19 Dec 2020

Extreme E completes star-studded first group test

(Driver quotes and additional images at end)

VNR available here: https://vimeo.com/extremee/download/492855182/0db224fbcd

19 December 2020, London: Extreme E, the innovative new electric off-road series, has completed its first group test at MotorLand Aragón, Spain, with many of the world’s biggest names in rally and off-road racing joining together.

The impressive line-up, which included rally legends Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz, World Rallycross champions Johan Kristoffersson, Timmy Hansen, and Mattias Ekström, Dakar Rally hotshots Cristina Gutiérrez and Laia Sanz, W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick, and Australian Rally Champion Molly Taylor, among more, marked an all-star meet up as the Extreme E teams got their first joint display.

It was also the first chance the drivers had to feel the full potential of the championship’s 400kW (550bhp) ODYSSEY 21 electric SUV as the first X Prix in Saudi Arabia, March 2021, draws ever closer.

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “We’ve been working towards this day for over two years. The dream is finally becoming a reality and it’s certainly been a proud moment to see such a talented group of drivers all together. This championship has one of the strongest line-ups of drivers anywhere on the planet.”

“Testing has been a huge success and a great way to end out what has been a challenging year in so many ways. 2021 is set to be the year where the world can see the realisation of all our hard work and I cannot wait to show-off one of the most innovative motorsport formats the world has ever seen.”

The teams completed two days of testing across two off-road circuit layouts; a 3.1km open course and a faster 1km circuit, getting to prove their abilities despite having to contend with foggy conditions and low visibility at times.

Scot Elkins, Race Director at Extreme E, said: “We battled the weather a little bit as we had strange conditions with the fog, but overall it's been really really good. The cars have been really reliable and it's exciting to see them running at full power and seeing the drivers all getting a chance to try out the new machinery. We've achieved exactly what we wanted to.

“We have used two courses during the test, the first was much longer and much more open, it's actually more suited to what we'll see on the real events in terms of having the course laid out by markers and typical designations, whereas the other course was more of a closed course; it's a single material so it's just dirt as opposed to the other, which has some different materials to deal with on the races. The test has given everybody a good opportunity to see the different environments that we're going to be racing in next year.”

The ODYSSEY 21 will be pushed to its limits on some of the toughest terrains during the 2021 race season, including the desert, the Arctic, and the Amazon, and Extreme E’s Founding Partner, Continental Tyres, has worked hard to create a tyre to meet this multitude of demands.

The test was an important opportunity to showcase a new innovation that will be part of the series – ContiConnect – a digital tyre monitoring system meaning greater safety for car and driver. The system collects, measures and analyses data such as tyre pressure and temperature in real time, transmitting that information to the driver on a display in the cockpit.

Founding Supplier CBMM, the world’s leading supplier of niobium products and technology, has also been integral in developing the ODYSSEY 21, which utilises niobium, making it lighter, stronger, more robust and more reliable. This is all while being more sustainable than other materials, as the increased lightness breeds energy savings and improved performance, and the added strength and durability afforded by niobium technology will assist the Extreme E chassis in dealing with the toughest challenges thrown its way.

F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr, an investor in the ACCIONA | Sainz XE team, also joined the test to get his first taste of the electric vehicle his team will be competing in.

Carlos Sainz Jr said: “I kind of expected my father to want to be involved in Extreme E and I saw him taking an interest, so we've been very busy the last three to four months with the project. It's a whole new challenge and I see that they are working very hard to make the team as competitive as possible. The climate message behind Extreme E is really important as we need to make people more conscious of what's going on in the world, while still producing a show and good racing.”

Following the test, cars will go back to the respective teams’ workshops for final adjustments before being loaded onto the championship’s floating centrepiece, St. Helena, which will depart in mid-February for its voyage around the world. Extreme E’s five-event calendar starts in Saudi Arabia in March followed by Senegal in May, Greenland in August, Brazil in October and Patagonia in December.

To learn more about Extreme E, visit - www.Extreme-E.com

ENDS

Quotes

Sébastien Loeb, X44:

“The car is different to what I’m used to driving, so I was very happy to discover how powerful it is and with good traction and balance too - I’ve really enjoyed testing it out! It's been great to work alongside the whole team while we get to know the vehicle and especially to drive alongside Cristina. She’s naturally a very skilled driver, as well as a hard worker, and I’m looking forward to having her as my partner in this new adventure.

