RXR lead the Extreme E championship by just thirteen points over X44 as the all-electric off road series heads to Dorset for the Jurassic X Prix.
Extreme E goes to Dorset this weekend for the final round of the season. With the championship finely balanced, who will come out on top?
Taking place at the Ministry of Defence Base at Bovington in Dorset, U.K., the course is expected to be one of the most challenging for the drivers to date. A surface combination of clay, sand, gravel, and mud, with a high probability of rain, means grip will be in short supply this weekend.
Starting off with a wide and fast downhill section, multiple teams will be going side by side as they head towards the tricky, technical sections amongst the trees. All this leads up to the highlight of the course: the “Knife Edge” slope. At 5.4 meters high and sloped at 23 degrees, the “Knife Edge” slope is not to be messed with.
Following the Island X Prix in Sardinia, RXR extended their lead in the championship to thirteen points over their nearest rivals, X44. Not for the first time, Hamilton and Rosberg are embroiled in a championship decider. Here’s how the standings look ahead of the Jurassic X Prix:
- RXR: 129 points
- X44: 113 points
- Andretti United: 93 points
- JBXE: 92 points
- ABT Cupra: 83 points
- Acciona Sainz: 78 points
- Chip Ganassi: 63 points
- Veloce: 60 points
- Xite Energy: 55 points
The sporting format remains unchanged from the two previous rounds. Each team has two qualifying runs, receiving qualifying points nine to one in each session depending on their times. The team with the most qualifying points after two qualifying sessions receives twelve points in the championship. Championship points are distributed evenly down to four points for qualifying in ninth.
Qualifiers one, five, and six then race in Semi-Final One, with qualifiers two, three, and four facing off in Semi-Final Two. The fastest two teams in each semi-final will progress to the final.
The bottom three qualifiers will race against each other in the Crazy Race, where only the fastest finisher will progress.
Points are awarded twenty five to four after the final depending on the overall finishing positions of the teams. Five points are also awarded to the team with the fastest time in the “Continental Traction Challenge” over the weekend.
Jamie Chadwick returns to Veloce this weekend following her absence from the last two rounds due to her W Series commitments. She will be joined by Lance Woolridge, a new face for Extreme E.
One of the main aims of Extreme E is to leave a positive impact on the communities they visit. This weekend that means they are partnering up with the National Trust to support their campaign to reintroduce beavers to Dorset. Next year, the National Trust will reintroduce beavers to a county that hasn’t seen them for four hundred years.
With the reintroduction of beavers to Dorset, the National Trust hopes that they will restore peat, and pool habitats for the local wildlife. It is also hoped that they will improve water quality, carbon storage, and reduce the risk of floods.
With all of this, Extreme E hopes to highlight the issue of biodiversity loss. The CEO and Founder of Extreme E, Alejandro Agag said: “Our presence in Dorset demonstrates that environmental issues are close to home.”