EXTREME E HITS THE BEACH WITH SHAKEDOWN IN SENEGAL

Preparations for this weekend’s Ocean X Prix (29-30 May) got underway in Senegal as nine teams and 18 drivers took to the track for the very first time. An initial exploratory lap in this morning’s shakedown session was swiftly followed by a practice session in the afternoon, whetting the appetite of those in the paddock and building anticipation for more action as qualifying kicks off tomorrow.

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “The Ocean X Prix has an incredible course – I think this is going to be beyond our expectations. The first event in Saudi Arabia was obviously a huge success but every location is completely different, so we had no idea what to expect here in Senegal. After seeing free practice, everything looks absolutely amazing and there isn’t as much dust, so we're going to see some closer racing. I’m really looking forward to the first Ocean X Prix and I think I think we're in for an incredible second race of Extreme E.”

Following today’s sessions, ABT CUPRA XE regrettably announced that Claudia Hürtgen has been taken ill and is unable to participate further in the Ocean X Prix. Extreme E’s Championship Driver Jutta Kleinschmidt will take her place for the remainder of the event.

Kevin Hansen, JBXE driver, said: “It was really exciting to get the call from the team last week, I'm really honoured. For me it’s a great opportunity, so I’m really happy to come here and see what I can do for the team and for sure, if the job came up for the whole season, I would jump at it. I’m here with some of the best drivers in the world and of course I want to beat them. There’s a lot of opportunity here with the team, I think we have a lot of potential and also Mikaela is really fast, which is also great!

“Looking at the videos from Saudi, I think it will be a lot easier here in some ways, there’s obviously less dust but it’s a much more technical course. Luckily for me I already had a few laps in the ODYSSEY 21 when I joined the pre-season testing in Aragon with Andretti last year, but obviously I’ve had no laps with the car in the sand except for today. I think this course in Senegal is a bit similar to racing I have done in Andalucía which is a good thing for me. 

“As far as racing against my brother Timmy, no there’s no family divide, so sorry if that’s disappointing to everyone! We are handling it really well, for sure it’s a bit strange when we see each other in the paddock – we are used to racing with each other not against each other. He’s doing his thing and I’m doing mine, so it will be interesting. And it’s actually a comfort to have him on the grid, as it’s one driver I truly know the level of and one I know how to be faster than!”

Christine GZ, XITE ENERGY RACING powered by myenergi driver, said: “This course here in Lac Rose is completely different to Saudi – I was expecting dunes like we had there and it to be a bit slower than the desert, but not so.  I’d say the main problem we have here is trying to adapt to the car and it’s all new as we don’t really have testing at all, but that’s the same issue for all the teams. The main thing for me is that I do a good job and bring the car back safely to the team.

“It’s been really cool being involved in the legacy projects – I usually always say that racing and ‘saving the world’ don’t really fit together so this championship has been incredible already for that reason. Yesterday, meeting the local people here and going to the school and seeing first-hand how much they can do with so little – it’s incredible. It’s been very cool to do something away from the racing that also will help make a real difference to people’s lives – we don’t often get the chance to do that at all, so I’m really happy about that.”

Carlos Sainz, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team driver, said: “The last time I was here was 2007 so it’s nice to be here again. It’s a typical sandy area and the shakedown was pretty exciting for me as after two kilometres the throttle got stuck on full, so I had to brake really hard throughout – luckily it was a mechanical problem and easy to fix afterwards – but not so nice to drive!

“It’s much more technical here than Saudi, more bumpy and the sand is a lot softer which makes a difference as well. There are a few different lines here as well compared to Saudi, it’s not so easy to always understand which line is the quickest but we will work it out.

“Thankfully the problem with the steering we had in Saudi is solved now. We only have three combinations of springs and one damper so we have to work the best we can with those and it’s the same for everyone. The important things start tomorrow!”

Cristina Gutiérrez, X44 driver, said: “It’s totally different here to Saudi Arabia so we’ll need to see tomorrow in the qualifying how quick we can be. The shakedown today was really good for me and I’m getting a good feeling for the car.

“I don’t know how it’s going to be with four cars racing together this time, but for sure I think it will be very exciting. I think the terrain here will be better for us in some ways – of course a lot less dust which will be a good thing.

“It’s just an incredible experience to be here with the teams and the drivers. We have still a lot of racing to do this year so it’s a little bit soon to make any predictions about who will come out on top but we are really enjoying being part of it.”

Catie Munnings, Andretti United driver, said: “This course is challenging. It’s more technical than what we saw in Saudi Arabia, I think for most of us it’s more like what we imagined Extreme E was going to be – different line choices, bumpier and rougher terrain. It is definitely going to be more of a challenge for us as drivers but also that brings more excitement and we all thrive off of that. I think we just have to keep in mind that it’s a long weekend, we need to know where to push and where to back off slightly.

“I really enjoy getting out and seeing more of the countries we’re competing in. Normally when you go to a different country to compete you just see the track and the hotel, so it’s been great to experience that side of things.