“This weekend has also been a good opportunity for me to find out more detail about the series itself and the places we will be visiting. It’s a totally new concept so who knows how it will be, but I’m excited to start the season and begin competing against the other teams.”

Cristina Gutiérrez, X44:

“Testing has been brilliant and I’ve loved adapting to the new car and figuring out how it works. Each hour I’ve been here has been better than the one before and I’ve been able to learn so much already from Sébastien and the team. He’s an incredible person to have as a co-driver and has been giving me lots of advice – I’ve been trying to be like a sponge so I can soak it all up! It’s a dream to be able to learn from one of the best drivers in the world.

“I can’t wait for next year and to be able to start racing. Being surrounded by such a professional and expert team has really inspired me and I’m even more excited than I was before.”

Molly Taylor, Rosberg Xtreme Racing:

"It's been a fantastic two days with the team and driving the RXR ODYSSEY 21 in Spain. It's mine and Johan's first time driving the car at full power and to drive it across two very different track layouts has been very useful and a lot of fun.

“We seem to be learning a thousand things every kilometre which is super useful at this point in our development programme. The car is mega - really fun to drive - and I can’t wait to get it sideways at all the amazing locations we’ll be visiting in 2021.”

Johan Kristoffersson, Rosberg Xtreme Racing:

"It's been a great test for RXR. We came into the test excited to drive the RXR ODYSSEY 21 at full power for the first time and it didn’t disappoint! Everyone in the team has been focused on adapting and learning as quickly as possible which is important with very few chances to test the car between now and the start of the season.

“We've gathered a lot of data over the two days and me and Molly have a good understanding between each other and with the car. It’s been a lot of fun and I already can’t wait to go racing in Season 1 next year.”

Claudia Hürtgen, ABT CUPRA XE:

“It was great to meet the entire Extreme E family for the first time. The atmosphere and mood in the paddock are unique: Everyone is very relaxed but excited at the same time about starting this new adventure. We had a lot of time to get to know the car even better. It‘s perfect to have such an experienced partner at my side in Mattias. He shares all his tricks and experience with me, which of course helps enormously.”

Mattias Ekström, ABT CUPRA XE:

“That has been two days of pure fun. It was great to take out our beast on full power for the first time and also to get a first impression of the competition which is pretty strong. Although times are not that important during a test it was good to see that we seem to be quite competitive. Sharing the race car is a new thing for me but working with Claudia is super easy so I enjoyed it a lot. Can’t wait for spring now to try the unique format of Extreme E under real race conditions.”

Carlos Sainz, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team:

"It was really interesting to get a first glimpse of Extreme E in this collective test. The car is unique and different to the rest in terms of power, suspensions, energy management... We worked on those and many more things, and I am already looking forward to the competition".

Laia Sanz, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team:

“Everything was new for me, but it was great fun adjusting myself to the Extreme E car. My previous experience in off-road racing will definitely come in handy and I have also a great teammate to make sure we are up there when the season begins”.

Albert Fabrega, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team Principal:

“Getting up to speed as a team was our main priority for this winter test, which has been a learning curve for all of us. We are satisfied with the lessons we have learnt in Alcaniz and now we can continue our preparation for the season with even more confidence”.

Catie Munnings, Andretti United Extreme E

“It's been awesome to finally have a full test with the team, it feels like it's all coming together now and having the car at full power was super useful, not just for the drivers, but also the engineers to understand all the different mappings, which has been really important as this is very different to the world of combustion engines.

“We had some close contact racing which has been great to see, and it's cool to see the cars side by side, as so far we've only seen one at a time. It's starting to bring everything together and I’ve enjoyed meeting the Extreme E family and the people that we are going to be travelling to these amazing locations with. I'm just really excited now to start the season.”

Timmy Hansen, Andretti United Extreme E

“It's been two great days, but preparing for a season in two days is a hard job. We've been incredibly busy from early morning to late at night but I think we've definitely gotten the most that we could out of these two days. We couldn't be better prepared, but there are still so many big unknowns, so it will be exciting to go there and see who can tackle the sand in the dunes and the different environments, as well as the whole race, who's got the best car, who's got the best drivers. I'm very excited!”

Kyle LeDuc, Chip Ganassi Racing:

“The test this weekend was good! We started with a longer track, which had a really rocky terrain. Both Sara [Price] and I did our sections. We learned a lot and made a lot of changes to the car, as did every other team. We then switched to a short course, which was like a tighter rallycross track. We were able to experience multiple locations and make all the changes we could. It was a strong test with no major issues. I’m looking forward to taking this electric beast into the competition in March.”

