Viewers said goodbye (once again) to Extreme E this weekend as it completed its ‘Final Lap’ ahead of the launch of Extreme H on the 9th-11th October. Though much had changed with drivers and teams going into the weekend, it was packed with all the drama viewers have come to expect from the series.
Extreme E’s ‘Final Lap’ started with a bang on Saturday as the first qualifying heat of the day saw Season 1 Champion Molly Taylor involved in a huge accident. The Australian was chasing Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky for the lead of the heat when the car landed wrong following a section of jumps. Momentum brought the Jameel Motorsport machine into a barrel role, rolling four and a half times before it came to rest on its roof. Fortunately, Taylor was able to get out of the car under her own steam and was later cleared by the medical centre to compete the following day. The race was red-flagged following the incident and timings taken from shortly before it.
Qualifying 1 Heat 2 had no less drama, though not quite as explosive, as three of the four competing teams failed to complete more than one lap. The ever-present Laia Sanz got an excellent start for Acciona Sainz, before Timo Scheider made an ambitious move up the inside. The resulting damage broke the steering on both cars, forcing them to retire. In a separate, unseen incident, Patrick O’Donovan’s Stard car had a front suspension collapse and he too was forced to park the car. Hansen Motorsport were the only team to complete all four laps.
The heats in Qualifying 2 were much less eventful as Acciona Sainz and Team Even won Heats 1 and 2 respectively. After Saturday’s qualifying was all said and done, Acciona Sainz topped the classification, level on points with Kristofferson Motorsport. Hansen Motorsport and Team Even also progressed to the Grand Final, whilst Stard, JBX, Jameel Motorsport, and Carl Cox Motorsport were to compete in the day’s Redemption Race.
And the Redemption Race certainly lived up to its name as Jameel Motorsport took the victory following their accident earlier in the day, with Kevin Hansen and substitute female driver Claire Schonborn guiding the team to the win. Hansen had gotten the team off to a flying start, entering the switch zone comfortably in the lead, and Schonborn was able to extend that as she crossed the line first on her Extreme E debut. Further behind, JBX just held onto second place, narrowly beating out Stard. Carl Cox Motorsport brought up the rear.
The first Grand Final of the weekend saw a repeat of Laia Sanz’s heroics from Qualifying 1 Heat 2, but unfortunately with the same end result. Getting away well, Sanz, as the only female driver to start the race, took an early lead. She would soon be undone, however, as Johan Kristofferson dived down her inside, damaging the toe link on the Acciona Sainz machine and forcing her to retire from the race. Despite the contact, Kristofferson Motorsport won the race, with Team Even not far behind. Hansen Motorsport rounded out the podium on the first day of Extreme E’s ‘Final Lap’
Sunday’s Qualifying Heats were a little less dramatic than the previous day’s but there was still plenty of hard racing. Jameel Motorsport and Hansen Motorsport won the first two heats respectively, before Kristofferson Motorsport went on to win their second heat and qualify for the Grand Final. The biggest incident of Sunday’s Qualifying came in Qualifying 2 Heat 2 as Acciona Sainz’s Fraser McConnell went hard over the banking that lines the track and broke the car’s suspension. Team Even took the victory securing their spot in the Grand Final, alongside Jameel Motorsport, Hansen Motorsport, and Kristofferson Motorsport. JBX, Carl Cox Motorsport, Acciona Sainz, and Stard would compete in the Redemption Race.
An uneventful Redemption Race saw JBX cruise to victory, some 23 seconds clear of their closest competitor, Carl Cox Motorsport. Stard finished another 25 seconds behind them to round out the race’s top three. Acciona Sainz did not start the race due to the damage sustained in the earlier qualifying session.
Extreme E’s final race did not disappoint, as the Grand Final got off to a hectic start. Jameel Motorsport got the best launch, coming across to the lead as the other three went side by side as they entered the first turn. Catie Munnings in the Hansen Motorsport car backed out of the sandwich, leaving Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky on the inside, being squeezed by Hedda Hosas. The Kristofferson Motorsport car ran out of track on the inside, causing it to get onto the ruts lining the track. The car went airborne, rolled twice, and came to a stop shortly after. The driver pairing that has dominated Extreme E in the last few years, would not complete the series’ final ever race. Team Even were also out.
The two remaining cars, Jameel Motorsport and Hansen Motorsport, came into the switch zone nose to tail. Kevin Hansen in the Jameel Motorsport car eked out an advantage following the change of drivers, but disaster struck when he entered the slow zone (in place from the earlier incident) too quickly. Although he would finish first on the road, post-race penalties saw the final ever race awarded to Hansen Motorsport and Catie Munnings and Andreas Bakkerud. Jameel Motorsport would still finish second, whilst Team Even and Kristofferson Motorsport were not classified.
Extreme E went out as fans knew and loved, with a bang, and will certainly have whet the appetite for Extreme H’s debut on Thursday 9th October.
Extreme H
The Extreme H World Cup will do things a little differently to its electric forbear. Set over three days and three disciplines, teams will accumulate qualifying points that set the grid for a final featuring all eight cars.
Thursday consists of a time trial akin to qualifying in the early days of Extreme E. Each team will get two runs, which are then combined together for a total qualifying time, meaning every run counts. These combined times set the standings for the time trial event.
Friday will see a short, knockout head to head. Competing against one other team, drivers will go side by side across a short stretch of the track. The teams to cross the line first will advance to a Semi-Final and a Final.
But that’s not all for the multi-car section of the week. Saturday will begin with two rounds of four car heats, similar to the qualifying format used in Extreme E’s ‘Last Lap’. These heats will determine the multi-car rankings and the points across all three disciplines will set the grid for the World Cup Final.
Taking place on the same day as the multi-car heats, the World Cup Final will include all teams, with the winner crowned World Cup Champions.
There are two changes to the grid line-up from Extreme E’s ‘Final Lap’ from the weekend. Acciona Sainz have been replaced by Zeroid, with Gray Leadbetter replacing Laia Sanz as Fraser McConnel’s teammate. Here’s how the teams line-up:
- Team Hansen – Andreas Bakkerud and Catie Munnings
- Jameel Motorsport – Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor
- JBX – Tommi Hallman and Christine GZ
- Carl Cox Motorsport – Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson
- Team Even – Ole Christian Veiby and Hedda Hosas
- Zeroid – Fraser McConnell and Gray Leadbetter
- Kristofferson Motorsport – Johan Kristofferson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky
- Strad – Patrick O’Donovan and Amanda Sorensen
Extreme H makes its long-awaited debut on Thursday. With a fresh new format designed to test the cars (and drivers) to the limit, viewers are bound to get more action than ever before. After three days of fast-paced drama, we will surely get an answer to the question: is Hydrogen the future of extreme Motorsport?
Image courtesy of Extreme E