Extreme E, a new electric racing off-road series, will kick-off in 2021
The Extreme E, a new electric racing off-road series, will kick-off in January 2021. The new competition has been launched in London during a unique presentation on board of the former Royal Mail Ship St.Helena, the historic vessel that will undergo a renovation and will serve as a mobile operational base for Extreme E.
Extreme E will race across the world’s most remote environments to demonstrate the performance of electric SUVs in extreme climatic conditions. The plan is to race at Arctic, Himalayas, Sahara desert, the Amazon rainforest and islands in the Indian Ocean.
People behind the Extreme E: David Mayer de Rothschild, Fisher Stevens, Gil de Ferran and Alejandro Agag
By demonstrating the performance of electric cars racing in these harsh terrains and conditions – Extreme E will play a key role in raising global awareness of the specific issues each environment faces, such as melting ice caps, deforestation, desertification, retreating mountain glaciers, plastic pollution and rising sea levels. Extreme E is committed to being carbon neutral, alongside ongoing legacy initiatives at each destination to help restore and re-build damaged ecosystems already impacted by climate change.
The fully-funded venture is spearheaded by motorsport legend Gil de Ferran and electric mobility pioneer Alejandro Agag, with Continental Tyres announced as a founding partner and CBMM as niobium supplier. Explorer David de Rothschild and Academy Award winning film director Fisher Stevens are to play leading roles in the project, which will be broadcast as a first-of-its-kind ‘docu-sport’ TV series.
Gil de Ferran
Chairman of Extreme E, Gil de Ferran said: “This is a hugely exciting project. Extreme E offers a unique sport, adventure and entertainment concept that has never been seen or done before. 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.”
Operated in association with Formula E, organisers of the rapidly-growing ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Extreme E will use a traditional round-robin format with two groups of six teams – with the top four progressing to the knock-out stage and each driver going head-to-head to earn a place in the final. The off-road stages will be around 6-10km in length with a series of virtual gates to be navigated through by drivers – in a mixture of extreme heat and humidity, high altitude and subzero temperatures.
Alejandro Agag
Founder &CEO of Formula E, Alejandro Agag said: “I’ve always been passionate about progressing electric vehicle technology and the impact that clean mobility solutions can have on the efforts to halt global climate change. I strongly believe that Extreme E can help make the world more sustainable faster, and we have a dream team to make this ambition a reality.
Gil de Ferran is a leader in the world of motorsport, and in David de Rothschild and Fisher Stevens, Extreme E has attracted two of the best in their respective fields. Likewise, welcoming Continental Tyres as a founding partner – and CBMM as niobium supplier – is a huge boost to Extreme E and shows the strong commercial appetite for this sustainable sport and entertainment concept.”
Adopting an innovative approach to sports broadcasting, Extreme E races will be screened across the world in a serial documentary style, allowing fans to follow each episode with a cinematic feel. A special focus will be placed upon the adventures and challenges of each race, as well as telling the story of how climate change is endangering the ecosystem in each location.
St Helena will be a remote operational base for Extreme E
Photos: Luke Walker/Getty Images