Sara Price, Chip Ganassi Racing:

“We just got done with our first full field test with our Extreme E Odyssey 21. We tested on two courses this weekend. We were able to experience a lot of drifting around the corners. During the first lap I was getting a feel for the car. This is the first time with 100% power and driving an electric SUV is a bit different; you really have to be smooth. Finding traction was tough, so the more aggressive we got, the better it felt. Overall, the full field test was successful and I think we have what it takes to win.”

Dave Berk, Team Principle, Chip Ganassi Racing:

“I think the test has gone really well and I think everybody - all the teams, the organising series - have been challenged with the environment, particularly the fog. All the teams were chomping at the bit to get to full power, so this opportunity has been great, teams are laying down hot laps and comparing themselves to others. It's been good and we're happy with our driver choices and very much looking forward to the first race in Saudi Arabia.”

Oliver Bennett, Hispano Suiza Xite Energy Team:

“Great couple of days settling into the new HSXE car with team mate Christine! We focused mainly on trying to get comfortable in the car and learn from each other the feedback of how the car felt. The car is so alive and ‘electric’ to drive with instant torque out the corners it feels plenty fast enough and capable of some rough terrain we will experience!”

Christine Giampaoli, Hispano Suiza Xite Energy Team:

“These two days have been great fun! Finally, I had the opportunity to drive “the Beast” and I’m really looking forward to racing next year! So grateful for the awesome job the whole team of HSXE has done to keep the car perfect and all the support given.”

Jamie Chadwick, Veloce Racing:

“It’s been a great couple of days being able to drive the Extreme E car at full power for the first time. Unfortunately, the fog meant we didn't get as many laps as we would have liked but either way I'm always smiling when I drive this car. Lots to take in and be able to work on going into the season start next year. ”

Contact Information

Simra Gulzar
Extreme E
+44 7552 858229
media@extreme-e.com

Josh Bell
MPA Creative
+44 7557 102540
jb@mpacreative.com

Diego Bustos
BE Mass Media
(Latin America -including Brazil-, US Hispanics, Spain, Portugal)
+569-8829-9138 or
+1-660-847-4645
diego.bustos@bemassmedia.com

Notes to editors

About Extreme E:

Extreme E is a radical new racing series, which will see electric SUVs competing in extreme environments around the world which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues. The five-race global voyage highlights the impact of climate change and human interference in some of the world’s most remote locations and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles in the quest for a lower carbon future for the planet.

To minimise local impact, Extreme E races will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through live TV broadcast, and on social media.

The St. Helena, a former passenger cargo ship, has undergone a multi-million Euro refit to minimise emissions and transform her into Extreme E’s operations hub. The ship will be used to transport the championship’s freight and infrastructure, including vehicles, to the nearest port, minimising Extreme E’s footprint, as well as being used to facilitate scientific research through its on-board laboratory.

Extreme E is also pioneering hydrogen fuel cell technology which will enable its race fleet to be charged using zero emission energy.

Season 3 Calendar
Saudi Arabia: 11-12 March 2023
Scotland, UK: 13-14 May 2023
Sardinia, Italy: 08-09 July 2023
Amazon or USA: 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 ENOWA

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 NEOM: NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory – a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and reinventing environmental conservation.

NEOM will include hyperconnected, cognitive towns and cities, ports and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.

For further information email media@neom.com or visit www.neom.comand www.neom.com/en-us/newsroom

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 PANGAIA

PANGAIA is a materials science company on a mission to save our environment. We are a global collective of one heart and many hands — scientists, technologists, designers — creating essential products from innovative tech and bio-engineered materials.

About LVRSustainable
LVRSustainable is the section of LuisaViaRoma that offers a carefully curated selection of the best sustainable brands and carries out special collaborations with non-profit entities, charitable organisations, and brands to support social and environmental causes. LVRSustainable aims to build a global sustainable community and to promote supporting conscious fashion based on the following criteria: organic, vegan, fair trade, eco-friendly, women’s empowerment, community engagement, recycling & upcycling, and luxury craftsmanship.

