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Extreme E

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Extreme E
File:Extreme E logo.png
CategoryElectric off-road racing
CountryInternational
Drivers16
Teams8
ConstructorsSpark Racing Technology
Tyre suppliersContinental Tyres
Official websiteextreme-e.com

Extreme E is a proposed off-road racing series that uses electric SUVs to race in extremely remote parts of the world, such as Greenland or Nepal.[1] All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness for some aspects of climate change and Extreme E maintains a "Legacy Programme" which intends to provide social and environmental support for those locations.[2]

History

Extreme E car: the Spark ODYSSEY 21

Extreme E began in 2018 as a project led by Formula E founder Alejandro Agag and former driver Gil de Ferran.[3] The series was formally introduced in January 2019 with plans to begin racing in 2021.[4] The announcement, which took place on the RMS St Helena in London, also introduced Continental as tyre supplier and Brazilian company CBMM as niobium supplier for the vehicle production.[5] Ali Russell was named Chief Marketing Officer, while Red Bull sports executives Kester Wilkinson and Nina Dreier signed on as event and marketing managers.[6]

In July 2019 a first prototype of the series vehicle, the ODYSSEY 21, was showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and in December 2019 the provisional calendar for the first season in 2021 has been revealed, featuring races in Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Greenland and Brazil.[7][8]

In 2020 the series started to attract attention by having Ken Block race the Extreme E car at the last stage of the Dakar Rally in January and in Septmber Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton announced the creation of his own Extreme E team, called X44.[9][10] A six-day drivers test was held in Château de Lastours in France in late September and early October, featuring among confirmed series drivers some well-known racing drivers like Valtteri Bottas, Sébastien Loeb and Jean-Éric Vergne.[11]

In October 2020, SportCal reported Extreme E is facing trademark legal proceedings against the series' name, which had been opposed by Extreme International, owner of the 'Extreme' brand and Extreme Sports Channel. According to Alistair Gosling, CEO of Extreme International, he was approached in 2017 by Ali Russell, the then marketing manager at Formula E, to invite their marketing division for ideas to promote Formula E. One of the presented concepts was for electric vehicles racing in environmentally-vulnerable locations.[12]

Race format

An Extreme E race weekend consists of five rounds: Two qualifying rounds on Saturday, then two semi-finals and the final on Sunday. The qualifying rounds consist of two races of four cars each (8 cars compete in the race weekend), with points awarded based on finishing position. The four cars scoring the most points proceed to semi-final 1, the bottom four proceed to semi-final 2 (called "crazy race"). Semi-final rounds are one race each. The top three cars from SF1, and the top car from SF2, proceed to the final.[13]

In each race the car must complete two laps of the course, with each team member driving one lap and co-driving the other lap. Teams must have one male and one female driver, who will perform the same driving and co-driving duties, promoting gender equality and a level playing field amongst competitors.[14]

Vehicle

Main article: Spark ODYSSEY 21

The Spark ODYSSEY 21 "Extreme E E-SUV" was unveiled as the series competition vehicle at Goodwood Festival of Speed on 5 July 2019.[7] The vehicle is manufactured by Spark Racing Technology, the constructors of the Formula E cars, with a battery produced by Williams Advanced Engineering. The car is fitted with a niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame, as well as crash structure and roll cage.[15] It weighs 1,650 kg (3,640 lb), and is capable of 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, with 400 kW (540 hp) of power.[16]

The ODYSSEY 21 was showcased in action in 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in January 2020. Guerlain Chicherit drove the vehicle during shakedown one day before the race start and Ken Block competed with it on the final stage between Haradh and Al-Qiddiya, finishing with the third fastest time in the car category.[17]

Teams and drivers

The following teams have announced their intention to compete in Extreme E:[18]

Team Drivers
Germany Abt Sportsline[19] Sweden Mattias Ekström[20]
TBA
Germany HWA Team[21] TBA
TBA
United Kingdom Veloce Racing[22] TBA
TBA
Spain QEV Technologies[23] TBA
TBA
United States Andretti United Extreme E[24][25] Sweden Timmy Hansen[26]
United Kingdom Catie Munnings[26]
United States Chip Ganassi Racing[27] United States Sara Price[28]
United States Kyle LeDuc[29]
Indonesia Techeetah[30] TBA
TBA
United Kingdom Team X44[31] TBA
TBA

Drivers' programme

In September 2019, Extreme E released a list of drivers who had registered official interest in driving in the series.[32] In November, a second group of inductees were announced to have joined the programme.[33]

Race calendar

Extreme E plans to race in locations already damaged by climate change in order to bring awareness to the problems posed by climate change and have consulted ecological experts to keep the impact of their presence to a minimum.[34] The provisional race schedule for 2021 was announced on 17 December 2019.[35]

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2021 races
Region Host Nation Location Date
Ocean Senegal Senegal Lac Rose 22–24 January 2021
Desert Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Sharaan, AlUla 4–6 March 2021
Glacier Nepal Nepal Kali Gandaki Gorge 6–8 May 2021
Arctic Greenland Greenland Kangerlussuaq, Russell Glacier 27–29 August 2021
Rainforest Brazil Brazil Santarém, Pará, Amazon Rainforest 29–31 October 2021

