As the world struggles to grip with the realities of climate change and how each of us can do our part in averting disaster, one group of motorsport enthusiasts have decided to prove that environmentally friendly doesn't have to mean boring. Extreme-E is one of the latest in groundbreaking electric motorsports to be launched in 2020, with its racing calendar starting 2021. But Extreme-E has a unique twist to your usual road course or rally stage. It's been built from the ground up to capture attention and help bring more sustainable change to the future of fast cars.
What is Extreme-E?
Extreme-E is another new form of motorsport that isn’t like your traditional motorsports such as Formula 1 or Indy Car. No, this is a groundbreaking venture from the mind that successfully started the Formula E Championship, another electric racing series, Alejandro Agag. This time Alejandro has set out to change people's perception of motorsport and how it can be environmentally friendly. Extreme-E’s mission is to achieve sustainable racing in extreme environments across the globe and raise awareness of the issues these specific areas are facing.
Extreme-E will take place across five continents with each location focusing on one main environment: Desert, Ocean, Arctic, Rainforest, Glacier. To travel to all these locations they will be using a former Royal Mail Ship, RMS St. Helena as their floating paddock. This ship will also be a scientific research station, allowing local and international scientists to conduct research in extreme and endangered environments. Onboard the ship is hydrogen fuel cell technology, this is what they will use to charge the vehicles themselves.
The format of an Extreme-E event consists of two days; one qualifying, one race day. The weekend system does appear somewhat confusing at first but being a brand new series, this is inevitable, multiple series go through a similar development process.
Day One, the field will be split into grids of four cars, each team (2 drivers, 1 car) will race twice in two qualifying races. The qualifying 1 race will be drawn by lottery, the finishing positions determine the grid for qualifying 2. Points are handed out after every event (1st-4th): 3, 2, 1, 0.
Day Two, race day; three races are held with 4 cars in each: semi-final 1, semi-final 2, and the final showdown race. The top four scoring teams from Day One go into semi-final 1, the bottom four go into semi-final 2. Then, the top 3 teams from semi-final 1 and the winner of semi-final 2 go into the final showdown race. Points are awarded from 1st to 8th on Day Two: 20, 15, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
To go even further with this groundbreaking series, teams have to have a male and a female driver. Each team driver will complete a lap during Day One and over Day Two a changeover will occur mid-race, similar to how the World Endurance Championship (WEC) operates.
RELATED: Six-Time F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton Has Founded An Extreme E Team
Who is Involved?
So far 9 teams have signed up for their debut season in 2021, the field consists of an array of teams from different disciplines and brand new teams.
Abt Sportsline: A well-known team if you are an avid follower of Formula E. Driver line up Mattias Ekström; a multi-disciplined touring car driver (DTM, V8 Supercars, etc.).
Andretti United Extreme E: A.K.A, Andretti Autosport, and United Autosports. Two powerhouse names that are synonymous with motorsports across the globe. Their drivers will be Catie Munnings; World Rally Driver, and Timmy Hansen; 2019 World Rallycross Champion.
Chip Ganassi Racing: Another synonymous name in racing especially when it comes to Indy Car and NASCAR series. Their all-American line is Sara Price and Kyle Leduc both with rallying experience.
HWA: A multi-disciplinary motorsport team that ranges from Formula 2 & 3 to DTM and Formula E. No current drivers have been announced.
QEV Technologies: A Spanish automotive company that develops electric powertrains, the work they have, has been used by teams competing in Formula E. No current drivers have been announced.
Rosberg Xtreme Racing: You guessed it, a brand new team run by F1 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg. No current drivers have been announced.
Team Techeetah: A Chinese racing outfit that has found major success in Formula E, both 2018-19 and 2019-2020 Constructor Championships. No current drivers have been announced.
Veloce Racing: A sister outfit to the popular Veloce Esports company, they currently have Adrian Newey on board the project, a man who has collectively won 10 Formula 1 World Championships. No current drivers have been announced.
X44: A brand new team founded by the 6x Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. No current drivers have been announced.
And if anyone remembers what happened the last time Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took to the same track, you can expect some entertaining races to come your way!
RELATED: Retired F1 Driver Nico Rosberg Forms Extreme E Team Poised To Face Lewis Hamilton's X44
How will it be Broadcast?
The issue with most current motorsport series, especially with Formula 1, is they lay behind a pay-wall. For a new series like Extreme-E, this isn’t something you want, you want as many eyeballs as you can to build your audience.
Due to Extreme-E’s message of sustainability and environmental protection, it has drawn the interest of many TV networks, chief of which National Geographic with a three-part series covering events leading up to the first race in 2021. The series itself currently has broadcast contracts in the U.K (BBC), China (zhibo.tv), Australia (Fox Sports), US and the Caribbean (Fox Sports), Canada (Fox Sports & RDS), India (Sony India), Netherlands (RTL 7), Middle East (Dubai Sports), Italy (Mediaset), New Zealand (TVNZ), Malaysia (RTM) and Belarus (BTRC).
As the series will be going to extreme environments you would expect the visuals to be just as stunning as the places they will visit. Well, you would be right. Extreme-E have partnered with Paramax and Titan on Giant Screen / IMAX these quality visuals alongside the story and mission of Extreme-E will create an experience like no other motorsport could possibly imagine.
RELATED: Extreme E to make broadcast debut on National Geographic
Can Extreme-E Grab Attention And Keep It?
Now, trying to decide whether or not this series will work and accomplish their mission to spread awareness of sustainability and environmental protection is a tough one, for one main reason. It hasn’t even started yet. But this is not to say when it does start early 2021 (covid-19 permitting) it won’t start with a positive bang - excuse the combustion engine pun.
I cannot see how a series consisting of being environmentally conscious, will not do well considering the state of the world today, where environment and global impact is at the forefront of everyone’s mind - or should be. This series provides an opportunity for all of us to feel more connected and understand the world we exist in; how one change in your life can have a positive effect on someone living 100,000 miles away.
Extreme-E has the potential to be huge not only because of the people that are currently involved but because of the message it has at its very core; a world connected rather than disconnected.
