Did you know there's an all-electric off-road racing series that travels to exotic locations around the world aboard a climate-science ship, highlighting environmental issues and leaving behind sustainability programs? It's called Extreme E, and you'd be forgiven if you hadn't heard of it. After all, they race in jungles and deserts and, this month, on the southern coast of Sardinia, an island ravaged by wildfires in recent years. In these exotic locations there aren't any roaring crowds, but there are plenty of superstars to cheer for. Extreme E features teams owned by Formula 1 champions including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button. It features racing legends with names like Andretti, Sainz and Loeb as team owners and/or drivers. Electronic music legend Carl Cox owns a team. In what other racing series do McLaren and Hummer race door-to-door? The action is fast, dramatic and, in these landscapes, absolutely gorgeous to watch.
This week, the series returns to Sardinia for the 2nd time this season, bringing with it a brilliantly close championship fight. Acciona Sainz XE Team are in the championship lead with 109 points, but reigning champs RXR are just 4 points behind - and they're the most successful team historically on these Italian sands. Don't count out Veloce Racing, who trail the points lead they recently held by just 14 points. It's a wide-open fight and this time around, the track layout has changed to provide even more wide-open action.
Championship Driver Patrick O’Donovan described the course changes. “For a fan of Extreme E the start of the races will be really interesting, as there is potential for five cars abreast going over the first jump with a slight kink to the left before you have a braking zone for the opening right-hander... That first turn is extremely slippery, as it is a soft surface through there, so I think that will be a really exciting part of the track. There’s potential for a lot of overtaking there and a few drivers will no doubt try to make decisive moves which will be quite cool."
In addition to a new course layout, Extreme E has unveiled another legacy program for the Mediterranean island, combining existing efforts with research group MEDSEA with technology solutions from Vodafone Business to help support early detection of wildfires.
We'll save the spoilers! Watch the highlights from rounds 7 and 8 below.