Logistics

The RMS St Helena, a former Royal Mail Ship, will serve as a "floating paddock" and headquarters for the series. It will be used to carry all equipment, including the cars, to the race locations (or nearest port) in order to reduce carbon emissions compared to air freight. The ship's environmental footprint was further reduced by converting the propulsion units and the generators to run on ultra-low-sulfur diesel. The St Helena will also serve as a research vessel, carrying scientists and potentially holding conferences at the race locations.[36]

Extreme E will use hydrogen fuel cell technology supplied by AFC Energy. Hydrogen fuel will be generated from water and solar energy and will then be used to charge the vehicles, allowing for a sustainable off-the-grid power generation.[37]

Broadcasts and documentary series

Host broadcasters will be Aurora Media Worldwide and North One Television, producing live race coverage and a supporting documentary series, combining sport and scientific stories.[38] Academy Award-winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens was hired as the series artistic director to produce the broadcasts. Gil de Ferran said that the "viewers can expect a completely new way of consuming sport, with each episode telling not just the story of a race, but the wider race of awareness and the need to protect these remote and challenging environments being explored by Extreme E."[39][40]

Before the first season in 2021, a three-part TV series is produced to document the process of creating a brand-new racing series. The first episode was broadcast in June 2020 on Channel 4.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ Burgt, Alex Kalinauckas and Andrew van de. "New Extreme E electric SUV series to launch with Formula E". Autosport.com.
  2. ^ "Extreme E unveils Scientific Committee and first Legacy Programme initiative". extreme-e.com. 2020-04-21.
  3. ^ van Leeuwen, Andrew (29 August 2018). "Formula E to run "Extreme E" SUV series". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex (31 January 2019). "Extreme E unveils full series concept ahead of 2021 launch". Autosport. Richmond, Surrey. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Formula E founder launches radical new off-road racing concept Extreme E". FIA Formula E.
  6. ^ "Extreme E hires Red Bull executives to manage events and marketing teams". SportBusiness. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Formula E's electric off-road SUV is an absolute unit". theverge.com. 2019-07-06.
  8. ^ "Extreme E calendar confirmed for inaugural season". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. 2019-12-18.
  9. ^ "New Extreme E climate-aware SUV unleashed". bbc.com. 2020-01-24.
  10. ^ "Lewis Hamilton to enter his own team in new Extreme E all-electric racing series". theguardian.com. 2020-09-08.
  11. ^ "Bottas, Loeb, Vergne complete Extreme E test". motorsport.com/. 2020-10-05.
  12. ^ Rest, Jonathan (1 October 2020). "Extreme E faces legal and IP dispute ahead of debut season". SportCal. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Race Weekend Format". Extreme E. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Extreme E takes lead on gender equality in motorsport". Extreme E. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Extreme E—The Car". extreme-e.com.
  16. ^ "Guerlain Chicherit to drive Extreme E E-SUV at Dakar Rally". extreme-e.com. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  17. ^ "XE: Odyssey 21 has first competitive run at Dakar". extreme-e.com. last-lap.co.uk. 2020-01-17.
  18. ^ "Teams". extreme-e.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  19. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex (10 July 2019). "Long-time Audi affiliate ABT Sportsline joins Extreme E off-road series". Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  20. ^ "ABT confirms Mattias Ekström as male driver and CUPRA as main partner". Extreme E. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  21. ^ Kalinauckas, Alex (12 July 2019). "HWA becomes latest FE team to join Extreme E". Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  22. ^ Lewis, Niamh (19 September 2019). "Adrian Newey: Formula 1 designer to join Extreme E". Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  23. ^ Coates, Freddie (4 March 2020). "QEV Technologies announces new Extreme E Team". Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  24. ^ "Andretti Autosport Joins Extreme E Team". Extreme E. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Introducing Andretti United Extreme E Team". Extreme E. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Andretti United Extreme E confirms drivers Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen". extreme-e.com. 2020-09-28.
  27. ^ "Chip Ganassi Racing Commits to Extreme E". Extreme E. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  28. ^ "First Extreme E Driver is Revealed". Extreme E. 11 Jun 2020. Retrieved 11 Jun 2020.
  29. ^ "Chip Ganassi Racing confirm Extreme E driver line-up with Kyle LeDuc signing". www.extreme-e.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  30. ^ "Team TECHEETAH to join Extreme E". extreme-e.com. 2020-09-01.
  31. ^ "Lewis Hamilton founds Extreme E team". extreme-e.com. 2020-09-08.
  32. ^ "Extreme E reveals world-class Drivers' Programme". Extreme E. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  33. ^ "One year down, one to go..." extreme-e.com. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  34. ^ "Extreme E Locations". Extreme E. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Extreme E unveils schedule for inaugural season". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  36. ^ "Prepping for RMS St Helena's Extreme Voyage". alt-drivemagazine.com. 2020-06-19.
  37. ^ "Extreme E partners with AFC Energy to pioneer zero emission vehicle charging". RACER. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
  38. ^ "Aurora, North One to host Extreme E broadcasting". advanced-television.com. 2020-10-08.
  39. ^ "Extreme E unveils full series concept ahead of 2021 launch". autosport.com. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  40. ^ "An electric future". dakar.com. 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  41. ^ "Extreme E set to make TV debut on Channel 4". extreme-e.com. 2020-06-22.
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