Extreme e15 Dec 2020 18:37
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Extreme E: can motorsport save the planet?
By Siobhan Doyle
Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020
A new racing series is coming to the outlands, aimed at raising awareness of a range of ecological issues across the globe.
The world has changed tremendously over the last century, all thanks to the brilliant minds of humans. Indeed, humanity has thrived in its technological developments over the decades, particularly in cars, our main means of transport.
Yet “transport is responsible for 15 per cent of annual emissions globally,” says Formula E founder Alejandro Agag, “and it’s crucial we look to accelerate the adoption of clean-energy mobility if we are to slow the effects of climate change.”
A new racing series called Extreme E aims to raise awareness of electrification and sustainability and will take place in locations the majority of us will probably never visit. A brainchild of Agag, the series will race in five harsh locations around the world: the desert, ocean, Arctic, glacier and the Amazon rainforest. It is hoped the series will “raise awareness of the climate crisis affecting our planet and the solutions we must all take, now, which include the adoption of low-carbon energy alternatives, for a healthier future”.
Broadcasting such issues through sport may not be a bad idea. “We believe we can reach new audiences with these important messages who might not choose to watch science documentaries,” says Agag. “It’s an ambitious mission, but unless we showcase the harm being inflicted in those locations, which are often furthest from usual view but suffering the most, we can’t inspire the action that is needed.”
Agag says that as well as raising awareness, Extreme E will be the first motorsport in the world to field one male and one female driver in each team, “to encourage female participation and promote an equal gender playing field in sport”.
Each race, which will be known as an X Prix, will incorporate two laps per heat over a distance of approximately 16km (10 miles). Four teams will race head-to-head in each heat, with the drivers completing a lap each, over the two-day event. The circuits will feature natural challenges where drivers and teams will be pushed to the limits of their abilities; hazards to navigate will include extreme gradients, jumps, banks, berms, pits, dunes and water splashes.
Participating Extreme E teams will be using an electric SUV, which the organisation has named Odyssey 21. According to Agag, the reason behind using an SUV is that these vehicles represent the most popular, but also the most polluting, consumer vehicle models. According to the International Energy Agency, SUVs alone were the second-largest contributor to the increase in global CO2 emissions between 2010 and 2018 behind only the power industry. Agag believes that showcasing SUVs with electric counterparts will promote their benefits from both perfo
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