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Extreme E Series: All systems go for official virtual launch

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Extreme E Series. Image: Quickpic
Extreme E Series. Image: Quickpic

• The Extreme E Series kicks off in March 2021 and will travel around the world to five remote locations. 

• Tyre manufacturer, Continental, is a founding partner and exclusive tyre supplier to the e-racing series

• The German company will provide the special-purpose tyres for the Odyssey 21 electric racers

• Lewis Hamilton's X44 team will be part of the championship.

There are less than six months until the start of the Extreme E all-electric off-road racing series is scheduled to make its debut in March 2021. The official virtual launch for Extreme E will take place on Tuesday 27 October 2020 at 16:00 local time. 

The racing series will travel to remote locations around the world in a bid to create awareness around climate change and sustainable motorsport.

German tyre manufacturer Continental is a founding partner and the exclusive tyre supplier to the global championship which was recently officially granted status as an FIA International Series.

"All of us at Extreme E are delighted to have this seal of approval and be officially classified as an FIA International Series. We’ve been working hard towards this goal and the speed of recognition by the FIA gives us all a great confidence boost as we prepare to start our first season in 2021," said Alejandro Agag, CEO of Extreme E. 

XTREME E SERIES

Image: Quickpic

From the Arctic to the Amazon

The Extreme E series was founded by the same team that established Formula E. From 2021.

Tyres are vital to a racing car performing at an optimal level and Continental’s digital tyre monitoring platform, ContiConnect, will ensure digital connectivity, with sensors inside the tyres enabling pressures and temperatures to be constantly monitored.

The inaugural season will be staged across five diverse environments in some of the most remote regions of the world, from the desert to the Arctic and the Amazon to utilise its sporting platform to promote electrification, sustainability and equality. The first race is scheduled for March 2021.

XTREME E SERIES

Image: Quickpic

Two drivers: one male and one female

The series has its focus on diversity too, and therefore each team comprising two drivers, must include one male and one female, who both drive and share the co-driver’s navigation duties for the two race laps that make up the event.

There's a limit of up to five team members as mechanics or engineers. All of the Extreme E freight and logistics will travel by sea, using the repurposed and completely refurbished former Royal Mail Ship, the 7000-ton St Helena, as a floating garage to reduce freight emissions by two thirds in comparison to air travel.

Lewis Hamilton launches an electric off-road racing team 

The organisers are gradually lifting the covers on the teams set to take professional motorsport in electric SUVs to the furthest corners of the planet. And, none other than six-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton has announced that his newly founded team X44 will be joining the fray.

XTREME E SERIES

Image: Quickpic

Power to make a difference

"Extreme E really appealed to me because of its environmental focus," Hamilton said when explaining his commitment to the series. The Mercedes F1 driver is a proponent of creating awareness about the environment.

The hallmark of Extreme E is its choice of race venues in the immediate vicinity of endangered habitats. The series aims to put climate change on the radar of motorsport fans around the world, as well as politicians, local communities and authorities at the venues – and encourages a redoubling of efforts to restrict global warming to 1.5°C.

"Every single one of us has the power to make a difference," says Hamilton. "It means so much to me that I can use my love of racing, together with my love for our planet, to have a positive impact. I feel incredibly proud to announce my new race team and confirm its entry into Extreme E."

x44

Image: Extreme E

Well known motorsport teams from around the world

Hamilton’s X44 operation joins seven other teams that have already announced their involvement in Extreme E, including the famous US IndyCar teams Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing, the Spanish QEV Technologies project, two-time Formula E champions Techeetah, and British-owned Veloce Racing, co-founded by current Formula E Champion Jean-Eric Vergne.

Two teams from Germany – ABT Sportsline and HWA RACELAB – will also be among the contenders. ABT Sportsline is one of the most successful German motorsport teams and in recent years has won three of the most important German series: the German Supertouring Championship, the DTM and the ADAC GT Masters. With eleven driver’s championships and more than 180 race wins as a Mercedes-AMG race team, HWA is the most successful DTM outfit of all time. Both teams also have experience of racing in Formula E.

Drivers still to be confirmed 

As for who will be driving the Odyssey 21 cars for Lewis Hamilton’s team in the opening rounds of the Extreme E series, this is still to be decided. The names of most of the drivers for the other teams that have already confirmed their participation also remain a well-guarded secret.

The official virtual launch for Extreme E will take place on Tuesday 27 October 2020 at 16:00 local time. Fans can visit the website to register: www.extreme-e.com.

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XTREME E SERIES

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