About LuisaViaRoma
LuisaViaRoma is one of the world’s leading online luxury fashion retailers. Founded in 1929 by the Panconesi family with the opening of a small hat boutique on Via Roma in Florence, to then creating LUISAVIAROMA.COM in the 2000s it became the first online fashion platform to combine an avant-garde concept store with a strong digital presence. Currently, over 230 people from all over the world work at LuisaViaRoma. Based in Florence, the company ships to over 120 countries and closed 2020 with a turnover of approximately 180 million euros, of which over 90% resulting from online sales and over 75% from purchases by international customers.

About Zenith: Official Timekeeper and Founding Partner

ZENITH: TIME TO REACH YOUR STAR.

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. Zenith has been shaping the future of Swiss watchmaking since 1865, accompanying those who dare to challenge themselves and break barriers. The time to reach your star is now.

About Allianz: Founding Partner and Official Insurance Partner

The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 100 million private and corporate customers in more than 70 countries. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing around 790 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers. Furthermore, our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage 1.7 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we are amongst the leaders in the insurance industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2020, over 150,000 employees achieved total revenues of 140 billion euros and an operating profit of 10.8 billion euros for the group.

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 ALLCOT: Extreme E's Official Environmental Credit Supplier

ALLCOT provides innovative project development, carbon markets, and sustainability advisory services since 2009.ALLCOT’s unique approach is based on using Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, its linkage to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), non-market approaches, and other market mechanisms.

ALLCOT aims to lead and accelerate the global transition towards a climate-neutral society by 2050. ALLCOT provides knowledge and expertise to implement climate change intervention initiatives and carbon projects that rely on nature-based and technology-based approaches.

ALLCOT supports firms and public bodies in developing their own emission reduction initiatives by providing consulting services for various carbon quantification standards (CDM, VCS, GS), as well as for various sectors (forestry, waste, renewable energy, transportation, sports). The entire carbon credit value chain is encompassed by these consulting services created under the Paris agreement.

Find out more: www.allcot.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allcot/

About Neat Burger: Official Vegan Partner

Neat Burger is one of the world’s fastest growing plant-based sustainable burger chains, backed by key investors Formula 1 Champion and X44 Extreme E team owner, Lewis Hamilton, and actor and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Established in 2019, Neat Burger has achieved not only a loyal fanbase but industry recognition too, having won for a second year running the UK’s Best Vegan Restaurant of the Year at the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards and it was nominated for the 2021 GQ Food & Drink Sustainability Award. Most recently, the brand was awarded PETA’s inaugural Company of the Year Award for its game changing approach to plant-based diets, encouraging people to eat delicious, protein-packed plant-based meals.

As part of its mission to create a sustainable future, Neat Burger is working with Eden Reforestation Projects on its large-scale reforestation initiatives. In 2021, Neat Burger funded the planting of over one million mangrove trees in Madagascar.

About EY: Official Innovation Partner

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, strategy, transaction and consulting services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients.

About INTERprotección: Official Insurance Broker

INTERprotección is composed of a group of Mexican insurance, reinsurance and surety bond brokerage companies. With global presence and recognition, INTERprotección has more than 40 years of experience in management and comprehensive risk consulting in the Mexican market. Its business model is focused on bringing the client to the forefront and offering them the best service through innovative and disruptive products, more recently with its new brand inter.mx, its insurance digital platform that is transforming the insurtech game. Follow INTERprotección on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter @INTERproteccion

About Enel X Way: Official Smart Charging Partner

Enel X Way is the Enel Group's new global business line entirely dedicated to electric mobility. Currently, Enel X Way manages approximately 320,000 charging points, both directly and through interoperability agreements in place worldwide1. As a global platform for e-mobility, the company is focused on developing flexible charging technologies and solutions to improve the customer experience by supporting the electrification of transport for consumers, businesses, cities and public administrations

Find out more on https://enelxway.it/en/home and follow Enel X Way on its social media channels:

LinkedIn: Enel X Way

Twitter: @enelxway

Instagram: @enelxway

Facebook: @enelxway

¹ Public and private charging points, including points of interoperability.

About XITE ENERGY: Official Energy Drink Partner

XITE ENERGY was founded by Oliver Bennett and Megan Jones straight out of university two years ago. XITE brings disruptive innovation within the beverage industry; a new frontier to energy drinks. Designed around functionality but with no limitations on health, XITE ENERGY uses functional ingredients that are fused together to provide a cognitive boost, combining natural flavours, natural caffeine and zero sugar.