as Extreme E’s Championship Drivers for Season 3. Both of them are seasoned off-road professionals with invaluable experience and, not only that, but Tamara has been a podium finisher in our series when she made her incredible race debut last year in NEOM.
“The role of Championship Drivers in our series are vital ones. Not only do we rely on their vast racing expertise when we are designing our challenging off-road corses, they are invalualbe to the teams when they may need a replacement driver.”
Building on the success of its first two seasons, Extreme E’s Season 3 promises to be the best yet. With a new championship format including double-headers at each of the five rounds, the pioneering off-road series promises to captivate on and off track on a whole new level, whilst delivering on its overall purpose to tackle climate change through sport, starting with the Desert X Prix in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, 11-12 March.
To learn more about Extreme E, visit - www.Extreme-E.com
ENDS
Contact Information
Charlotte Sefton
Extreme E
+44 7827 214807
charlotte@extreme-e.com
Simra Gulzar
Extreme E
+44 7552 858229
media@extreme-e.com
Josh Bell
MPA Creative
+44 7557 102540
jb@mpacreative.com
About Extreme E:
Now heading into its third season, Extreme E is a radical off-road racing series, founded by the same team behind Formula E, which showcases electric SUVs and futuristic technologies in some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.
This five-event global voyage utilises its sporting platform for the purpose of promoting electrification, environment and equality. The series’ goal is to highlight the impact of climate change in some of the world’s most endangered environments, promote the adoption of electric vehicles to pave the way for a lower carbon future, and provide a world-first gender-equal motorsport platform.
The first sport to ever be built out of a social purpose, Extreme E aims to minimise environmental impact while maximising awareness, racing in places that have already been damaged or affected by climate change or human interference and taking fans deep into the heart of the most pressing issues facing our planet’s future.
Not only that, but Extreme E is also helping the car industry to develop future-facing technology using racing as a platform for road innovation, which accelerates change ten-fold.
Season 3 Calendar
Saudi Arabia: 11-12 March 2023
Scotland, UK: 13-14 May 2023
Sardinia, Italy: 08-09 July 2023
Sardinia, Italy: 16-17 September 2023
Chile: 02-03 December 2023
About Continental Tires: Founding Partner and Official Tire Partner
Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. Continental generated preliminary sales of €37.7 billion in 2020 and currently employs more than 235,000 people in 58 countries and markets. In 2021, the company celebrates its 150th anniversary.
The Tires business area has 24 production and development locations worldwide. Continental is one of the leading tire manufacturers with more than 56,000 employees and posted preliminary sales of €10.2 billion in 2020 in this business area. Continental ranks among the technology leaders in tire production and offers a broad product range for passenger cars, commercial and special-purpose vehicles as well as two-wheelers. Through continuous investment in research and development, Continental makes a major contribution to safe, cost effective and ecologically efficient mobility. The portfolio of the Tires business area includes services for the tire trade and fleet applications, as well as digital management systems for tires.
About Enel X Way: Official Smart Charging Partner
Enel X Way is the Enel Group's company fully dedicated to electric mobility. With around 25,000 managed public charging points, Enel X Way operates in 16 countries, both directly and through joint ventures such as Ewiva in Italy and Chargeway in India. As a global platform for e-Mobility, the company is focused on developing flexible charging technologies and solutions to improve the customer experience and to enable the electrification of transport for consumers, businesses, cities and public administrations.
LinkedIn: Enel X Way
Twitter: @enelxway
Instagram: @enelxway
Facebook: @enelxway
About Zenith: Official Timekeeper and Founding Partner
Zenith exists to inspire individuals to pursue their dreams and make them come true – against all odds. Since its establishment in 1865, Zenith became the first watch manufacture in the modern sense of the term, and its watches have accompanied extraordinary figures that dreamt big and strived to achieve the impossible – from Louis Blériot’s history-making flight across the English Channel to Felix Baumgartner’s record-setting stratospheric free-fall jump. Zenith is also highlighting visionary and trailblazing women – past and present – by celebrating their accomplishments and creating in 2020 its first-ever collection dedicated entirely to them, Defy Midnight.
With innovation as its guiding star, Zenith features exceptional in-house developed and manufactured movements in all its watches. Since the creation of the El Primero in 1969, the world’s first automatic chronograph calibre, Zenith has gone on to master fractions of the second with the Chronomaster Sport and its 1/10th of a second precision and the DEFY 21 with a precision of 1/100th of a second.
