Rosberg X Racing makes history in Saudi Arabia as first Extreme E winner

Rosberg X Racing duo Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor were the pace-setters from the outset in Extreme E’s inaugural race weekend in the historic city of AlUla in Saudi Arabia (3/4 April), but the pair still had to dig deep in the desert to battle their way to victory and carve themselves out a piece of motorsport history.

Broadcast by 90 broadcasters across 180 countries, there has been feverish anticipation in the build-up to this weekend’s Desert X Prix, and the event delivered in every aspect. Following yesterday’s Qualifying time trials, today, the drivers went wheel-to-wheel for the first time, generating some of the most spectacular images ever seen in the sport and drawing widespread acclaim from competitors and fans alike.

Commenting on the great success of the event, Saudi Arabian Minister of Sport HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said: “We are overjoyed with the success of the first ever Extreme E race, held here in the Kingdom. AlUla gave a mesmerizing backdrop to what was a new dawn for motorsports and the latest grand-scale sports event in the Kingdom’s continuing efforts to inspire Saudis through live sport. Extreme E also shone a spotlight on the world’s combined efforts to help reduce damage to the climate, which under the ambitions of both Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative, the Kingdom seeks to play a major role in.

“We would like to once again thank Extreme E for choosing Saudi Arabia for their first race weekend and look forward to watching the series continue across the globe.”

Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), said: “The Desert X Prix has been everything we could have hoped for and beyond, with a group of the world’s best drivers giving their all in a spellbinding race weekend through one of the world’s truly unique and awesome terrains here in AlUla.

“For us as SAMF, this weekend was also a deeply proud day, hosting the world’s first ever Extreme E race in Saudi Arabia. We have such a strong history of motorsports in our country and today – to be ushering in the future of racing with Extreme E – once again illustrates the Kingdom’s standing in global motorsport. It has been our pleasure to host, and we are thrilled by the success of the event and its future.”

The deserts of Saudi Arabia were chosen to highlight a number of environmental issues – increasing temperatures, more frequent and longer periods of drought, deforestation and desertification – which are all in part instigated by human behaviour and our carbon-intensive lifestyle. The Kingdom is already taking measures to reduce its carbon impact via Vision 2030, a programme with many aims including increased usage of renewable energy.

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “We’ve worked so hard on this for many years, and finally everything has come together this weekend. It really has been beyond my wildest expectations. If I had written a script for the perfect weekend, I could not have come up with anything better than what we have witnessed these past two days – I’ve never seen such extreme racing in my life.

Ultimately, nothing could stop Kristoffersson and Taylor from storming to the top step of the podium – not a 60-second penalty for exceeding the 30km/h limit in the driver switch zone yesterday, nor less favourable grid slots in both the Semi-Final and Final today. It was a virtuoso display of speed, skill and superhuman car control in the most challenging of conditions.

Final Result

1. Rosberg X Racing (Johan Kristoffersson / Molly Taylor) 2 laps
2. Andretti United (Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings) +23.73s
3. X44 (Sébastien Loeb / Cristina Gutiérrez) +1m38.09s

With the Desert X Prix now done-and-dusted, the cars will be loaded back onto the St. Helena – Extreme E’s floating centrepiece – to set sail for Lac Rose in Senegal, the setting for the Ocean X Prix on 29/30 May.

Championship Standings

1. Rosberg X Racing (Johan Kristoffersson / Molly Taylor) 35 points
2. X44 (Sébastien Loeb / Cristina Gutiérrez) 30 points
3. Andretti United (Timmy Hansen / Catie Munnings) 28 points
4. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team (Carlos Sainz / Laia Sanz) 26 points
5. Hispano Suiza XITE Energy Team (Oliver Bennett / Christine Giampaoli Zonca) 20 points
6. JBXE (Jenson Button / Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky) 17 points
7. ABT Cupra XE (Mattias Ekström / Claudia Hürtgen) 13 points
8. Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle LeDuc / Sara Price) 12 points
9. Veloce Racing (Stéphane Sarrazin / Jamie Chadwick) 8 points