X44 set the early pace ahead of Extreme E Season 2 opener in NEOM 18.02.2022: Extreme E Season 2 ‘The Race For the Planet’ got underway today as the ten teams and 20 world-class drivers took to the course for their first taste of the Desert X Prix, in NEOM, Saudi Arabia.

Extreme E Season 2 ‘The Race For the Planet’ got underway today as the ten teams and 20 world-class drivers took to the course for their first taste of the Desert X Prix, in NEOM, Saudi Arabia.



The 6.9-kilometre course in NEOM provides a new set of challenges at the start of the new season for the Extreme E grid, offering up breathtaking backdrops, stunning rock formations and plenty of gradient changes. The teams will have plenty of variables to overcome if they are to score big points in the first X Prix of the season and get their campaigns off to a good start.




HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al- Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsports Company, said: “The Extreme E series is a perfect fit for Saudi Arabia as we work to deliver on the promise of the Kingdom’s Vison 2030.


In welcoming the most radical and conscientious racing series on the planet back for a second year in a row, we continue to show our commitment to building a better future for all through our ever-expanding portfolio of motorsport events hosted here in the Kingdom.



“When it comes to creating change and building a legacy we can be proud of, there is no better collaboration than the one we share with Extreme E. This year we will continue to drive this change together from NEOM, the City of the Future, with the clear aim of promoting a sustainable tomorrow. We can’t wait to see the ODYSSEY 21 electric SUVs go racing in NEOM this weekend.”



Nadhmi Al-Nasr, NEOM’s CEO, said: “NEOM has made no secret of its desire to promote sustainability and raise awareness around some of the world's most pressing challenges, such as climate change and nature conservation. We feel hosting an innovative racing event such as Extreme E in a region dedicated to pioneering clean technology and mobility solutions perfectly manifests our goals.



“In keeping with our approach to encouraging talent development and diversity, we are delighted to welcome the drivers, both male and female, the Extreme E team, and leading experts to NEOM. Sport is an important sector for NEOM and will be key in creating a new form of liveability and driving economic growth. In particular, adventure sport offerings will be a major contributor to the visitor economy.”



Alejandro Agag, CEO and Founder of Extreme E added: “Using our sport for purpose platform, Extreme E delivered truly ground-breaking action in its first season, on and off the racecourse, and now we are ready to go and do it all again, with more experience and more determination than ever.


“Taking the championship to NEOM for our desert location will be an exciting moment, as NEOM's long-term plans are very much in keeping with the ethos of Extreme E – it is attempting to do something that's never been done before and comes at a time when the world needs fresh thinking and new solutions.



“As we saw in our first-ever championship race, the Kingdom's terrain is stunning and unforgiving. The desertscape promises to be intense, and it will be an unprecedented challenge for our competitors to explore in a new desert terrain with warmer racing conditions.”



After a brief Shakedown session, the pace setters in Free Practice were Lewis Hamilton’s X44 outfit. Coming off the back of their victory at the Season 1 finale in Dorset, X44 posted a combined time of 9:44:041 to head the standings.



In second were Genesys Andretti United Extreme E, 8.823 seconds adrift and continuing their positive momentum after finishing third in last season’s finale in December.



Xite Energy Racing were third quickest, just over 25 seconds behind Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez’ leading time, and nearly 12 seconds ahead of fourth place ABT Cupra XE, whose new driver Nasser Al-Attiyah set the time to beat early in the session.


Season 1 Champions Rosberg X Racing (RXR) enjoyed a trouble-free session to complete the top five. McLaren XE, who made their Extreme E debut today, showed no signs of nerves as they finished sixth fastest.



In seventh place were Chip Ganassi Racing, looking for a strong start following an unlucky first season in Extreme E. Behind them came Veloce Racing, closely followed by Jenson Button’s JBXE, and Acciona | Sainz XE Team.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, ABT Cupra XE: “I’m so happy to be part of this family of Extreme E and to be driving with the Cupra team. I know the team very well and I am grateful for this chance to share the steering wheel with Jutta. We are waiting for tomorrow and waiting to drive and to race and maybe to be on the podium – this would be a great start for us for the Championship.”



Sara Price, Chip Ganassi Racing: “You know obviously last year we had tremendous bad luck – this year we are going to turn it around, we’ve been working a great amount to make sure we have a great outcome this year. We learnt a lot last year that’s for sure. But you’ve just got to keep going with it you know. But this year we are very excited, we have the Hummer EV and we have a great team so I think we have a great foundation to keep building off of.”



Christine GZ, Veloce Racing: “It’s amazing (being part of Veloce), I’m super happy to still be here this year, it’s great. We’ve already been together for a week of testing in Dubai which has been great, and we are all happy and excited for the weekend. I love this course and the fact that there’s a bit of everything.”

Laia Sanz, Acciona | Sainz XE: “It feels much better than the start of the last season when I was completely a rookie. With what I learned last year and with Dakar I hope this will have helped a lot and I hope to help the team much more this year.”



Cristina Gutiérrez, X44: “I can't wait to start Season 2. It was nice to come second last year with the same points as first place, so we can’t wait to see how we get on this year against these amazing drivers. Last year qualifying was nice for us, but this year the sporting format is different so that might be a disadvantage for us but we’re looking forward to the fight.”

Tanner Foust, McLaren XE: “I know why they call it extreme now. That was insane. I haven't gone that fast in testing, haven’t been able to carry that speed before and things change fast at that speed so there was a lot going on. It was a relief to get in the sand and a relief to get the car back in one piece so I’m looking forward to putting in some more laps.”

Catie Munnings, Genesys Andretti United Extreme E: “It’s amazing to be back and see the racing family once again. It is a nice atmosphere with Extreme E and the Championship has got miles to grow. I was nervous as I haven’t driven since Dorset, and haven't driven on sand in a year, but I think it was an incredible lap today.”



Racing begins tomorrow with Qualifying, followed by the Finals on Sunday which will be shown in more than 200 countries by 85 broadcasters. A full list of broadcasters can be found here.





PLEASE NOTE ALL TIMINGS ARE GMT


Saturday 19 February

0815 – 0900 GMT      Qualifying  Round 1
1215 – 1300 GMT      Qualifying  Round 2



Sunday 20 February

0910 – 1025 GMT       Semi Finals and Crazy Race
1330 – 1345 GMT      Final
1415 - 1515 GMT      Post-race press conference



To learn more about Extreme E, visit - www.extreme-e.com



Julia Fry photos ExtremeE photographers