About ENOWA: Official Green Hydrogen Partner
About ENOWA: ENOWA is a world-class energy, water and hydrogen company founded in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. ENOWA produces and delivers clean and sustainable resources for industrial and commercial applications using a customer-centric smart and connected system, designed to be circular and takes advantage of NEOM's optimal solar and wind energy profile. ENOWA benefits from NEOM's greenfield site, which has no legacy infrastructure, to advance Energy, Water, and Hydrogen innovation.
ENOWA will act as a catalyst and incubator for developing new, sustainable energy and water businesses while creating a robust economic sector regionally. Through its commitment to renewable energy and efficient water management, ENOWA seeks to become a global reference for industry leaders and setting a benchmark for sustainable economic circular systems around the world.
For more information, please visit enowa.neom.com
About Vodafone Business: Official Technology and Communication Partner
With expertise in connectivity, global scale and the leading IoT platform, Vodafone Business is a leading technology communications company helping organisations succeed in a digital world and keeping society connected. Vodafone’s purpose is to connect for a better future, enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society, and many of its solutions have sustainability and inclusivity embedded.
Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services. Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 52 more. As of 31 December 2021, they had over 300m mobile customers, more than 28m fixed broadband customers and over 22m TV customers.
This collaboration will see Vodafone Business leading innovations and capabilities such as 5G, MPN, IOT and MEC, integrated into Extreme E’s global operations and will include full involvement in the purpose- driven elements of the series, with special prominence on Extreme E’s Legacy Programmes and the Science Laboratory on board the St Helena.Through its IOT solutions, Vodafone Business is helping sustainability efforts, including agriculture, forestation and decarbonisation of energy grids.
Find out more on http://www.Vodafone.com/business and follow Vodafone on its social media channels:
Twitter: @VodafoneGroup
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone
About EY: Official Sustainability Partner
EY is a global leader in assurance, consulting, strategy, transactions and tax services, and already plays a significant role in working with Extreme E. Originally announcing its collaboration with the championship back in 2020, EY came on board to help Extreme E achieve its commitment to minimising its overall footprint whilst creating a positive legacy.
Whilst Extreme E strives ‘to race without a trace’, the framework provided by EY has helped the series to minimize its environmental impact across each of its remote race locations. Both prior and post-racing impact assessments have supported Extreme E to strategically plan their actions within these areas.
EY and Extreme E will work closely together to promote the five pillars of Extreme E (or “Five Es”) through the adoption of ‘XE Talks’. These informative presentations, facilitated by Extreme E’s Scientific Committee, will shed light on the Five Es, showcasing the joint commitment of EY and Extreme E.
About CBMM: Founding Supplier
CBMM is the world leading supplier of niobium products and technology. Headquartered in Brazil, with offices and subsidiaries in China, Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.
CBMM offers technical innovation to customers around the globe through a team of over 2,000 highly trained, dedicated professionals providing cutting-edge niobium products and technology to over 400 clients in around 40 countries.
About Kaizen Clean Energy: Official Clean Energy Technology Provider
Kaizen Clean Energy (KCE), a manufacturer of hydrogen generators, is developing integrated solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen fuelling, and distributed power for the grid and critical assets.
KCE offers its mobile microgrid to customers through an Energy as a Service contract, which eliminates large capital expenses and provides customers with the flexibility to scale with energy needs over time.
Kaizen Clean Energy will support ENOWA - NEOM’s energy, water, and hydrogen subsidiary and Green Hydrogen Power Partner to Extreme E - in delivering a pioneering hydrogen microgrid solution to the championship.
Find out more on: www.kaizencleanenergy.com.
About ALLCOT: Official Environmental Contribution Partner
Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, ALLCOT works together with communities, organizations, and governments worldwide in climate actions, to accelerate the transition to Net Zero. ALLCOT develops Climate action through projects and solutions with triple impact: environmental, social, and economic, using four strategies:
- Sustainability strategies: Innovative, comprehensive, and tailored solutions for businesses to reduce and compensate greenhouse gas emissions and measures the socio-economic co-benefits through the SDGs.
- Project development & implementation: Implementation of carbon projects in developing countries, rooted in community engagement, environmental stewardship, and economic viability, driven by integrity, equity, and transparency.
- Capacity building: Providing individuals and communities with practical skills and knowledge, possible to apply in their daily lives.
- Advocacy: Creating systemic change to work closely with policymakers and stakeholders to promote sustainable policies and practices at the local, national, and international levels.
Find out more on: www.allcot.com
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