When Excessive E (XE) was introduced by Formulation E founder Alejandro Agag two years in the past, such a novel idea appeared even much less credible than his concept of an electrical single-seater racing sequence did earlier than Dieselgate.
Not solely was this to be an amalgam of rallying and circuit racing contested by 550bhp electrical SUVs however fairly actually a race to avoid wasting the world, broadcasting races from broken places with the aim of elevating public consciousness of environmental and sustainability points.
However already the scepticism and scoffing is dying down. Since Autocar first spoke to Agag, XE has been awarded FIA Worldwide Sequence standing and fleshed out with a lot of star names, each human and company. It’s not content material to be seen as a Mickey Mouse Cup. That a lot is evident.
American motorsport titans Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing will every run a automobile, as will reigning Formulation E (FE) champion Techeetah and the Volkswagen Group’s new electrified sporting highway automobile model, Cupra (in collaboration with Abt, the motorsport outfit that runs Audi’s efforts in FE and the DTM touring automobile sequence).
The signing of Formulation 1 design professional Adrian Newey by the Veloce group has additionally drawn consideration and the drivers of the mechanically equivalent Spark Odyssey vehicles will embrace rallying legends Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz and World Rallycross (WRX) champions Mattias Ekström, Timmy Hansen and Johan Kristoffersen. Ekström, who was tempted throughout from WRX by the Abt group with which he gained the DTM in 2004 and 2007 and is at the moment on the Dakar Rally, reckons the rallycrossers are greatest geared up for the weird problem of XE. “Particularly in terms of the leaping, unfastened gravel, shut contact and four-wheel-drive sliding expertise,” says the 42-year-old Swede.
However is that this a critical marketing campaign, or simply an opportunity for enjoyable with some outdated mates? And extra broadly, is XE an leisure present quite than critical competitors; and even primarily a environmental concern, with the game an afterthought? “I’m not there for any present,” Ekström says. “I’m there to win the race. If you wish to see it as a present, go forward, nicely carried out, however I need to have a giant trophy. That has at all times been my intention. Once I put my helmet on and go racing, I’ll do my greatest and attempt to win. And there might be a pair extra girls and boys who will lend a hand.”
Uniquely, XE decrees that every automobile have to be shared by a person and a lady. “I even have been crushed by women earlier than, and I’ve no downside with this,” says Ekström, who will share driving duties with fellow touring automobile veteran Claudia Hürtgen.
You may nicely suppose that these drivers are becoming a member of XE just because it’s a stable alternative to race, however for Ekström no less than it holds larger relevance. The reality is that, like a well-known compatriot of his, he’s enthusiastic about conservation – though it took him many extra years than Greta Thunberg to take discover.
“I drove within the DTM for 17 years,” he says, “and we have been consuming tyres and gasoline and components like there was no tomorrow, however there was by no means anybody asking if that was good for the atmosphere. In XE, we might be allowed to make use of 10 tyres per season. Within the DTM, we used 10 units in a weekend.