“It’s really humbling to see a completely different environment and seeing the impact we’re having with plastic pollution, then as a positive its really cool to speak to local children and see how they’re mindsets are changing from previous generations and how inspired they are. To physically see the mangroves being planted was really special, I think it was an amazing start to the week and that’s what we’re here for at the end of the day – to make a difference.” 

Mattias Ekström, ABT CUPRA XE driver, said: “Shakedown today was so exciting, I had a lot of fun. The first lap of a new course is always more exciting than any other, I think I enjoy it more than any other lap.

“For me, the goal for any race is to win. If you don’t go racing to win then that’s what they call retirement. In this series, there is so many fast drivers and good teams so sometimes you have to accept when you get beaten but the target is definitely to win.

“As everyone knows we had a tough time at the first race but the difference between having a good weekend and a bad one is very small. Everyone is driving close to the limit and anyone can crash when they are pushing. Luckily, Claudia [Hürtgen] was in one piece and our car is back in one piece so we’re looking forward again.

“I think we had our quota of crashes in Saudi so hopefully we won’t have any more of those this weekend. I did have a hard landing over one of the jumps today but if you’re not pushing, you’ll never get any trophies, you have to be on it and try and improve all the time to make sure you get the most out of yourself.”

Johan Kristoffersson, Rosberg X Racing driver, said: “Shakedown was good for us, the course is very different to the one in Saudi, but all went OK – we had no issues. Everything resets when you get into a new weekend, so we have to start from zero again and try to do our best here in Senegal.

“I think we’re going to see much closer racing this weekend. There’s much less dust here so it’s easier to follow the car in front so there will definitely be more possibilities for going wheel-to-wheel, I’m looking forward to that and hopefully we will get into the final and be able to race against three other cars which will be exciting. This course opens up a lot more options for overtaking so there may not be as many ‘obvious’ moves like I did in Saudi.”

Sara Price, Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing driver, said: “The team worked really hard after Saudi – we have a great car and great mechanics. I’m really excited for this weekend, it’s going to be a bit of a redemption weekend for us. We want to go out there and be smart, drive smoothly but also be fast. Obviously Saudi wasn’t the best for us so we’re going to do what we know we can do and hopefully have a solid weekend.

“We have an incredibly strong team; I think there was one night where Kyle [LeDuc] and I only got three hours of sleep and we never gave up. This weekend we’re coming in with a new mindset and trying to make it to the end. I think we’re in a really good position, we’ve done some team building which not a lot of teams have been able to do so lots of positives coming to Senegal.

“I love the course here, there’s definitely more opportunities to race other cars and it’s a lot more technical compared to Saudi. That’s really exciting for me and its more similar to what I’m used to, plus it doesn’t get better than racing on the beach. We’ve been talking about how much the course is going to adapt, I think it’ll get quicker as the weekend progresses so I’m looking forward to that.”

Jamie Chadwick, Veloce Racing driver, said: “I feel positive, I think the main focus for us is now just getting laps under our belts and track time. Obviously, we need to make amends for Saudi but also not biting off more than we can chew and taking each step as it comes. I don’t think we can underestimate how much we need to prepare for a weekend like this. We’ve done the best we can but there’s so much we can’t anticipate so we just have to soak it all in while we can and enjoy it.

“Our season starts here really as we have so few points on the board but from our perspective, with the nature of the series you can’t underestimate how important track time is. I think it’s definitely risk versus reward, so we’ll be pushing but I think we also need to be mindful that we need all of the laps we can get. This is of course very different to W Series, but I love the challenge and I want to be as versatile a driver as possible and I’m grateful to Extreme E and Veloce Racing for the opportunity to learn in this discipline.

“I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend. I was very conservative in shakedown and practice but I think it’s nice to start there and build on that. I enjoyed the track time earlier, there’s a lot of room for improvement but I love the challenge of this series and we’ll definitely be faster tomorrow. The pressure is off us a little bit, we’ve made our mistake and now we can learn and grow together to get a good result – the only way is up.”

Stéphane Sarrazin, Veloce Racing driver, said: “Unfortunately my mistake in Saudi was a costly one, we didn’t race or learn from the car at the first race so that was a real shame. The team have done a fantastic job though, they changed the chassis on Monday and the car was fine today which is amazing. The car was working fine today with no issues, so we need to be on the pace quickly to catch up with everyone else. We’re ready for tomorrow and hope to have good qualifying sessions.

“I can’t afford any more mistakes, it was a small error in Saudi but it had a big effect so I need to stay on the course and build up my confidence again. Today was good in that respect, tomorrow should be even better. We’re taking it step by step.”

Competitive running begins tomorrow (Saturday, 29 May), with Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2 being aired at 13h30 and 18h00 (CET) respectively.  The Semi-Finals and Final will then take place on Sunday (30 May) as the Ocean X Prix concludes with the crowning of its first-ever winner.