Credit: Jordi Rierola|Extreme E
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO at Extreme E, said: “We are now just weeks away from completing our inaugural season, and what a season it has been!
“Already, there has been great racing on some epic courses, and the route for Dorset is really coming together. It will offer a variety of surfaces, natural obstacles and challenges with no doubt lots of rain so expect a wet and muddy course this time round.
“More importantly, though, throughout our first year we have raised awareness of the climate crisis facing us all. We’ve left behind positive impacts in each location and Dorset will be no different as we work alongside local organisations to implement a programme in the area.”
The closing race of Season 1 is taking place at the Ministry of Defence site in Bovington and the series has been working closely with the British Army to deliver another weekend of close-fought racing. The area itself is key to the Army’s sustainability undertakings being home to the Defence BattleLab – a facility that provides the opportunity to develop new products and technologies. A big focus for the military is decarbonisation and electric vehicles play a pivotal role. The British Army has already invested £10 million in this sector, developing experimental hybrid-electric drive vehicles within its fleet in a bid to create a more sustainable military operation.
Maj Gen Simon Hutchings OBE said: “The British Army has a long history in Motorsport that stretches back to 1937. Today’s soldiers compete in eight separate disciplines from Stage Rally to Enduro MotoCross; we even have a World Champion.
“Working closely with Extreme E will allow us to witness first-hand how a world leading global motorsport championship develops, inspires, and motivates its teams whilst operating in austere conditions – from the mechanics and vehicle designers, the chefs, logisticians, through to the drivers, motorsport is a Team effort.
“With Extreme E’s support, we will continue to highlight the environmental importance of the area and demonstrate the ongoing work undertaken by the British Army with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to ensure its longevity as both beautiful countryside and an effective training area. Combined with the Army’s investment in, and development of sustainable vehicles, this will allow us to continue to maintain our world-renowned operational edge.”
The course is already taking shape and will once again provide completely new challenges from the previous races to date. Gone are the sands of Saudi and Senegal, the glacial plains of Greenland and the hard-baked features of Sardinia. A mixed surface of clay, sand, gravel, and mud dominates the course in Dorset, making grip, or the lack of it, a formidable test for the first time this season as rain is always likely in the UK in December. There will be a mixture of fast downhill sections, narrow twisty areas and wide-open spaces providing options for different lines and overtaking.
Although Rosberg X Racing (RXR) has topped the leaderboard throughout it has not all been plain sailing and the Championship title will go down to the wire, with Lewis Hamilton’s X44, Andretti United, and Jenson Button’s JBXE, all in close contention for podium positions.
Off the course, the series is developing a Legacy Programme to support the local community and its natural surroundings. Full details of the project will be revealed in the coming weeks.
As with all Extreme E races, spectators are not able to attend as part of the championship’s goal to reduce its event footprint, but are able to follow the action from the comfort of their homes by watching the races through a host of global broadcasters (available here) including ITV 1, Sky Sports, BT Sport and BBC digital channels in the UK, and via the virtual FanWorld.
The Championship’s floating centrepiece, the St. Helena, is now sailing its final leg of 2021 to arrive in the UK ahead of the Jurassic X Prix. Once docked, all of the series’ cargo will be moved to the Dorset event site ready for a pre-Christmas racing spectacle.
To learn more about Extreme E, visit – www.Extreme-E.com
